Cinque Terre, Party of Six

Visiting Cinque Terre is always a different experience each time you come, and this trip in particular is different for a lot of great reasons. The first time I visited Cinque Terre I came with a few of my best friends – we rode bikes, explored some of the local towns that aren’t as touristic, and even took a car ride up to Portofino to see the worlds longest red carpet extending along the Ligurian seaside. My second trip to Cinque Terre I visited with my Dad, my Brother and Sister – we also rode bikes through the train tunnels from Levanto to Bonassola and Framura, but we also spent more time in Manarola swimming and cliff jumping.

In case you missed them, check out my previous blog posts about Cinque Terre:

Ferragosto in Cinque Terre

and

Cinque Terre, Revisited

This trip Gaby and I brought our two dogs with us, and we also came with her parents. I also feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person since the pandemic started, and I’m so thankful that I can truly be this new and improved version of myself with Gaby, but also with her parents that I feel really accept me and enjoy my company.

Being said, the biggest shoutout here honestly goes out to our two boys, Banksy and Jack. These two dogs are honestly the best adventure pups, and whether we’re talking about cars, trains, buses, or boats – these two are seriously champs. Banksy is a little bit more dramatic sometimes if there are loud/strange noises (see photo) than Jack, but Jack also gets to sit on your lap, which is a lot like holding an oversized burrito that complains if you move – but it is pretty cute that he likes to watch what is happening outside the window, while Banksy mostly probably wishes it was all over as soon as it began :p

On to the adventure!

This trip is really the first time I really struggled to find a good place to rent on Airbnb. I knew we wanted to be walking distance to the beach, walking distance from a train station, with a garden for the dogs so they could be outside – and even left for a couple hours if we wanted to go for a swim. I also knew we needed wifi as I needed to work during the week, we also needed at least two bedrooms, and the dogs needed to be able to sleep inside AND we needed to stay within a specific budget. It may not seem very complicated to find an apartment to rent that meets all of these conditions – but I assure you it really was.

“Dad, we need a bigger yard but I guess this will do.” – Banksy

The place I ended up finding was in Monterosso al Mare, and let me tell you – it was honestly perfect. The only downside was that the garden itself was a little less than advertised, but Banksy took every advantage of the limited green space. For those of you unaware – he’s completely nature obsessed,  and I kid you not as soon as I was out of sight he was laying inside this planter whenever he got the opportunity. After a while I blocked it off because I felt bad and he actually started trying to dig inside of it – but seriously I was impressed. Where was Jack by the way? In the shade under an umbrella – probably waiting impatiently for a piña colada (or an enchilada).

The great thing about this place is that I could also work outside, which is a stark contrast to my typical working situation when I’m at home – which is basically a studio with no windows or natural light at all. Needless to say, I was excited to be able to get some sun and enjoy the true benefits of being able to work fully remote again.

Check out my collection of framed artistic prints from Cinque Terre Here

Once everyone got settled in, the first order of business was to explore Monterosso al Mare together, and I was truly pleased to find that it wasn’t as chaotic as I expected it to be, albeit a little overcast on the first day – but truth be told it was quite welcome considering all the heat we had been experiencing in Florence and our last trip to Peschiera del Garda and Lazise which was also quite warm.

While we walked along I also scoped out potential places to eat that we could try out during our stay, and it was truly really nice to be able to just slow down and walk without any real destination or timeframe in which to arrive at a specific destination.

Over the next several days the boys and I ‘Manned the fort’, as it were, while I worked in the mornings and then at around lunch time Gaby and her parents would come back to the apartment so we could go swim, or I would meet them out for lunch someplace nearby. The whole experience was truly just relaxed, easy, and stress-free – exactly what I needed for an amazing vacation.

The other plus side of having Gaby’s parents visit and travel with us is that her Dad is just as much of a seafood junky as I am- so everytime we could we would order or even share these elaborate seafood dishes, which was honestly pretty awesome and something that I truly enjoyed. 

At the end of our trip Gaby, her Mom and I decided to charter a small boat so we could visit and see each of the 5 towns that comprise Cinque Terre – that is: Monterosso Al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Rio Maggiore. I really wanted to see each of these towns from the perspective of the sea for obvious photography reasons, and Gaby and her Mom were also really looking forward to a relaxing ride filled with beautiful views and the quality time that we were able to share together.

It’s truly an amazing experience to see each of the towns from the perspective of a boat – a completely different experience from seeing the towns from the land – almost unrecognizable at first. When our boat first left the dock in Monterosso al Mare – I immediately understood with absolute clarity the value of seeing these beautiful places from the perspective we were about to witness, and I felt so excited to know I had the gear in hand to be able to create some amazing pieces of art. 

On the way to Riomaggiore we opted to take the route that went closer to the shore so we could get a closer view of each of the towns, and on the way back we opted to take a route that was a bit farther out so we could really see and appreciate the colors and presence of each of the towns amidst the surrounding greenery and dramatic landscape.

One thing that shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, but certainly was something that stood out was the amount of tourists that were present – especially in Vernazza which I honestly found to be quite sad, and seeing the view from the sea only made the gravity of the situation that much clearer. I just can’t understand how anyone, anywhere, still in 2022, could feel like transporting masses of people to small places like this could be something that could be considered sustainable, or actually valuable to anyone except for the tour operators just lining their pockets without having any consideration on the huge impact they are having on these places. I know we all have to make a living- but there honestly has to be a better and more ethical way. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and thank you especially to Gaby and her parents for helping make my 3rd visit to Cinque Terre one I will never forget.

Until next time-

Scott