LETTERS FROM CINQUE TERRE
AUGUST 2019
I was lucky enough to spend a week in Cinque Terre towards the middle of my 2 month Eurotrip, and it was so well timed. I had been travelling solo for a month by then, and I was getting pretty exhausted. Sightseeing, eating on your own, meeting new people, staying in shared accomodation, spending money, going to the beach… for an introvert like me I was in desperate need of a holiday from my holiday. (Ha! First world problem…)
In the weeks prior I had been through The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and staying at a place for a about 2-3 days before moving onto the next city. I had been making sure I ticked off every point of interest, making sure I lined up at every restaurant recommended to me, making sure I went out to all the cool bars friends along the way recommended, making sure I only slept at the places that I was staying at, feeling like time was so precious. So it’s kinda funny to me when I look back now and think that the best times on my Eurotrip mainly revolved around me slowing down: me going to the supermarket and making then having lunch on my own balcony, me tinkering away at my laptop and watching Netflix to the sounds of the waves below, me just going on a 5 minute walk to watch the sunset then going home again.
QUICK GUIDE
Cinque Terre? Why can’t I find it in Google maps? Cinque Terre is a collection of five separate villages that lie over the Ligurian Sea: being Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The closest Italian city is La Spezia which takes about 10 minutes by train. If you can however I’d recommend staying inside one of the villages - my picks are either Manarola or Vernazza.
What to do: For those nature lovers who love to just be when travelling. There isn’t an exhaustive museum list, or a checkbox of must dos - but with 5 villages you can easily spend a few hours here and here either sitting on the rocky beaches, or hiking between towns, or sitting on a cliffside bar watching the sunset. Try the seafood!
“oh land; can’t you hear
the ocean humming her song -
yearning for your love?”
“i wish you were here -
so i could point out patterns
dancing ‘cross the sky”
“actually - i was
kind of looking forward
to having some purpose.”
“what a delightful
combination of textures -
with every bite!”
“it’s nice to be nice.
we are but specks when viewed
from the heights of stars.”
“it’s been fun. but i
admit - looking forward to
getting a haircut”
