Easter weekend in Italy !

Let me start out this post by saying how good it is to finally be able to post on my blog with my computer, the last couple posts were made with my iPad, which meant the quality was lacking.

But now I am reunited with my computer, which I had spilt tea on and had stopped working and I was without it for about two months (it didn't take that long to fix, but I had to send it back to Canada while I was still in France... anyway a long boring story).

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the trip!

I had never been to Italy before and have always wanted to go, so when my friend Patricia suggested we spend Easter weekend in Cinque Terre, I jumped on the occasion.

Day 1 : Traveling to Cinque Terre via Milan

We spent a really quick afternoon in Milan, because that is where we

decided to meet up, and then we took a train together from there to Cinque Terre.  All we did in Milan was see the Duomo quickly from the outside and eat some pizza.

(Piazza del Duomo, Milan)

(The pizza I devoured in Milan)

Then we took the train from Milan to Monterosso.

The first day we arrived around 9 pm, so all we did was eat then we went straight to bed.

We stayed in a lovely little Bed and Breakfast in Monterosso al Mare, which is the first of the Cinque Terre (five lands).  The other four are Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.


Day 2: Rainy day, eating, short hike 

The following day we woke to a rainy Monterosso, but that didn't stop us from walking around, taking some pictures and eating A LOT of delicious italian food.  The woman who owns the B&B where we were staying recommended we try her sons' restaurants in Monterosso, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed :)

(if you would like to check out some pics of the food I ate while in Italy, go check out my instagram, I posted many food pics there from my trip)

When the sun finally made an appearance in the late afternoon, we were able to go on the hiking trail and make our way towards Vernazza. We didn't go all the way to the other land, but we did walk for about half an hour and were able to take in some wonderful views of Monterosso and the sea.

(A view from the hiking trail )

(Me on the hiking trail)

(Monterosso al Mare)

Day 3: Boat trip to Portovenere

On our third day in Cinque Terre, the sun was out and it promised to be a beautiful day.  We woke up early and bought our boat tickets to Portovenere, a slightly bigger coastal town a little east of the Cinque Terre.

The boat trip was really fun and I would recommend it to anyone, because it is the best way to get a good look at all of the five lands.  If you have enough time, you can even get off the boat and visit the other lands, except for Corniglia, which is only accessible by train.

(Corniglia, now you see why this town isn't accessible by boat)

(Manarola)

(Riomaggiore)


In Portovenere we walked around and fully enjoyed the lovely sun and warm weather.  We had a delicious lunch of focaccia sandwiches.  They were so good that we ordered a third one to split.

(Portovenere)

(Boat in Portovenere)

(View of the Cinque Terre coast and the sea from Portovenere)

After lunch we walked around some more and at the end of the afternoon we took the boat back to Monterosso al Mare, but we made a pit stop in Vernazza first.

(Vernazza)

That evening we had another yummy meal in Monterosso (pizza and wine), and went to bed, because the next day we had to get up early and take a train home.

Quick tips: 

1) Water is not given out for free in restaurants, you always have to pay for it.

2) Be aware of an extra fee for sitting and eating in a restaurant.

3) Try the gelato!


I really enjoyed my weekend in Italy and I really hope to get the chance to visit the rest of this beautiful country.