Cinque Terre, Italy
When one mentions Italy the first city that probably comes to mind is Rome, followed by Venice, Milan and probably Lake como thanks to dashing George Clooney. One of my favourite Italian destinations (and one that is starting to get more popular) is the stunning area of Cinque terre.
Situated a 2 hour train ride north west of the famous leaning tower lies 5 quaint towns culminating the Cinque Terre National Park – Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Being a Unesco heritage listed site, cars are not able to access these towns, in fact the only way to get from town to town is via train, alternatively you can walk from town to town and from the takes 8 hours if you do it continuously.
My itinerary was a 3 day one, during the peak of summer in Mid July. The 1st night I stayed in Pisa, from memory the last train from Pisa central to Monterrosso was at 9.30pm and to be conservative I did not think I would arrive in time to make the train. No matter though, it does give you an opportunity to visit one of the most iconic sights in Tuscany being the leaning tower of pisa!
I opted to stay in a bnb (bed and breakfast). I like the homely feel of a family run establishment. It gives an authentic touch which you cannot get anywhere else. We met a kind lady who I believe ran the bnb with a younger member of her family, however upon arrival, she was the only one there and did not speak a word of English. But to her credit… she was able to work the wonders of google translate and my travel buddy and I camped around her desktop and were able to communicate without issue!
Its moments like these – where you face an obstacle (like basic communication) and persist to find a solution that makes travelling such a rewarding experience. It also makes me regret not learning a second language (Doh!). When things are too easy, you take it for granted, you think you are entitled to it. But it’s not until you are in a situation that requires some thinking outside of the square that makes the end result so satisfying – like being able to check in!
After a quick visit to the leaning tower – off we went to cinque terre. To get there just buy your ticket from the train station should cost about €15 one way and takes no longer than half an hour.
*Mamma Mia* – I almost forgot to mention that Italians are the kings of coffee. Get a cappuccino and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Back home in Melbourne “getting a coffee” can last anywhere between half an hour and several hours. The locals in Italy get the job done in about 30 seconds! Coffees are consumed standing up at the expresso bar in Italy. Sit down tables usually attract a price premium (as it is often in place to cater for tourists).
The trains are actually quite modern and are in fact very similar to the train depicted the classic 2004 movie “eurotrip”
Monterosso
Is the largest and most populous of the five towns. It also boasts a proper beach, which due to size gives it a unique advantage over the other towns. I chose to stay one night here being the farthest most town (from pisa) and another night in Riomaggiore the first town, so Sunday would be an intense hiking day. Over the past few years torrential rain has played havoc with the walking trails. In 2011 or 2012 I believe there was some intense flooding which rampaged through some of the towns. As a result , it is common that not all of the walking trails will be open at the same time.
I stayed at B&B Il Parco (which I highly recommend). The accommodation is split into different private villas. As it is situated quite high up the hill, there are some breath-taking views to be had when either early morning or at dusk. The breakfast provided is pretty tasty as well.
I suppose the only thing to be aware of is that is slightly up in the hills, the walk to the main beach and town did take some time, however there is a free shuttle bus which can transport to and from the town centre and specified. Stay here if you want to lounge around in the sun and having a relaxing experience of cinque terre!
Vernazza
I think this is the prettiest of the four towns. Can be found on many a post cards and if you time it right and hike from monterosso to vernaza and dusk you may be lucky enough to see pink skies in the backdrop. The reward for an hour and a half hike can be seen below. Due to poor exposure settings the photo doesn’t quite do the view justice!
Corniglia
Probably the smallest out of the 5 towns towns, due to time constraints didn’t get a chance to explore the town as much as I’d like. Just as colourful as the others and a little less quaint. Not as many tourists seem to spend much time here. After a quick pit stop, we followed the pack and moved onto….
Manarola
Competes with Vernazza as the most photographed landscape amongst cinque terre. There is a path which leads you slightly out of the town to a small park and you can take amazing photos looking back onto the city. If your game there are also some swimming holes for you to cool off and mix it with other holiday makers and locals. Sunbathers can also be found lying of many of the rocks and stairs during the summer months! Strange but I guess you gotta make do with what you have!
Riomaoggorie.
Stayed at Locanda Dalla Compagnia. Wouldn’t be my first choice of accommodation, but if you are struggling to find accommodation it will do the job. Don’t expect anything above the basics and you’ll be fine.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/locanda-dalla-compagnia.en-gb.html?sid=55d90259de8ddce7056c733dd4f99767;dcid=2
Quite a large town with a number of hidden alleyways and paths to get lost it in. Plentiful amounts of decent restaurants with local produce and seafood.
Cinque terre boasts some of the most spectacular scenery that I have seen during my time so far in Europe. Definitely put it on your to do list if you find yourself in Italy. If you are looking for a party vacation probably don’t head here, but if you’re after a relaxing/rewarding weekend away you won’t be disappointed!
JD
Malaga, Spain
Known for: The Airport to fly to, in order to reach Marbella, Antonio Bandereas, Pablo Picasso
Hola from the Andalusia region of Spain. This is my second time to Malaga having visited their early October 2012.
On my last visit, the weather was slightly cooler and less busy as it officially the offpeak season. I met some very cool peeps in my hostel (Oasis hostel for those looking for a good clean place to stay. On the top of the hostel is a uptown chic rooftop bar which you should definitely check out).
I also explored a few of the main sights (moorish castles), went on a walking tour (see below for details), tried some tapas and went on a 2 man pub crawl with one other person who didn’t’ drink at all. A ‘Wild’ holiday you could call it & Real character building stuff lol.
So a disclaimer that this post is kind of boring I’ll admit, but probably useful if you are wanting to get some a rundown of the main sights in Malaga!
One tip I can give is to take the subway into town, it’ll cost you less than €2 and will have you in town in less than 15 minutes (much quicker than the cab). A cab ride into town will set you back €15. To get to the train station from the airport as you come out of arrivals head toward you left and cross the two streets in front of you. There you should see a subway sign.
http://www.gomarbella.com/malaga-airport/trains/trains.htm
Click on the link should you wish to view more detailed directions
Main Attractions
I managed to track down a site which summarised what I thought to be the main sights. Instead of re-inventing the wheel I’ve included the link below.
http://www.spain-holiday.com/blog/photographical-journey-through-malagas-top-15-sights.php
Some of the highlights for me.
Teatero Cervantes:
Antonio Banderasis rumoured to come back to his hometown once a year and this theatre is where it all began for Mr Bandereas. Though he has been away from the big screen for a while now (though I could be completely wrong as I hardly watch movies) he’s still one of the cities favourite sons. Now adays the theatre hosts opera’s and other popular events.
Plaza de Constitution:
One of the main squares in the city centre. The distinguishing feature about this square is the renaissance styled fountain to the left of the square. Now if I remember correctly my walking tour guide mentioned that the fountain has travelled the world more than most of the city’s citizens. It was built in Italy and later shipped to Malaga, however during the first voyage the ship was attacked and the fountain was lost. It was then re-commissioned and ship again to its final destination. Now if anyone goes on the walking tour, please feel free to comment so that I have the story right! I tried googling the history but couldn’t get anything!
http://www.panchotours.com/tour/7/malaga.php
Magaluetta Beach
The City’s local beach. Not the cleanest beach, as the sand is quite dirty but hey a beach’s a beach. Don’t be surprised if you see more flesh than you would at the beaches back home as female beach goers tend to sunbake “euro style” (tops off)
There also a pier on near Magueletta beach which has high street fashion shops as well as quality restaurants to view the sunset.
Malaga is often a forgotten destination as it is the gateway to other popular tourist destinations such as Marbella, Torremolinos and Granada. It’s a town where you can relax, enjoy some good food, weather and mix in and amongst the local crowd. Once again Spain has another city that I would happily come back to!
JD
San Sebastian, Spain
Known for: Tapas (pintxos), Real sociedad,
Ola from San Sebastian’s Spain situated in the north east of España which also extremely close to the French border (as many people fly to the nearby town of Biarritz and then catch a bus toward the township).
FOOD / PINXTOS
The main attraction of San Sebastian is the food, the town has several Michelin starred restaurants however budget constraints did not allow me to scope out those restaurants this time round. I instead checked out the numerous pintxos bars (tapas bar) and gorged myself on snack sized dishes of culinary perfection. One thing I can say about Spanish food is that it is very diverse. They have a vast variety of food options on their menus, including fresh seafood, chicken & beef kebabs and foie gras.
Some of the ‘signature pintxos’ from the area included mushroom risotto, beef steak (tender and juicy) and a simple yet sublime calamari dish.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling at the end of each meal after having stuffed your face with as much food as you can, but I’m sure my taste buds were loving it at the time! Even the solo traveler would love this concept as they would be able to sample numerous dishes without filling up too quickly.
Drink sizes follow suit and are ample amount to give you a flavour for the local drinks without overdoing it too. The pintxos staff work up quite a sweat serving loads of customers streaming constantly, but they manage to get to everyone in a speedy and efficient manner which is a spectacle in itself and they do it with a smile on their face the whole time.
MORE THAN JUST FOOD
By some stroke of luck, that weekend the town was holding a music and culture festival where various performances “popped up” throughout the town, ranging from reggae to big band to even a full on opera performance(which I checked out for the first act and left because I was falling asleep lol). It’s great to see that live music is well alive and was very grateful to have experienced it during my stay.
SUN AND SURF
Part of me was really looking forward to some sun, surf and sand. After booking this trip well in advance (6 months!) I was hopeful that I’d return to London looking like a bronzed Korean pop star.
I’ve realised that as an Australian I have never ever surfed. Don’t get me wrong I love the water (after all I’m an Aquarius) and a good beach, however back in oz the closest surf beach was over 2-3 hours away so it’s one of those things I put off till later…. Sadly it will have to wait a little longer. While the town has one of the most scenic bays and surf beach within a 5 minute walk of each other, the weather was not on our side this time round. San Sebastián is renowned for its surf scene and pro surfers pass through the town fairly regularly.
La Concha bay is one of the prettiest bays I’ve ever seen, I could only imagine a populated sand shore on a hot summers day, with the aqua waters crashing softly whilst sun bathers lay there trying to achieve their perfect tan. There are also other H2O related activities (when the sun is out) jet skis, kayaking etc.
If the weather is not so great whilst you are travelling to San Sebastian I HIGHLY recommend paying a visit to the only spa and relaxation centre in the town called La perla.
This unique spa centre offers the usual gym and spa facilities you would expect from a decent establishment, however they differentiate themselves but having salt water spa pools and a salt water ice bath as well. They have different pools which have spa jets targeting different areas of your body. It also backs on to the beach, so if you feel like taking a refreshing dive into the ocean that’s an option too!
A 5 hour pass will set you back about 35 euro…. But it’s worth every cent 🙂
If the weather is on your side I would also recommend hiring a bike to cycle around the town. The city centre (old town etc) can be explored by foot, but to cover the city fringe areas and the various lookout points its far quicker (and easier on your feet if you cycle) just remember . A day’s bike hire is around €15 but you will get to see a lot more this way.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE WALKING:
Mountain Igeldo is the mountain furthest away from the old town and has the better view of the bay and the city, you can take a cable car there or sweat it out like we did and walk up the hill lol.
There is also a dated theme park atop of the mountain. And by dated I mean 1990’s
Monte Urgull Closer to the old a 20 min hike a castle awaits at the top, a steep and scenic walk, although views are blocked by the treetops, but a good way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the ever so busy old town.
BLOOPERS
With every trip I encounter my fair share of bloopers, luckily this trip they were all concentrated in the first few hours of me being there!
Faulty GPS (again) this time the gps on my phone told me we were roughly three kilometres from our hotel. So why not take a cab…. Off we went, loaded our bags, “Hotel Silken please” I asked in my best Spanglish accent.
The driver gave me an confused/irritated look and pointed to the building 20 meters to the right of the taxi and began unloading our bag lol with this I sheepishly retrieved my bag and laughed all the way to the reception of the hotel. In the picture the hotel is the building just behind the buses!
- After successfully finding the hotel we grabbed a quick bite to eat from the pinxtos bar across the road from our hotel and the bus station. We finished our meals and paid for the delicious food. I strangely however thought it was okay to leaving the premises and take my drink and the glass with me lol… luckily my mate Kevin reminded me that I may have to return it to its rightful owner.
- Lastly somehow I managed to lose my camera charger somewhere along the way. I searched high and low but to no avail, but back in London I ordered a new one (original!) online conveniently, The only supplier of original canon chargers online hail from…. Spain how ironic!
Gracias San Sebastian for your delectable pintxos, picture perfect beach and musically talented citizens, this has been one of my most enjoyable and relaxing trips in a while and a destination I would most definitely visit again.
JD
The JD Chronicles 