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
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Known for: Towns on cliff faces, Breath-taking scenery, Crazy drivers, Tasty food
This week sees me travel to Italy for the second time this year, but this time to the Amalfi Coast. For those not too familiar with the area, you may have heard of famous volcano – Mt Vesuvius and the nearby town of Pompeii which was covered in ash/molten rock in 79AD I believe? Basically the Amalfi coast is a spectacular coast line which starts in the quaint and friendly town of Positano, and stretches all the way passes several towns and finishes in the urban streets of Salerno.
Pompeii and Sorrento:
After catching the “red eye” flight, the first flight of the day that leaves London at 6am I arrived a few hours in the 3rd largest Italian city in Naples. Unfortunately due to time constraints I chose to skip this town and head straight toward Pompeii. Traveling with my friend and his sister we backed our Asian driving skills and equipped ourselves with a car (The good ‘ol trusty fiat) and a gps in search of Pompeii.
Lesson learnt: Italian drivers are crrazzzzzy drivers!!
After pulling out from the rental hire car spot we were tasked with trying to turn left from the right hand lane. Sure this sounds simple enough for all those countries not in the commonwealth, but for us folk who are used to driving on the left hand side of the road and a right hand drive car, this was especially nerve racking. Let me illustrate
Ideally this is how you should turn left (on the left). In Naples it look more like this (right) lol. The blue car represents the car we were in. Chaos reigns and the bravest individual turns first lol. Eventually, we made it after about 10 minutes giving way to all the crazy Italian drivers and waiting for a clear passage (well as clear as it could be)
Having reached Pompeii about an hour later we explored the ruins of the city. The site itself is humongous and it’s hard to conceive that a prosperous town (it had its own amphitheatre! ) such as Pompeii was decimated in a matter of moments. I would have liked to explored more of the ruins and learnt about the history, but as fate would have it we were on a fairly tight schedule. After a quick 1 hour tour of the site, off we went back toward the first night stop in Sorrento.
50 minutes later we arrived in the vibrant town of Sorrento. The town is predominantly all tourists, as this is the closest port to the popular island of Capri. It is very clean and in most stores you will see the word ‘limoncello’ throughout the town.
Limoncello is a lemon liqueur famous throughout the region and the citrus fruit grown locally. The lemons look like they are on some “fructose steroids”! They are humongous. It is consumed chilled and by chilled I mean the alcohol is stored in the freezer so it is very refreshing on a warm day. Since I have been in London for the past year, 19 degrees is hot in my books!
Unfortunately the hotel we were staying it is quite far away from Sorrento town centre. The GPS to this point had been in great getting us to where we needed to get to, however finding this hotel seemed to be an issue as the GPS would tell us that we had reached the hotel several times however we found ourselves outside abandoned churches and down little streets that just seemed odd.
With each turn the GPS told us to go down, the roads got progressively narrower and narrower until BOOOMMMM…HISSSSSSSSSSs…. “lucky we got the added insurance ey!” I commented at the busted tyre.
I suppose it was a blessing in disguise because after playing charades with a friendly Italian man he informed us that the roads would only get narrower meaning that we would have got stuck sooner or later!
10 mins later and a calm head my friend and I managed to change the tire in quick smart time.
A special shout out to Dad! Thanks for teaching me / forcing me to jack up the car for you on several occasions throughout my teens, it came in very useful this time.
After that hair raising encounter we returned back to the town centre in Sorrento, enjoyed the beautiful sunset, and tucked into some delicious seafood pasta. Not a bad way to end an eventful day.
The Isle of Capri. (Pronounced caar-pree)
Just as a side note I’ve noticed that there seems to be a love affair between Americans and the country of Italy, I haven’t figured out why, but I’ve been told it has something to do with Rick Steves. If anyone knows why please comment, I’m just curious :o)
But I digress, the second day was a full day tour to the island of Capri. The Island of Capri only has if I recall like 13,000 full time residents yet more than 2 million people pass through every year.
One of best known sites of Capri is the blue grotto, where it was said to be Julius Caesar and Tiberius private pool back ancient roman times.
In fact they enjoyed living in Capri so much the Roman empire was ruled from Capri for a period of time. To get into the grotto itself you board a tiny row boat, duck your head and let your boat captain pull you through the entrance. 
Once you are in, the sunlight gives the water this luminous & emerald/sapphire glow which is quite special indeed. If you look carefully you can also see plenty of fish swimming about too.
There is a beautiful lookout point (Monte Solaro) at Anacapri where you take a scenic 15 min chairlift up to the summit and marvel at spectacular views. From the summit you can see the famous Faraglioni – three towering rocks that are on most Capri postcards and tourist campaigns.
The Augustus gardens are also worth checking out and yes there are more beautiful viewpoints to see when you get there. There are a few public beaches about too for those sun lovers. Be careful though as the beaches are pebble beaches! I’ve only listed a few of the places we checked out, but if want to get a little more detailed information about the place I’ve placed the link below. http://www.capri.com/
For such a small island there is so much on offer! A burning question which I forgot to ask was – do capricciosa pizza originate from Capri? I guess I’ll never know lol
Ravello/Positano
Next stop was the charming town of Positano with its every so friendly locals, and labyrinth like streets. This picturequese towns lies on a cliff face is a sight to behold on a clear day. As the sun sets over the mountains the town starts to light up and the panoramic view is simply stunning. The drive into the town is like something out of a movie.
The road is a one way street which takes you from the top of the mountain to the city centre, passing restaurants, shops, mechanics along the way. The road is wide enough for one small European car, and you are so close to the buildings you could quite easily steals someone’s lunch if you put your hand slightly out of the window!
The hotel we stayed at was a charming and welcoming family run establishment. When we arrived we greeted the lady at the desk with the standard “Ciao” and introduced ourselves and mentioned that we had a booking. She smiled warmly and commented “I know, I’ve been expecting you”. Talk about impressive customer service.
One of the towns we stopped off at was the quaint town of Ravello. The main attraction of this town are the two villa’s. We visited the larger of the two (villa Cimbrone) which sits atop yet another cliff face and overlooks the ocean.
Apart from being slightly motion sick on the way to the town, from the sharp turns as a result of my friend thinking he was a rally car driver, it was a great way to start the morning. We stopped off for lunch at an ex-Michelin starred restaurant with a marvellous view. In the afternoon we took to the pebble beach in Positano and sleep the rest of the day away! The relaxing pace of this trip truly was fantastic 
Mt Vesuvius
Only the final day we decided to visit Mt Vesuvius. After an epic 3 hour drive (yes we got lost) traversing through impossible roads, cows and climb
ing the mountainous roads to the top of Vesuvius national park, we thought we had reached the summit. Until we realised we had only reached the entrance to park lol. We then embarked on a hike to the top of the volcano top glimpse into the crater. Apparently this is still the only active volcano in Europe, but is considered dormant, (otherwise we’d be toast!) so its active but not exploding I guess.
It was a bit misty that day which was not ideal, but the crater was huge so it is hard to comprehend what the area would have been like when it was shooting out molten rock.
An action-packed 4 day weekend away to the Amalfi coast was exactly what just what the doctor ordered. There is so much variety and if you cannot find something you enjoy along the way, I’d be very surprise. Amazing food, breath-taking scenery, life threatening traffic, chapters and chapters of history. This could be a few of the reasons as to why the Americans love Italy so much!
JD
Venice, Italy
Destination: Venice, Italy
Other names: Venezia, Queen of the Adriatic,City of Bridges
Notable people: Marco Polo (explorer), Antonio Vivaldi (muso)
Other known associations: Masks, Blinds lol
Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LAPFM3dgag (vivaldi)
Did you know that the city of Venice actually sits within a lagoon? It is made up of roughly 120 islands and to manage your way across the various pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that is ‘Venezia’, you must navigate one the 400 odd bridges that be found within the city. Now while I come across as extremely worldly person :P, I must admit I have plagiarised these facts from our lovely tour guide on a recent trip to Venice.
Now I have seen many photos and paintings of Venice but it is a very surreal feeling to see the famous city of canals in real life. Visually, it is a city like no other….
The first thing, I noticed about Venice was how few venetians actually reside in the city. Whilst there are many rustic residential homes it feels like a ghost town (in winter at least). It feels like it a grown up “Disneyland” in that it is set up for tourists and is bustling by day, however at night all the locals go home to the nearby town of Mestre. Now this could be Combinations of factors including;
a) Time of year – Apparently in summer it is almost claustrophobic with the amount of people in the city.
b) The fact that it’s a pain in the bum to get home from a big night out as gondoliers only work during the day. The other alternative is a water taxi but no one wants to pay €100 to get home!
c) All those car lovers who refuse to live in a city where they cannot drive their luxurious European cars, as cars are banned.
d) The smell – some parts of Venice city have a very ‘funky’ smell that have you covering your nose and mouth almost immediately.
I found Venice to be a city rich in culture with opera and classical music performances being a major centre piece of the city’s entertainment offering. There are hundreds of little alleyways and shops where you can easily lose yourself. Venetians masks, Casanova hats, Quill pens are among the more popular venetian souvenirs that are sold all over the city.
The iconic gondolas can be seen moving effortlessly almost anywhere throughout the city. Although, I think it is a myth that all gondoliers sing opera, our gondolier instead whistled the Popeye theme song for our 40 min journey,( but was entertaining nonetheless). Rustic and beautiful baroque style churches are fairly common in the city landscape as well.
Most importantly Seafood and traditional Italian food is done so well it is easy to see why this city has been so popular with tourists for decades.
For the coffee lover, it is a well-known fact that Italians are the masters of coffee and the coffee here definitely did not disappoint. We were recommended café del doge by a friend (thanks Anne!) which served the perfect ‘wake-me-up’ cappuccino.
An interesting fact is that during the winter and autumn there is a phenomenon know as high tide where water levels rise and parts of the city begin to flood. To allow people to traverse the labyrinth of passage ways and bridges, planks are strategically placed those common routes tread by tourists.
My good deed this weekend was to piggy back a Singaporean aunty onto one of these planks because my shoes were fairly waterproof and she was stuck….I was also tricked into carrying my 80kg travel buddy as well…only to realise later had we turned the corner we could have easily access the planks. #sorebackfornothing (I’m new to the hashtagging thing so forgive me if it’s wrong!)
5 observations.
1. Seafood is amazingly fresh
2. Almost all the pasta is homemade – delicious
3. Even in winter gelato is still in demand!
4. Tap water is not drinkable
5. Venetian blinds are not commonly found in Venice!
A city like no other and one that would suit the hopeless romantic and curious traveler alike with its majestic buildings with hundreds of canals and bridges scattered throughout this stunning city.
JD
The JD Chronicles 