Where to Stay - Italy and Greece

Lodging can certainly make or break a trip in terms of budget. And while we knew we couldn't afford top of the line everywhere we went (budget-savvy travelers!), we also didn't want to stay somewhere that was unsafe or unsanitary.

When it came to booking lodging for Italy and Greece, the planner in me started looking immediately after we had our flights booked. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to get a better feel of what it would cost in case we needed to budget more money, and next, I figured if we found a good deal, we should snag it before it was gone!

Our front door - Room 110

First up was Santorini, for no other reason except we knew we would splurge here. I had been eyeing a hotel for quite some time, but when it came to actually booking it, the price for one night was our budget for three, so back to the drawing board! I knew in Santorini that I wanted to stay in the neighborhood of Oia, and try to stay in a cave hotel. With our small budget, this gave us limited options, but we found a great place in the Residence Suites. Residence Suites has several sister locations in Santorini, and ours was the most affordable option. As you read from our previous post, though, it was an excellent option because the private patio and view we had of the caldera was worth every penny. This hotel does not have a pool, but does have a hot tub and a cold water tub (their version of the pool). They also do not have a restaurant, but we didn't mind, it gave us a reason to go exploring. 

Sunrise from our patio

Be prepared with Residence Suites, there is no formal front desk, you have to check in at the bus stop. This did not bother us, but I read several complaints online prior, mainly because people weren't aware. As long as you know, then no worries. If you stay at this hotel and book online with them directly, you can also get a complimentary shuttle from the airport. To get our room, ask for room 110 - you won't regret it!

Would we stay here again? Absolutely! But to mix things up we would probably try somewhere new. This was our take on it: By staying in Oia, we could explore in the morning without the crazy crowds and enjoy it. Plus, we had easy access to Ammoudi Bay, beautiful sunsets, the domes, etc. Now that we've been, we would probably stay in a neighborhood like Imergovli where we can enjoy sunsets from our hotel room, and ATV over to Oia. As long as you prepare yourself for crowds, you can't go wrong!

In Athens, we just felt like AirBnb was the way to go. When looking online, I found the cutest place that had a private rooftop patio (yes, please!), called island in the sky. When I showed it to Bryan, he fell in love and started looking at the neighborhood, Koukaki. Turns out, AirBnb named this neighborhood as one of the top five in the world! Well, this just sold us on it and the price was great! What was interesting about this place is that it was the only room on the 6th floor, which is why we had a private rooftop patio. We would take the elevator up five floors, and walk up one (small) flight of stairs to the top. The apartment as a whole was fairly small, but again, we're not there to stay in the room! Our hosts were also incredibly accommodating and were quick to answer any questions we had! Such a peaceful way to end our trip! Would we stay in Koukaki again? Maybe. While the neighborhood was adorable and had incredible food, we weren't exactly close to anything in Athens. Not that it takes long to walk, but sometimes it's nice to just pop out to where you need to go!

One last thing to note about Greece lodging - you can't flush the toilet paper! This one threw us off big time. The plumbing is not great, so everywhere we stayed, you had to put the toilet paper in the trash can, not the toilet. I forgot a few times myself, but did my best. Not something you're used to in America!

To search for lodging in Italy, we started with Rome. We went back and forth on what and where to stay here since we knew it would be a very short stay. After some time, we decided to spend a tad more money than we normally would and get a hotel since it would be our first stop after a long day of travelling. The hotel was called Hotel Raffaello. We read through our Frommer's book and the various neighborhoods and landed on Monti. This neighborhood in Rome is a trendy spot in the city, with a lot of great restaurants and night clubs and it just sounded fun to us. It also helped that it was only about a ten minute walk from both the Colosseum (which was our only tour in Rome) and the train station. The hotel offered a car service for a fee, which we happily reserved. They also had a lot of great amenities we could use - including having a bottle of prosecco waiting for us when we arrived. The hotel even had breakfast (for a small cost) which was a great way to start our day! Would we stay here again? Absolutely! And we would definitely go back to that neighborhood!

Breakfast nook at the hotel

Florence was the next city we booked and we knew we wanted something fun since we would be there three nights. We went to AirBnb again and found this great place called, 'Your Happy Home in Florence'. The pictures caught my eye right away, and then because of the price it kept popping up on our radar. It wasn't until, again, we read about the various neighborhoods and realized this one is in Santa Croce. This spot is east of Florence city center and not 'close' to your typical hot spots, but that's exactly why we liked it. Everything in Florence is walkable and the home was off the beaten path, so just perfect for us! We had plenty of space to spread out, only walked up two flights of stairs and the hosts gave us a welcome bottle of wine upon arrival! And quite a few of the places we wanted to visit ended up being in Santa Croce, so you can't beat that! The only downside for us was that several of our tours met at the train or bus station, which is on the opposite end of town. Not exactly convenient, but again, if you know this going into it (which we did) then just enjoy the walk along the way! Would we stay here again? Oh yeah!

The entrance to the hotel

Last up was Turin. This one was a bit tricky because none of our friends had ever been before, and there wasn't much to read about online in terms of neighborhoods. So we did it the old fashioned way. I looked at both AirBnb and online for hotels to find places we liked that were in our budget. After that, I looked at the neighborhoods they were in and if it was close to the train station and picked it from there. We ended up staying at a boutique hotel called Apart Hotel Torino. So boutique that if we didn't get there by 6pm, we couldn't check in. Also, we knew that it was going to be hard to find based on reviews, but we still had trouble. It was only about a 10 minute walk from the train station (yay), but the door looks like a garage door, which you then walk through a courtyard looking thing before going up two flights of stairs for check in. Wow! A little much. But again, this place was beautiful. It was in the neighborhood called San Salvario was we learned is also the trendy new spot to be in! Incredible restaurants within walking distance and so much more. Would we stay here again? Absolutely!

Street view in Turin

With the exception of Florence, every single one of our homes (in Italy and Greece) had its own private balcony or rooftop which was such an extra bonus. And each was in such a fun and trendy neighborhood - we just got lucky with that one - but so fun to experience!

Gotta keep the power on!

Lessons learned in Italy? Our two hotels and their lights are powered by the hotel keys. You cannot have AC or electricity without the key being plugged into the wall. When we landed in Rome and couldn't figure this out, we were tired and cranky. By the time we realized what was happening, we just laughed because it was so absurd! Another lesson, more advice, determine what you want in your lodging location. Are you looking for something away from tourists? Do you want easy access to all of the main sites? Amenities including food, car service, etc? While planning on a budget, it's hard to find all of these so figure out which is most important to help narrow down your final destination!

Athens and the Acropolis

As our bucket list trip was coming to an end, we had one more city to visit – Athens, Greece, the birthplace of philosophy and democracy. (In 1834, Athens became the capital of Greece. There are 4.5 million in Athens and 11 million in the country and has been inhabited for 7,000 years.) Bryan and I both love Greek history – especially mythology – so couldn’t wait for this stop. We had read ahead of time that the city of Athens, minus any day trips FROM the city, could be done in a day. We wanted to make sure we had enough time so planned for two nights. Let me just reiterate what we read ahead of time, Athens can be done in a day. While we loved this city and all the fascinating history, you don’t need more than 24 hours to get it all done.

So, on our last morning in Santorini, we caught a shuttle at the Oia bus terminal which took us to the ferry port. At the port, you can find several shops and restaurants, so while we waited, we had breakfast and watched some of the other boats come in. While we were a bit nervous about boarding the right ship (more to come on this in another blog), we made it fine. As we boarded, we set our bags down on the lowest level, climbed the stairs to the main floor and found our seat. Our ferry would take us about five hours from Santorini to Athens, with a few stops along the way. There was plenty to eat and drink on the ferry also, and they even offered homemade pita gyros. They were delicious!

After arriving in Athens, we had a driver waiting to pick us up who would drive us directly to our AirBnb. We were staying in a neighborhood called, Koukaki. It’s an up and coming neighborhood that AirBnb had voted topfive best neighborhoods in the world! As we drove into town, we discovered our driver lived nearby, so we asked him for some restaurant recommendations. Just outside of our apartment, is a little pedestrian street with a ton of choices; we stopped at one he suggested and had the most delicious (and incredibly cheap!) meal. Following dinner, we walked through the neighborhood and streets, found a cute bar to stop and have a handcrafted cocktail, and then made our way back to the apartment for bed.

The next morning, we slept in a bit before getting up for breakfast and then hitting the road. We had most of the day free so walked through the streets of Athens, winding in and out.

Along our walk, we came across the National Gardens and made our way through it. We discovered that natural areas like this are hard to come by in Athens, so many come to enjoy it. The park was commissioned by Queen Amalia, the first modern Queen of Greece. Just outside of the park is so much history packed in one little block – as is the rest of the city! To the north of the park, is where you can find the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which today only has 15 of the original pillars left. And next to the temple, is Hadrian’s Arch. Hadrian’s Arch was a gift to the city for the completion of Zeus’ Temple. Just south of the Arch, on the corner of the national park is a beautiful statue of Alexander the Great. And if you continue to walk down this road toward the park entrance, you’ll come across a subway terminal. Huh? Why on earth do you think a subway terminal is cool and historic? Turns out, when the city was excavating to build this terminal, they found some ancient ruins of Roman baths. We later learned that when building in Athens, this becomes a regular problem. (Not really a problem since you’re uncovering history, but a bit of a hinderance for architecture.) Many building projects choose not to go underground for fear they will find something and need to pause their project for an archaeological dig. Couple this with the following facts: buildings need to be low for earthquake protection; and no building can be higher than the Acropolis, so it can be seen from every angle of the city. These pieces can create big issues for development. While the Acropolis sits high, it’s not that high, so you won’t find many skyscrapers in Athens. The city must build out. For 4.5 million people. Sheesh!!

From the park, we went on to some of the most famous neighborhoods in Athens. Athens is known for many of its flea markets and shopping districts. Monastiraki being the most famous flea market with shops and shops for blocks lined up. We wandered the streets, admiring the goodies. In Greece, chess and backgammon are very popular. Regularly you will see people playing on the streets, so naturally, we saw backgammon and chess sets being sold all over. Bryan and I have played backgammon from time to time and thought this might be a fun souvenir to bring home. These sets, however, are so ornate and beautiful, they were a bit out of our price range for something we don’t play THAT much. But incredible to see that detail.

Next up, we found our way to a store in Monastiraki called Melissinos, the poet sandal maker. I had read about this store ahead of time – this family has been making custom made sandals for over 100 years. Jackie O made them famous, but celebrities have been

coming here and wearing them for years! We walked into the store and it is so tiny and inconspicuous – which makes it even better. (Just a heads up, if you do want to go here, come fall of 2019 they are changing locations.) You can get a specific pair custom made, or they have several standard types you can choose from. I picked the style I wanted, they asked my size, and from there they fit it to my foot. They measured the leather straps, cut them to size, nailed them into place, gave me care instructions and off we went! I was instructed not to wear them for four hours while the glue dried, but I have gotten good use from them since…..and am wearing them as I type this blog! I highly recommend this stop in Athens…. besides, who doesn’t want a new pair of shoes?!

From our shoe shopping experience, we headed to the next shopping district of Plaka. Again, many more stores to visit and wander in and out of here. But it was here that we stopped and had lunch on a patio, and of course, some more Greek wine.

After lunch, it was time for our tour of the Acropolis. (The term Acropolis means, City on the Edge, and it was built for defense and protection, and to worship the Greek Goddess, Athena.) We met our tour guide at a hotel back near the national park and the bus drove us around the city, giving us a brief history of some of the things I mentioned earlier. Our first

stop was the Panthaeonic stadium. To be honest, we had kind of forgotten about this place, so we were so happy our tour took us by it for a stop. The stadium is the site of the first modern Olympics and was the first major stadium in the entire world to be made from marble. These Olympics were started by a French aristocrat and they took place in April 1896 and lasted for 10 days. The Ancient games were born in Olympia, Greece, in honor of Zeus, which is where the Olympic torch stays lit today. The ancient games were so exclusive that women and slaves weren’t even allowed to watch the games.

From here, we parked at the Acropolis and walked up the steep stairs to the beauty of this hill. The Acropolis has several structures within the area that you are allowed to walk and view, the most famous being the Parthenon (made of 70,000 individual pieces). We learned that the Parthenon is the most copied structure in the world and what was fun for us is that we have seen one of the copies; a few years prior, we were able to see the replica that is in Nashville, Tennessee. The original Parthenon used to have a golden statue of Athena inside, but years and years ago, it was stolen and probably sold for the metal. Today, the Nashville Parthenon is the only one to have replicated what they believe that statue to look like.

Next, we made our way throughout the entire Acropolis and the various structures. Like Florence and the Renaissance Walk, there is so much to see and explore I am going to put them in list form of what we saw. (There are many structures we didn’t have time to explore):

Erechtheion: Temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon; During a battle over the city, Poseidon offered a spring, Athena offered olive tree (which still stands) and the residents wanted the tree, so she ‘won’ the city, therefore the name Athens. You can still see Poseidon’s ‘angry’ trident mark when he struck down because he didn’t win.
Propylaea: The entrance to the main site
Temple of Athena Nike
Odeon of Herodes Atticus: Amphitheater built in 151 AD that has been renovated and still used today
Theatre of Dionysus: Considered to be the world’s first theater
Areopagus: Believed to be the rock where St Paul stood and proclaimed Christianity. Not many converted immediately but overtime they did. Next to this is Ancient Agora, which was the political center of Ancient Athens.

Athena's Olive Tree

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Temple of Athena Nike

That wrapped up our Acropolis tour and soon we were back at our apartment for dinner and bed. The next day we would be heading home and back to Denver. What an incredible two weeks of history, food and fun we had experienced. Where to go next?!

ATV Ridin' Through Santorini

Sunrise from our room

Our next day in Santorini was a free day, to go where the wind blew us. At the recommendation of the hotel staff, we started it by waking up at 5:30 in the morning to eat breakfast and watch the sunrise from our hotel patio. To have that kind of luxury of just stepping outside your door for breakfast, was something we had to take a moment and just let sink in. So beautiful.

Cruising on our ride

After the sunrise, we got a couple more hours of sleep and then went to town where we had reserved an ATV for the day. We thought this would be such a great way to drive around and see the island - and the weather was beautiful for it! Leading up to the trip, I kept checking the weather and was disappointed when it said it would be in the 60s......well, my naivete definitely getting me on that one. 60s in Santorini is what you want! Now I know why you see so much white clothing in Greece, because it is hot and humid! But a sunny day and just what we had hoped for.



From Oia, we drove south for about 30 minutes aiming for the Black Beach. Before getting there, we hit the neighborhood of Vothonas and stopped at the Wine Museum, where we wanted to do a tasting. What we didn't realize with this stop, was all of the wine history that came with it. The museum is actually a cave underground and for 10 euros, you get to go through the museum and four wine tastings. It didn't feel as if the museum was negotiable since that's where you start, and they don't give you wine until you're done.

The museum tour was pretty neat - you learned all about the history of Santorini wine and how it's different from other wine regions. For example, grape vines in Santorini get rolled up on the hill so the grapes can be protected from the wind. While the tour was a different experience, I would have to sum it up by saying it was also a creepy one. The mannequins that were used were a bit odd looking and to be honest, if I were on this tour as a kid, I probably would have been scared! After the tour, we turned in our audio guides in exchange for our wine. Besides white wine, Vinsanto is a wine that you will see quite a bit throughout Greece, a dessert wine. Gotta say guys, all of the wine at this stop was not our cup of tea, especially the Vinsanto. Nevertheless, it was a unique place to check out!

From the Wine Museum, we finished our journey to the Black Beach. Here we found a great restaurant on the beach to enjoy some lunch and the views of the water. The Black Beach got it's name because of the color of the sand. The sand was turned black due to the volcanic rock. After lunch we took a very quick walk on the beach. Very quick, because the sand was HOT! Between the weather and the color of the sand, it heats up quickly. We strolled along the beach a bit more, bought some souvenirs and then headed back to the ATV.

Our next stop was Santo Wines - a must see on your list! The biggest winery on the island, and the most incredible views. This place has a beautiful patio that keeps going and going and going, with no spot having a bad view of the island. At Santo, you can order a wine tasting for either 6, 10 or 16 glasses. We went with the 10, which was big enough to share between the two of us. And then of course, we bought a couple of bottles to bring home. At Santo, come for the wine, stay for the views.

By this point, we were slowly making our way back north and stopped in the town of Fira, the capital of Santorini. Here we needed to pick up our ferry tickets for the next day, but we also wandered the streets. Fira has the most nightlife and activity - in part because of it's central location, but also because the cruise ships dock here. While walking the streets, we saw a spot where you can get a fish pedicure, yup you read that right, so we had to try it. We washed our feet off, then slowly dropped them into a tank with these tiny fish. I'm not even sure the name of them, but they slowly eat at your feet for 15 minutes. Sounds gross, I know, but it was actually really neat. It sort of felt like a small vibration on your foot and they felt very nice and smooth afterward!

From here, we were slowly making our way back to Oia, but we had time for one more winery stop. We saw a sign driving out earlier for a place called, Domaine Sigalas so figured it was worth a stop. You had to be looking for it, because it's a bit off the beaten road so could be hard to find. But once you arrive, there is a beautiful patio and lots of great wine and snack options.

After our glass of wine, we decided to start heading back toward our hotel so we could drop off the ATV and get ready for dinner. We had made reservations in Ammoudi Bay, one of the most famous stops in Santorini, on the northernmost tip of the island. From our hotel, we walked by the Byzantine Castle from yesterday, and then began the journey down the very

steep hill to the bay. Be careful when walking on this, I was in flats, as was another woman and she still slipped and fell! This trail is so pretty because it winds back and forth giving you a beautiful view of Oia and the Bay.......however, you have to keep an eye out for all of the donkey poo. This is one of the trails that is infamous for donkeys providing rides for tourists (we never did it), and at the end of the trail there is a LOT of poo to dodge. Still a cool journey to take, as long as you're aware of that. :)

Our dinner table

We enjoyed our dinner at Ammoudi Tavern, right on the water. Literally, my chair could have fallen in. And following dinner we still had time to see the gorgeous sunset. We chose to walk around the edge of the bay to the road. From here, we could slowly walk up the road and get a 100% unobstructed view of the sunset. Just stunning. Here's our tip for next time: The ATV companies don't care how long you keep the vehicle (lesson learned), so drive the ATV around to this road, bring yourself some wine and even some food, and just sit and enjoy it. Plus, then you have a ride back to your hotel.

After our walk back to the hotel, soaking in the beauty of the city, we were sad to say we were going to have to leave. We still had some time left in the evening, so we grabbed a bottle of prosecco and hit our hotel hot tub. Gotta say, that's a pretty incredible way to end our trip to heaven on earth......

Heaven on Earth.....Santorini

Our next stop on our trip was to Santorini, Greece. You know, that picture you always see of the white caves and blue domes? Yup. That was next. I've always wanted to go to this island and made sure it was a stop on this trip. It took us an entire day to travel from Florence to Santorini, but by the time we arrived, we could get a good night's sleep and start the day early!

Our bungalow

I know I said I was going to do a whole blog post on lodging, and I will, but this hotel, the Residence Suites, deserves an extra shout out. We had our own private patio with stunning views of the caldera (volcano), and we were told that everyone loves our room so much, even folks in the honeymoon suite ask to switch to it! We called it our little bungalow. I'm not sure how we got so lucky, but we'll take it!

The view from our hotel room

We were staying directly in the neighborhood with the blue domes, Oia (pronounced Eee-uh). While there are streets you can drive on here, most of the village is pedestrian streets only, as is a lot of Santorini in general with their small walkways. You see a lot of hotel staff carrying bags for their guests, which is what ours did to show us how to find it. Along the walk he gave us a bit more history about the island. Santorini is the southernmost island of the Cyclades islands, and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.....the entire area we were in used to be one large island, but when a volcano erupted, 60% of it was destroyed, leaving what you see today. As I mentioned above, our hotel room had a stunning view of it. The hotel staff reminded us that the volcano is still active, so if we happened to see smoke coming from it, just get drunk because we weren't getting off the island alive. Ha! 

Byzantine Castle

This village gets really busy at the end of the day because of the famed sunsets in Santorini. So what worked to our favor was to explore in the morning when the crowds were light, and then leave in the afternoon. After having breakfast, we made our way to the furthest edge of the village near the Byzantine Castle. It's a beautiful lookout post that is now mostly ruins, and apparently is THE place to be for the sunset. But truthfully, any view is a good one. The other interesting thing about this stop is it apparently makes everyone an Instagram model. Yup, every person we ran into was posing. Did we get pictures? Of course, but we weren't posing trying to make it perfect. This windy-haired picture is the proof. :)

Just after 1pm, we were due to meet at the post office for our tour pickup. Our friends had told us about a sunset cruise being the favorite thing they did in Greece, so naturally, we had to book it also. The tour came with a pickup and dropoff (thank goodness, because it was on the complete opposite end of the island), and an afternoon and evening of Santorini white wine and freshly made Greek food.

Since we did have a pickup, and we were on the opposite end of the island, that meant we had about 45 minutes in the car with our driver, named George. We took this time to ask him for some Greek language tips. We wanted to be able to properly thank people for their assistance so asked how to say thank you.

Thank you = efcharisto (pronounced eff-har-ees-tow) add po-li for 'very much'

You're welcome = Parakalo (pronounced para-cuh-low)

We were pretty proud of ourselves to walk onto the boat and immediately thank the staff. They were also shocked that we were attempting their language. :)

We boarded the catamaran sailboat with about 16 other people in total, not counting the crew. Our lead guide, Nicolas, gave us a few safety instructions and we were off, immediately with some delicious wine in hand. There are three famous beaches on the island of Santorini - Red, White and Black beach - all named for the color of their sand or rock formations. The first site we went past was the Red Beach - made famous because of the volcanic rock from the caldera. Next up was the White Beach.....named for the beautiful limestone rock surrounding the sand. You can see specks on green throughout the limestone, which is oxidated copper. This beach is recommended as a great place to hang during the day because it was one of the more private beaches on the island.

Following the beaches, we had some time to move along the island and as we did, Nicolas gave us some more history about Santorini. We weren't expecting this as part of the tour, but it was such a great addition to learn more about where we were staying. As I mentioned earlier, the Santorini volcano is still active and the name of it is called Nea Kameni, which is where many tourists boat out to. Nea Kameni and Mount Vesuvius are connected underwater. Nicolas told us that when Vesuvius erupts, Santorini residents can have a sigh of relief because they are in the clear for some time.

Following our lesson on the volcano, we were able to take the boat right up to it and swim in the water if we wanted. It was a little cold for me, so I stayed on the boat, but Bryan jumped in and swam to the hot springs - formed by the volcanic water. He joked that it was more of a warm spring, because the temperature didn't change much, but it was more about the experience than anything. It was also a bit difficult to swim back.....with the heavy salt in the water, the return swim was a bit more difficult for everyone on board.

After the hot springs, we all got to enjoy a delicious meal, made on the spot by our crew. Grilled chicken, pasta, greek salad and tzatziki sauce.......so yummy! And there was so much to go around - we loved it! Following dinner, the crew moved our boat to the final stop, where we would watch the sunset. If you think this couldn't get any better, we were in for a treat. While motoring to our spot - we saw three dolphins swimming next to our boat. It was incredible. We didn't have our camera near us to get a picture, but what a sight to see.

Finally we were ready for the main event, the beautiful sunset. It was fairly cloudy that day, but being from Colorado, we knew that could result in an even more beautiful sunset. We sat on the back of the boat, watched the sun dip behind the clouds, and then peek back at before going down completely. It was simply breathtaking. This was definitely a tour we had been looking forward to for some time, and it did not disappoint. If you ever make the trip to Santorini, this cruise needs to be on your list. You won't regret it. 

The Five Towns: Cinque Terre

Google pictures of Italy, and you'll see the Colosseum, the rolling hills of Tuscany, and the colorful villages of the Cinque Terre. On our last day in Italy, we signed up for a day tour that would pick us up in Florence, drive us the (approximately) two hours to Cinque Terre, tour the villages, and drives us back. We met at the train station in Florence, where we were greeted by two tour guides - Sarah and Stefano. (Sarah and Stefano actually work for a company called Walkabout Tours. Our tour was booked through Viator, and then sourced to them.) These two would be with us for the drive and then split into two groups, with Sarah leading our half. Sarah is a native of Florence and does tours almost every day throughout Tuscany, all starting from Florence.

All along the drive, Sarah and Stefano shared a lot about Cinque Terre as a whole and the sites we were seeing along the way. One of the stories that stuck out to me was driving past the town of Carrara. They pointed out the beautiful mountains and we could see the marble in the mountains - hence the name, Carrara marble. Such a silly a-ha moment for us!

Our new home - ha!

Cinque Terre is the youngest national park of Italy, founded only in 1999, and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Within the park itself, there are actually several small villages, but it is most famous for the five you regularly see photos of, hence the name of the area: Corniglia, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Riomaggiore and Manarola. You can hike between all of the villages, or take the train, depending on your time and interests. With our schedule for the day, we would be doing a little of both. (Driving is strongly discouraged because there is little to no parking in the villages.) Cinque Terre is also a sister site to the Great Wall of China. The reason being, it is said to be true that if you lay out all of the Cinque Terre terraces next to each other, they will stretch as long as the Great Wall. The terraces are necessary for the support structure of the vines and grapes in the region, because of the steepness of the hills. The terraces are so hard to maintain, that the Italian government will actually give you land for free, and you won't have to pay taxes, if you agree to live here and maintain the terraces. So many people move to open a bar or restaurant, because the work is so difficult, that they need to people to help support them. So.....bye! We're packing our bags and moving. :)

Okay fine, maybe not.....yet. But on with the hike! Our first stretch of the trip was hiking from our dropoff point at the peak of the hill, down to the first town of Corniglia. This hike took about an hour and was about 100 meter drop in elevation. It was a really beautiful and peaceful hike, but the last stretch had a steep decline, so be prepared to go slowly so it doesn't hurt your knees.

Seafood appetizer

Following our hike, we had a pre-arranged lunch in Corniglia with locally sourced food. Being right on the coast, seafood is a top meal to eat here. Bryan wasn't brave enough to try it (he went for the meat plate) but I wanted to go with the flow of where we were. The appetizer consisted of a fried anchovy with octopus, clams, mussels and shrimp with potatoes. This was followed by our main course, pesto pasta (which Bryan did eat). Cinque Terre is part of the Ligurian region of Italy, home to pesto. It was so delicious I forgot to snap a photo of it.....does that mean it didn't actually exist?

After lunch, we had about an hour to wander the streets of Corniglia and do what we wanted. Bryan and I explored the town, and then stopped for what else? Gelato. You might have guessed wine, which would have been a good guess also, but this was easier to walk around with. :)

From Corniglia, we took the train to Vernazza where Sarah gave us a few recommendations of things to do. It was here that we went for the wine. We went into a small little shop that offered us a taste of three local wines: Vermentino, Cinque Terre and Sciacchetra (pronounced shakeetara). The latter is a dessert wine that came highly recommended to try......and to try and say. :) The wine tasting took a bit long, so by the time we were done, we had enough time to take a picture of the street of Vernazza and head back to the train.

Next up, Monterosso al Mare! In this town, we had the most free time to do what we wanted. We first followed Sarah as she shared a bit about the history of the town and showed us some highlights. It was here she pointed out a good shop to purchase some pesto to bring back (I wanted some from the region it came from!). There were also some stores that highlighted the fact that we could order some wine to go, so we did. :) We got a glass and walked slowly through town, enjoying the view. It was around this time the weather started picking up and it got windy, but we walked down to the beach anyway to enjoy the sound of the water moving in the wind.

During this trip, we were also supposed to visit the town of Riomaggiore, but that trip was to be made by boat - how fun! Unfortunately, because the wind was so strong, this part of the trip had to be cancelled and we didn't get to visit that town. We kind of expected that ahead of time. In May in Italy, the weather can still be rainy, so just be prepared you can't always do what you plan to!

Our last stop was beautiful Manarola. More than likely, when you see pictures of Cinque Terre, it's this town that you see - but they're all beautiful no matter what! Arriving in Manarola, we climbed to the top of the village through some of the homes, where Sarah shared a bit more about the towns. Apparently, when the homes were built, you had to pick one of eight colors to paint your home and then that was it - you couldn't change the color. That's why it's as beautiful as it is. And back in the day, a fisherman's boat color matched the color of his home. This way, wives could look out on the water and more easily find their husband, and vice versa. And when a husband would see smoke coming from his chimney, he knew it was time to head in because dinner was almost ready.

Beautiful Manarola

The homes were originally built as towers with an entrance in the front and back. This way, if pirates came to town, you could escape out the other door and not run into the pirates. These tower homes have now been split into smaller properties and condos. Want to buy one of these beauties? Don't we all. Minimum price for a property in the Cinque Terre - 1 million euro. Start saving your pennies!

After our lesson on the homes of Manarola, we again had some free time. We walked what's called the Path of Love, which leads outside the city of Manarola into Riomaggiore. Currently, you cannot walk the entire distance between the two cities on this path, but you can get just outside for gorgeous views of the town. The wind had really picked up by this point, so we snapped a quick photo and headed back to town where we enjoyed some glasses of Cinque Terre wine before heading to the train and catching our bus back to Florence.

During our tour, we discovered our guide, Sarah, lived in the neighborhood we stayed in, Santa Croce, so we asked her for some local recommendations on where to stop for a quick bite to eat on the way home. Her suggestion was a place called Il Vivandiere, which serves great small plates. Unfortunately, we had a terrible time trying to find it (imagine that one). We were so tired that we just found a pizza place near the house and called it a night!

We couldn't have imagined a better way to end our time in Italy. If you go, I highly recommend adding this tour to your list and hope you get to enjoy our guide Sarah as much as we did!