I got lucky and won the office-mate lottery; for the last year I’ve shared my office with a friendly Italian whose parents happen to have a summer home near Cinqueterre in north-west Italy which (in my opinion) is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been on my travels. The original “Cinqueterre” (or “five lands”) consists of five villages perched on steep terrain near the Mediterranean Sea The first time I was in Cinqueterre was over ten years ago on my first solo trip to Europe and I vowed to somehow make it back. One long weekend, a cramped 8 hour ride each way with five adults in a Panda, beautiful weather, delicious Italian cuisine, swimming in the sea every day and some hiking made it a successful return to the Italian province of Liguria.
Our own deserted black-sand beach within walking distance of the house.
House by the sea
The header picture is a view of the town of Vernazza from above. We hiked down into town and this is the view from ground level.
More Vernazza. The surrounding steep terrain means real estate is at a premium and the cemetery stacks coffins on top of one another:
Funny rocks on every rooftop. I never figured out if they were simply decorative or had an actual purpose.
Sign for the authentic restaurant we ate at one night.
Five people and four nationalities (although the two Italians claim Northern and Southern Italy might just as well count as two separate countries). In this photo we have Northern Italy, Turkey, South Korea and Canada represented. If you think this might have led to some cultural misunderstandings over the weekend you would be right…;)
A light lunch of delicious Italian foccacia
Enjoying the Italian espresso
Mermaid at Framura harbour
