July 24 Cinque Terre

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Situated on the Ligurian coast, a culmination of the beautiful sea and steep rugged cliffs. We mainly hiked around and spent time in 3 of the 5 towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia

Vernazza, viewed from Sentiero Azzuro (Blue Trail) - approaching from Monterosso

Vernazza again, from a different angle - leaving towards Corniglia

We mainly chose to visit Cinque Terre, since it had sub-100 degree Fahrenheit weather. So I was expecting the hiking to be pretty cool and easy. However, it was definitely humid and throughout the hike, I was constantly wiping my face with the back of my hand to keep my eyes from stinging from salty sweat. I was also not expected the steep elevation; a lot of the hiking consisted of going up and down irregular and sometimes slippery stairs.

Monterosso from afar. Lots of rocks and grapes (?) on the hike

It was pretty sweaty and kinda warm (at least compared to Florence the day before).

After a relatively long bathroom break in Vernazza and pushing through the hike, we refreshed and refueled ourselves in Corniglia.

ALBERTO GELATARIA
Lemon Basil Granita - made with lemons from the region, though the lemon flavor wasn't too different. Definitely icier than the Sicilian granita I had in Milan. Basil helps mellow out lemon flavor and bring another dimension of sweetness. 


DAI LUCA
Panino with anchovies, goat cheese, zucchini, basil - multigrain bread! anchovies were too salty - I liked the way they prepared it in Naples best


Then we returned to Monterosso by train, where we just sat by the beach. We also got some gelato, though I had thought I wouldn't get any.

GELATERIA LA SCOGLIERA
- Mascarpone with caramel and walnuts - dairy with a nice mild sweetness!
- Tiramisu - lots of milky flavor, not too strong coffee

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