You won’t find Cinque Terre on a map. Literally translated Cinque Terre means five villages.  These villages are carved into the hillsides in Northern Italy.  There is a hiking trail that connects the villages, and hikers are treated to occasional swimming holes, neat little bridges, and lots of authentic Italian restaurants.  We stayed in the town of Monterosso.

Monterosso is the Northern most town.

The chef and the stray cat exchange glances.

A cat takes a nap in an empty basket.

 Vernazza.  I actually took this picture on one of my previous trips.

Riomaggiore.  

Riomaggiore.  

The beaches in Monterosso.

This was the most relaxing part of our vacation.  It was great not having too many things pre-planned on our trip through Europe.  If you get bored with a city it’s nice to have the freedom to take off and go somewhere new.  If you really enjoy a place, it’s nice not to have to reschedule hotel reservations.  If you have reservations and miss a train or flight, it can really stress you out trying to get back on schedule.