It took a few train connections to get there, but I started from beyond the northern most point of the Cinque Terre at Levanto. I was a little disappointed (but not surprised) that part of the walking trails were closed due to landslides (have read that this is pretty common) so I actually started hiking from the first village of the five - Monterosso al Mara.
From the first moment you spot the coastline, every vista is like a postcard. Having seen more later on, I can now say that I think Monterosso was the least charming of the villages, but it was still very impressive on arrival. Quite like the French Riviera with wall-to-wall umbrellas for rent on the stone & grey sand beaches.
I only stayed long enough for a bottle of water and then found the path leading south to the second town of Vernazza. The path was pretty busy with people of varying levels of fitness going in both directions, but being so narrow you could only pass at certain points. By late morning it was already getting pretty hot and the path was steep as the trail climbed up the coastal hills, so the breaks to take photos and wait for groups of Germans & Americans to get out of the way were pretty welcome.
The expected time to hike to Vernazza was supposed to be around 3 hours, and it was probably close to that when I came around a bend to this amazing view:
I figured I earned a break so grabbed some seafood and a couple of beers for lunch and then read my book on the rocks for an hour or so and watched the boats come & go.
The next section from Vernazza to Corniglia was supposed to be much flatter (and it was) but it was still pretty hot going and there was a lot less shade. This was kind of a blessing as I think it was too hot for some people, so I had the path to myself for quite a few sections of the roughly 2 hour walk.
Corniglia was the start of the closed section of trail, so I just had a 20 minute walk around (its a very small town) and then jumped on the train to Manarola (where I was booked to stay the night.)
Whatever/whoever told me that Manarola was the place to stay was spot on - from what I saw this town was the pick of the bunch. Steep streets and tall, narrow buildings all built into one fold of a valley. I spend a while walking around the streets and it seemed like every corner here had a great view. I had a feed and a couple of glasses of vino and hit the sack pretty buggered.
My one-day hiking card/train ticket had expired, so thought I would use a different transport mode to get to Riomaggiore (the last of the 5). The ferry was a great way to see the coastline - I just wish the 15 min ride was a little longer.
Riomaggiore was probably my second favourite.
After my taste of the coast, I jumped on the train to spend a few hours in Lucca on the way back to Florence. Lots of people highly recommended Lucca, and it was certainly very serene. Lots of trees growing on top of the old stone city wall (greenery is one thing often missing from these ancient cities) - the wall itself is 10-15 meters wide, and there were loads of locals and tourists riding, running and strolling around it.
It was a pretty sleepy town, and so I think a few hours there was enough to get a taste before heading back to Florence. Arrived just as Gosia was ready to finish up for the day, and right on time for a quick dinner (fat panini & vino) in the late night street food area of Via de Neri.
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