Easter weekend in Cinque Terre

Easter weekend is a big event in Europe, everyone has a 4 day weekend for the holiday and there is a mass migration across country borders in search of the perfect weekend getaway.  We decided to drive to Cinque Terre for the weekend, it is only a 5 hour drive away from Geneva and we had never been to this part of Italy before.

We arrived in Monterosso late Friday night after driving in the dark and fog through some of the scariest roads I think I've ever driven on.  Unfortunately it poured all day Saturday, which was actually a bit scary after hearing so many stories about the devastation that a severe storm brought to this area on October 25, 2011.  On this date in 2011, the towns of Monterosso and Vernazza were devastated by mudslides and flash flooding. The towns were buried in mud, a dozen people died, and it took the village over a year to dig out and restore all of the buildings (in fact, Summer 2013 is the first tourist season that the locals feel that the towns are fully restored and ready to welcome visitors again). Thankfully nothing serious happened after the storm we experienced and we looked forward to exploring on Sunday. We woke up to sunny skies and beautiful temperatures the next day so we decided to take a late morning hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. The tourism office told us it would only be a 2.5 relatively easy hike.  It turned out to be a 5 hour, very difficult hike UP an entire mountain, across, and then DOWN an entire mountain. The bright side: amazingly, beautiful views that Cinque Terre is known for and a delicious Italian lunch next to the sea as our reward for finishing.  What a gorgeous region.  The town of Vernazza was our favorite, we decided it was one of the top 5 picturesque towns we have visited, with rocky vistas, crashing seas, tiny alleys, pastel colored buildings, and wine terraces that cling to the mountains.  All said and done, it was a relaxing weekend in a gorgeous destination with delicious Italian food :)  Here are some pictures (and a video in which I quickly compiled some video clips) from the weekend.

Stormy beginnings on Saturday

Rainbow after the storm

Sunny skies and an Italian flag flying on Sunday morning looking down the coastline, each valley contains one of the Cinque Terre villages

At the top of the mountain on our hike, overlooking Monterroso (the town where our hike started!)

Overlooking the idyllic town of Vernazza

View from the top of a restaurant in Vernazza

A beautiful Easter reminder

Cinque Terre local specialties, pesto gnocchi and mussels

The village of Vernazza and the surrounding wine terraces

Having a glass of wine in the village square to soak in the sunshine

My recommendations for Cinque Terre:

EAT: Ristorante Miky, slightly fancier than other restaurants, delicious seafood, fantastic service and wait staff. You must try Ristorante Via Venti and the pear/gorgonzola pasta there, it was HEAVENLY!
STAY: Hotel Villa Adriana, it was basic, clean and well located in Monterosso del Mare
PLAY: Hike trail #8 from Monterosso to Vernazza, but beware that this is a long and sweaty hike. If trail #2 is opened again, this one is preferable and much easier.