Vernazza

As luck would have it, after wrapping up the language course in Nice, I was able to take a week of "real" vacation, and spent it in Italy -- pretty much my favorite country in the world, at least if you are there purely to eat and explore.  I had previously flown through most of Italy's major cities during a college backpacking trip, so this time was grateful to take a more relaxed approach and focus on seeing the Cinque Terre -- five beautiful, tiny towns terraced into the earth by the coast of the Ligurian Sea.

We used Vernazza as a home base, which we felt was a great decision.  All the towns have outrageous charm and beauty, but I'd argue Vernazza is the most picturesque, and it cleared out for quiet, lovely evenings despite the hordes of day-trippers that poured in each morning by train.  Eating dinner down by the harbor each night was a delight -- no doubt helped by amazing company ... and the ability to split a bottle of wine without a care in the world about driving home or waking up at any appointed hour the next day!

This was the view from the window of our room, with the morning sky.  I have to pinch myself to remember it was real.

The entire town, stretching out towards the sea.  Vernazza is the only town among the five to have a natural, protected harbor, which you can see on the right.

Looking back on the town and the terraced hill sides behind it.

From the top of Vernazza's castle, looking south along the sea.