Vernazza, Italy - In the heart of Cinque Terre

It was up and out and on the train first thing in the morning.  We bid a fond farewell to our gracious hosts at the Hotel Astoria.  Sara so kindly offered to call our accommodations in Vernazza for us and let the manager know we were leaving on the 10:15 train.  This was fantastic because we were renting an apartment and we were not 100% sure exactly how to find the manager.  We picked  La Perla delle 5 Terre based on Kristen's advise from the In Italy website.  We were thrilled that Sara called for us, because the manager, Alejandra, met us at the train station and escorted us to our apartment.   I am sure we could have found the office, but never the apartment!

So here is the deal with Vernazza and places to sleep -- you are not going to find hotels here, at least not what you are thinking of.  What you have to choose from is rooms, apartments & Hostels. If you are making this trip between May - September, it is advised in most travel books, forums, websites & blogs, for you to reserve something in advance.  Other times you can show up and just look for a place.  We were traveling the last week of May/1st week of June 2013.  We reserved a two-bedroom apartment

The other thing you need to know is to be prepared for stairs.  To get anywhere except for the main drag - you will be going up stairs.  There were 5 flights of stairs to get to the apartment!

Up from street level

Then around the corner

then a smaller set of stairs

The stairs in the building

Can you imagine going up all these stairs with a heavy suitcase?  No way if you are not used to stairs like this.  My advise about Vernazza is this -- stay there if you can.  It is lovely and there is nothing quite like staying in the heart of Cinque Terre.  We fully enjoyed our 3 days there.  It is nice to be there in the evening when a lot of the day trippers have left.  However, if you think these stairs might be too much for you -- you can still enjoy Vernazza and The Cinque Terre.  Stay in Monterosso or Riomaggiore.  Those are the two towns on either end of The Cinque Terre.  They are larger and have more options for places to stay.  Then you just take the train to Vernazza and spend the day.  One more thing about our accommodations -  here is what we got for all that climbing:

 It was a 2 bedroom apartment, with a lovely large bathroom with all modern fixtures, and large kitchen & dinning area.  One bedroom had a king bed and the other had a twin + a roll away if you needed it.  It was nice to have the kitchen as we were able to purchase provisions for Breakfast - thus saving us at least one trip up & down the stairs!

Once we got settled in we started to explore Vernazza - our home for three days!   We walked down to the harbor and found a restaurant for lunch.  Ristorante al Castello, it was right on the Harbor breakwater, we were very hungry by this point and the Pizza looked fresh & fast - the restaurant was crowded but we got our food quickly.  The Pizza is just want you want - thin crust, great sauce, just enough cheese and on mine some fresh Pesto!  We enjoyed dinning here and it allowed us a chance to take in the beautiful harbor views.  Most of the boats were stacked up on the square as the water was too rough for fishing or even the ferry to come it. But it was a sunny day and the view, spectacular, charming waterfront!

Vernazza's water front - this picture was taken from where we were sitting in the restaurant.

After lunch we explored the town.  The shops are small locally owned.  There us a COOP to by food for your apartment if you like.  It is fascinating to walk the streets and see how far Vernazza has come back from the flood there in 2011.  If you had not heard the story, in 2011 there was a huge storm and Vernazza was buried in 13 feet of mud.  Most buildings had their first floors completely full of mud and water.  We happened upon a small shop called 'Storie in Italy'.  An artist and his American wife own the place.  They started a non-profit called 'Save Vernazza' to help collect donations to do repairs.  The shop has his works of art + jewelry in it.  A great place to learn more about the flood and buy a unique one of a kind piece of jewelry that will remind you of Cinque Terre always

 That takes us up to dinner time, and you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear all about our adventure with the Cannoli Brothers at the Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre!  Great food and fun 'entertainment' from the twin brothers that own the joint!

Buona notte e sogni
Good night and pleasant dreams