Vernazza

Cinque Terre is made up of five beautiful towns wedged into rugged bays along the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Portofino. Vernazza is the second most northern town and Rick Steves favorite so, of course, that's where we stayed!

On the train from Milan to Vernazza, we met some people who showed us a recent magazine article about mudslides that occurred in this area last October. Vernazza was deluged with mud when a rainstorm caused catastrophic mudslides. The magazine showed before and after shots. Somehow they have cleaned it up and there were back in business - there is only one steep road that runs through this town. There were signs of the mudslide all over, with construction and repair crews working in areas, gouged out sections along the river sides, and a large board of photos. Still, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Walking along the pier and looking back at Vernazza. Our hotel was on the
third floor of the red building in the center of photo.

Watching the sun set over the Mediterranean from a seaside cafe.

Photo taken by couple we met at the cafe.

I just googled images of the Vernazza mudslide. Click here if you're interested.