The view from above

The next day had us returning to the panoramic vista of Vernazza that concluded our day before, but not before we visited Monterosso. Monterosso is considered to be the beach town of the Cinque Terre, and it's located the furthest away from Riomaggiore. It was great to finally see and experience the town that before I had only seen as a thin strip of lights in the distance. The first part of the day in Monterosso was spent on the beach enjoying the beautiful, partially humid, 80-something degree weather. It was undeniably the largest and most crowded of the the five towns, most likely because of the beach access that just isn't available in the other four. After walking for a short bit around the main area of the town, we set out to the trailhead that would eventually bring us back up to the location we sat drawing the day before. After panting and climbing up the stairs at the initial part of the hike, the rest was actually pretty enjoyable, and before we knew it we were overlooking Vernazza once again. We spent was was left of the afternoon here, and I finished up my drawing. As the sun began to set, we traveled back down the path and once again arrived in Vernazza, only stopping briefly for gelato before catching the train back to Riomaggiore.

 

The sights in Monterosso! In the very first image you can see the crowds of people walking and stopping throughout the street. The picture right above this caption shows the path leading up to the trailhead that we took, and the image below captures the amazing view of the Mediterranean sea once we got on the trail.

So, finally, this was the amazing view of Vernazza that I've been talking about for the last two posts! The colors of both the city and the blue water were so vibrant and absolutely gorgeous in the golden light of the afternoon.

Going back down to Vernazza.