Spring Break in Cinque Terre and Riva Del Garda

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Cinque Terre and Riva Del Garda—Spring Break



My parents came over to Italy to visit Suzy and I during our spring break!They arrived in Milan on April 16 and we met up with them at Centrale Station. We brought them back to apartment where they dropped off their bags and grabbed some food before giving them a small tour of Milan. Suzy and I brought them to our favorite gelato and panzerotti places and also showed them around the Duomo. We took a tour through the cathedral, and eventually went to the top,near the spires. I had never gone to the top of the cathedral because it cost money lol, so it was something new I hadn’t seen since being here. In the evening, we went to dinner near my apartment, and later planned where we would stay along the Cinque Terre.



The next day, we caught an early morning train to Levanto….the neighboring town to the Cinque Terre..on the Monterrosso side. The Cinque Terre is a national park composed of 5 different towns(Monterrosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manorola, and Rio Maggiore) along the Ligurian Coast. Between each town, there are many ancient walking paths connecting these close villages. We stayed in Levanto for about 4 nights. During this time, we hiked between Levanto and Monterrosso, about a 4 hour hike, and from Monterosso to Vernazza, about a 3 hour hike….they were completed in 2 different days.We took a day off between the designated hiking days, and explored the villages. We started off in Rio Maggiore and gradually made our way back towards Levanto, stopping a different towns along the way. Rio Maggiore is a beautiful village situated between two hills along the sea. In the town, we visited a castle and a beautiful church. The next town we went to was Manorola. This town is literally built up on a cliff, and is probably the most picturesque of all 5 villages. In Manorola, we went spent time hiking up the panoramic view points and exploring some the walking paths surrounding the village.118



After going to the Cinque Terre, we took a train back and prepared to depart to our next destination the following day. On Tuesday morning, we got a train to Peschiere del Garda, and then a bus to Riva Del Garda! We were in Riva for the rest of Spring break. During this time, we took a bike ride through a nearby valley, stopping in several different towns, including Arco and Dro. Another day, we got a ferry to Malcesine, a village also located on Lake Garda. We visited Malcesine’s ancient castle and exlplored the quaint, authentic Italian town. On Friday, we took a walk up to Riva’s waterfall! I had been there before and wanted to show my parents how cool it really was.For the rest of the time, we went on walks around the lake, shopped in the small town, or went out to eat..yay!031 (2)074 (2)

Overall, I had a wonderful Spring Break! Although we only went to two different places  during the 12 day break, I was glad we didn’t push for more traveling…. it can be quite exhausting. The trip was a perfect balance between being relaxing and being an adventure046 (2)!

I must say though, I really wanted to go home with them by the end of the trip…the thought of flying back to the states seemed sooo nice..and still does….I think I might be  traveled out…and home really seems like the place to be now. Hopefully, it’s just a temporary funk and I’ll get my travel bug back!084 (2)


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