my favorite part of cinque terre (monterosso)

cinque terre, which means “five lands” in italian, is made up of – you guessed it – five little villages: monterosso, vernazza, corniglia, manarola, and riomaggiore.  monterosso is my favorite of the five; the beach there might be my favorite beach i’ve ever visited. 

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kaitlyn and i enjoyed dining at my favorite beachside restaurant and people-watching the life guards and swimmers below.

one thing that always catches me off guard about italian beaches (or really european beaches in general):  you’ll see topless women in their 60s (or older) and very old men wearing revealing speedos.

you have to pay to rent an umbrella and chairs.  it’s worth it, though!  there’s no time limit, which is especially useful if you stay at the beach from sun up ‘til sun down (what i recommend doing).

fun fact: i’ve been to this restaurant every time i’ve been to cinque terre, and have even had the same waiter every time, too!  i’ve also ordered the same meal every time, as well…

you can rent a little wooden stall to lock your belongings in while you swim.  we tried to get a photo of us using the self-timer, setting my camera on a shelf inside the stall, only to realize my wet hair had dripped all over the camera, temporarily blurring the lens and giving kaitlyn a very original “no neck” look.

we ate a lot, swam a lot, and drank a lot of water.  by the end of the day, we were exhausted, but in the best way possible.  i wish i could re-live this day tomorrow!

we took the night train back to our hostel, ready to see the rest of cinque terre in the morning.

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p.s. for the lomography fish-eye version of another trip to monterosso, click here.