Among the Lemons of the Cinque Terre

Monterosso is definitely the prettiest village of the Cinque Terre; it has everything — shops, a free beach at your disposal, and plenty of restaurants where you can stuff yourself with fish and focaccia. We stayed at a very lovely farmhouse among lemon groves and vineyards; we were given a bottle of Vermentino DOC and one of limoncino. We had a whole apartment to ourselves. We arrived by car because the farmhouse had parking. The first day we settled in, spent a little time on the beach and then, after a shower, had a fish dinner. The next day we got the Cinque Terre Card with the train included and walked the trails all the way to Riomaggiore.

Let's say the first stretch isn't for everyone, and on top of that it was rather slippery because it had rained during the night, but 2 athletes like us aren't put off by so little, and slowly we reached the much-vaunted Via dell'Amore, though I didn't like it: the walls are all covered in graffiti and there isn't much romantic about it — the gallery should be whitewashed. For the return we took the train and went back to the room for a Vermentino aperitif. We devoted the last day to the sea and relaxing on the beach. The Cinque Terre have a wonderful panorama and deserve to be seen.