Cinque Terre – Pisa – Florence

We picked up Sophie and Laurel in Milan at the airport. Somehow, we lucked out — there was absolutely nowhere to pull over, but miraculously, we didn’t have anyone behind us. We managed to scoop them up curbside, toss the bags in, and take off without a single horn honk or gesture. Unheard of at a major European airport!

We stopped, of course, for cappuccinos and pastries at the Auto Grill. Sophie could not believe we were stopping at a gas station for them. She is now a believer.

From there, we headed toward our next VRBO rental in Deiva Marina. It was a beautiful drive — rolling hills, tiny stone villages perched on ridgelines, and the occasional glimpse of the sparkling Ligurian Sea. Deiva Marina turned out to be a fantastic choice. The town is quiet, laid-back, and just a short walk from the train station, which made it easy to hop on and off the local trains heading to the Cinque Terre — the famous “Five Lands” — without the chaos of staying right in the middle of it all.

I’m still not able to walk very far, but the train made it possible for us to visit each of the towns. We’d ride in, stroll through the colorful streets, grab a coffee or gelato, and hop back on. Laurel, far more ambitious, took full advantage of the hiking trails between some of the villages, meeting up with us later. Sophie and Laurel spent a full glorious day hiking. Their enjoyment was evident when they regaled us with stories from their day.

One of the highlights was lunch at Nessun Dorma in Manarola. We scored a table with a jaw-dropping view of the pastel houses clinging to the cliffs and the churning turquoise sea below. Even in the pouring rain, it was breathtaking. We sipped our drinks, shared a plate of bruschetta with assorted toppings, and marveled at how magical the town looked despite the adverse conditions.

Back at our rental, the ocean view was absolutely stellar — endless blue stretching all the way to the horizon. Honestly, the view was probably what sold the place. The inside? Well, it’s seen better days. We joked that it was probably state-of-the-art back when CDs were the latest technology. It’s definitely showing its age, but with a view like that, who’s spending much time inside anyway? We spent all our time out on the balcony when the weather allowed it.

We spent 6 magical days there – during that time we explored the Cinque Terre, drove to Pisa and spent a magical afternoon there, took a train to Florence (not the girl’s favorite, to their surprise), explored the adorable town down the road “Moneglia”, took a visit to the ER while the girls attended the “Pesto Experience” at Nessun Dorma – shockingly, every seat in the restaurant was occupied – it is an outdoor restaurant and it was POURING rain that day.

Also, unbelievable, we had no wifi at our Cinque Terre rental. This is an important detail for me to have missed. This is why all six days are crammed into one post. Satisfied that we had done the area justice, we were looking forward to our next area: Vittorio Veneto.

paleremo presto