Honeymoon Part II | Cinque Terre, Italy
Cinque Terre, which quite literally means “five lands” is a string of colorful, coastal villages that are centuries-old.
The minute I saw photos of this place, I had to visit. When I mentioned Italy to Meghan, who’s wedding I photographed this past June, she could barely contain her excitement! Her family is actually from Italy and her now husband, TJ proposed to her in Cinque Terre! As if my own intense need to visit this place wasn’t enough, seeing her excitement about us visiting this beautiful corner of the country confirmed it; we had to go.
Out of the five towns, we chose to stay in Vernazza; a small town made up of one main street lined with colorful buildings, beautiful rocky beaches, and a pier full of little boats that are never in one place for very long.
Staying in Vernazza was my favorite part of our honeymoon. Partly because it was the first place we were able to hang out in for several days, but also because the best gelato was just outside our door. Cinque Terre was such a unique place.
Every afternoon ended with us sitting on the pier, eating gelato together, and watching the sunset over the water while sailboats floating across the horizon.
It was complete bliss.
Vernazza sits right on the water, which subjected it to pirate attacks around the 15th century. The locals would flee and seek refuge at the church at the top of the mountain while the pirates raided the villages. After our airbnb host told us this, we knew we wanted to hike to the top.
After walking up the narrow stone staircase before we reached the church, we stumbled upon the town’s cemetery. Their were graves dated all the way from the 1800’s, and as recent as the last couple of years. It was really cool (and maybe slightly morbid?) to see the history of this place and the locals that called it home. (Also, not gonna lie, as far as final resting places go….this one is at the top of the list. Like… how can you beat that view!?)
One of my favorite parts of our time in Cinque Terre was swimming in the Mediterranean sea. I don’t know why, but there’s something magical to me about stepping foot in an ocean you haven’t seen before that never gets old. Before I knew it I was waste deep in the crystal clear water taking in the vast, blue stillness that stretched on forever. Mike sat on the rocky coast looking up from his book every once in a while to take in the view. The water was too cold for him, but I secretly loved looking back to the coast as I floated around to see him grinning back at me from behind his book.
Contax G2 + Hasselblad Xpan / Ektar 100
Fuji XT-2
