Cinque Terre Walk along the Ligurian Coast of Italy: November

From Switzerland we drove through the ever-glorious alps, robed in Autumn colors, right down to the balmy Mediterranean Sea. We stayed one night in Levanto, a small town in Liguria, Italy, where the famed Cinque Terre walk begins. Zoe was giddy with finally making it to Italy, being on the sea again, a new language, new delicious food, long windows with shutters that opened onto colorful village streets.

We walked for three days along the coast, from tiny village to tiny village, among olive groves, rows of vineyards with grape leaves turning golden or rust colored, all just over the super sparkling sea. Cinque Terre is a national park and UNESCO sight, containing five small villages and the farmed coastline and lots of old trails. These days it is fairly touristed, but we managed to avoid the crowds by our low season November arrival, and by taking some of the inland tracks that veer straight up into the hill towns.

This part of Italy was truly magical. The sun was warm, the air dry and earth baked, I was astounded by the amount of smells always being released into the air.

It was also warm enough to swim one day, which we were thrilled about. We met some nice people, stayed in the small villages and were amazed by how much food Italians eat. We were reticent to leave this special place.