My wife turns 40 in March. I'm thinking of taking her to Cinque Terre in Italy (Liguria) for a birthday present. Have any of you ever been there? I hear it's beautiful. Alternatively, I'm thinking Sicily or Provence.
Absolutely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. Can't speak for Sicily or Provence but, go. Go.
yep. pretty much said it all right there... mike, i went there about 5 years ago when it was "becoming" the place to see thanks to rick steves. seemed every other person i met along the way there had his book and was following it word for word. it is amazingly beautiful, the people were so great and i stayed in this random persons home who had a bed availible for the 3 days i was there...it was a great break in my trip around europe for the summer, i used it as a "vacation from the vacation" to recharge...it was the perfect spot for it. go and have a great time.
I'll actually be there the same time since I'll be in Rome all next semester, and my girlfriend (who's Italian) will be with me to see her family, etc.
I just booked airline tickets to Milan. Now I need to book a place to stay. I've used Travel-Italy.com in the past, but they don't have anything in Liguria. Anyone know of nice places to stay?
mike, let me look through my journal tomorrow. i jotted down a few places while i was there that i would have stayed at in the future...you really cannot go wrong
Rick Steves books, and possibly website ricksteves.com, have recommendations for Cinque Terre. I found his suggestions great for travel in Germany, Austria, and France.
mike. basically i followed what i read in my book from rick steve's and went from there. i looked up some stuff and found an on-line article by rick... http://abcnews.go.com/sections/travel/Europhiles/cinque.html damn, i have not checked out info on rick in some time since i have not been many places in europe other than france the past few visits but part of his book is basically on his web site, check it out: Vernazza - this is where i stayed when i was there, it is the largest of the 5 "villages" along the coast. i just found a private room in a house and stayed there, it was so cheap and they offered me food to eat all the time. the little old lady and man were the greatest. i have never purchased his "country specific" books but according to a friend of mine who traveled the year after me and followed his specific book for italy, it had quite a bit more info about the area and places to stay and restaurants to eat at. if you have an questions, let me know. oh yea, last thing <damn i continue to ramble> is that he has a 30 minute show about all sorts of locals, and one of them is "cinque terre: italy's hidden riviera" which is a pretty good little 30 minute show about the area <showing some good hikes, places to stay and beautiful vistas> you can buy the tapes on-line but they air here in columbus on our local PBS station, might wanna check out the listings and see if they air in the d.c. area and try and see that one...
Mike, It's a little drive from the Cinque Terre (don't remember exactly how far, maybe half an hour) - but if that's not a problem, you might want to look into a place called Monte Pù. http://www.montepu.it/ http://www.lanierbb.com/inns/wwbb14043.html http://www.agriturist.it/montepu.htm Stayed there a few years ago, and loved it. The location is absolutely beautiful.
I envy you. Spent a few days there during the summer four years ago (just before heading off to college). Beautiful place with very nice people. Haven't been to Sicily yet, but spent 2 summer holidays in the Provence and loved them as well. But it couldn't beat Cinque Terre (well maybe it had something to do with the light, liberated feeling I had just before going to college as well, but the place certainly left a great impression on me). Remember spending a great day with a girl from Rome called Alessia who was on her way to visiting some family in Milan and spent a day at Cinque Terre on her way over there. Yep, she surely has something to do with my positive feelings towards the place as well... Visited all five villages, but don't remember all five of the names. Do remember the name of my favorite one, Riomagiore (Spelling?). Beautiful little harbor. Oh, and try the seafood in just about any one of the local restaurants in any of the Villages. Best seafood I ever ate (well, maybe a tie with some seafood meals I had in Lisbon, Portugal).
Mike if you want to look at le cinque terre form the satelite http://www.atlanteitaliano.it A little plugin and you will be able to see whole Italy with good definition. You must choose -> cartografia -> "ortophoto" The english version is not yet available but it is under construction. I suggest you and the others interested to put the link in the prefs. At least you'll be able to see Sardinia as if you were flying over it.
My wife and kids actually preferred Porto Venere, just south of Cinque Terre. There is a bit more variety in activities, and the towns were more active. Monterosa was over-run by American college students, but we had a great ocean view. We hiked up and down the coast, and took a boat to Porto Venere. Have a great trip.
I just found out Im going for sure a couple days ago.....4 months in Rome! I can't wait to hit Cinque Terre while I'm there...
Wow! Four months!!!! Congratulations. When are you going? Is it for school or something? If you like history, get yourself a copy of this book - Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide Will you be here during soccer season? Go see a few matches while you're there. I am EXTREMELY jealous.