We just returned from 20 nights in Italy and Switzerland, which included my husband and me and our two kids (ages 6 and 2). I did consider whether we should cancel, but based on where we went and our activities, we decided to travel and I’m so glad we did. I am going to try my best to post about the trip itself, and then at the end of my recap I will add nuts and bolts about what it was like to travel at this point during the pandemic.
We flew out of Seattle on 8/4 on Lufthansa. Our flight was fairly comfortable, about 3/4 full, but nobody slept much. Upon arriving in Frankfurt, we found out our flight to Pisa was delayed, pushing our layover from almost 4 hours to more than 7 hours. That part was rough since we were so tired at that point, and there was nothing we could do except wait it out. The kids enjoyed the play area at the Frankfurt airport and we did our best to pass the time. Upon arriving in Pisa, we were supposed to catch the train from Pisa to La Spezia and then into Riomaggiore. My husband ended up booking a private transfer to Riomaggiore and it was money well spent. By that point we were all so tired (we landed around 6:15pm in Pisa) that I couldn’t imagine getting to the train station and then waiting for/taking two trains with two tired kids.
Cinque Terre
The drive to Riomaggiore was beautiful and once there, it was easy to get to our apartment (Alla Marina- Atlantis apartment). We really loved staying there. The accommodations were simple but the views were absolutely stunning and we had a lovely terrace with a great view. It had 2 bedrooms (a non-negotiable for us), a small kitchen area, and air conditioning. That night we all showered and had takeout pizza and crashed hard.
I really loved our time in Riomaggiore. This was the first place I ever went to in Europe Iin 1998, so it will always feel special to me. It was a relaxing spot for all of us to start our trip, minus the small hiccup of arriving a bit late. We encountered very few Americans there, though it was decently crowded during the day. Our first day there, we explored the town and let the kids burn off energy at the playground in Riomaggiore.
A highlight of our time in CT was hiking from Corniglia to Monterroso. My husband got an extra workout carrying our toddler in the hiking pack, and my 6 year old hiked the whole way. We absolutely loved stopping for fresh lemon granitas between Corniglia and Vernazza. I was also glad to hike the stretch from Vernazza to Monterroso since that is the only stretch between the 5 towns that I have never hiked before. That stretch was very steep and narrow in places, but the views were amazing. Our reward after a hard hike was an outdoor lunch in Monterosso followed by gelato before we took the train back to Riomaggiore.
We also enjoyed a day at the beach in Bonnasola. We took the train (though someday I’d like to bike from Levanto) and checked with a few lidos (all full) before the third one had two chairs available. We spent a few hours there and our kids love splashing in the waves and playing on the rocky beach. We also grabbed takeaway lunch from the snack bar. After seeing me take pictures of my family, a very kind Italian lady walked over and asked to take some, which was so lovely of her and we had a good chat with her.
On our last night in Riomaggiore, we had a great dinner at La Lampara and I had risotto that was absolutely delicious. We did a lot of takeaway meals so it was nice to sit and have a slower paced meal with a bottle of local wine. We also walked over to the harbor and saw a beautiful sunset—it made me so grateful to be back in Cinque Terre and show my kids a place that is so special to me.
On our final morning, we took one last trip to Panificio Rosi Di Baudinelli Roberta to get pastries and made another stop for cappuccinos, and I savored the cool air and empty streets (street?) of Riomaggiore.