Growing Up: Vacationing Solo

I have always loved being on my own and even living by myself.  I've gone to movies alone, taken day trips alone, moved to new countries alone, but I have never taken a vacation alone.  Since I turn 30 in under a month and will probably be married in a year, I thought it would be a good time to push myself to try vacationing alone.  

Taking my own picture

Cinque Terre from Monterosso

I chose Cinque Terre as the spot.  It's a place I've heard many people talk about and recommend.  Since it's a beach spot, I really wanted to go in nice weather.  So here I am and here’s what I’ve done all by myself.

 My room in Albergo Carugio

I found a hotel in Rick Steves’ Italy guide.  It is called Albergo Carugio.  It is in the town of Monterosso al Mare.  The hotel is very simple and charming; clean and comfortable, but not fancy.  I love that it is in a very quiet area and that the owner is so amazingly friendly and helpful.  His English is great but wanted to help me learn Italian though so spoke that most of the time with me. 

Monterosso

The town of Monterosso was one that was hit hard last fall in the floods that ravaged this area.  Most things have just recently reopened this spring/summer.  It is a charming little town with many restaurants and touristy stores.  I did however find one store that has local delicacies such as pesto, lemoncello, candies, and various other sauces.  The owner claims that they are all made in 5 Terre and after many samples of the sauces, alcohol, and candies, I was enticed to buy some for wedding gifts. They are very tasty.  The special white pesto was my favorite but the tapenade was also very delicious.  I also discovered a mixed berry alcohol that I really enjoyed and have never seen anywhere else. 

Beach in Monterosso

The main attraction in Monterosso is the beach.  There are sandy beaches here.  I spent a wonderful day lounging in the sun, reading, people watching, and playing in the water.  Here however is one of the difficulties of going to the beach alone.  No one is there to watch your stuff.  Since most beaches in Europe seem to be private and charge a fee to be used, the small slices of free beach are always crowed—kind of like sardines (or rather anchovies here—possibly the official fish of 5 Terre) in a can.  The water was warm and a bit rough.  Good waves for jumping.  Hesitant to leave my things alone for too long, I did not stay in the water very long.  Getting lunch was also a bit tricky but I managed to bring a piece of pizza back to my towel. 


This brings me to eating alone.  I was a little worried about eating every meal alone.  It was much easier than I expected however.  My favorite was eating breakfast by myself.  I’m not a morning person so it was nice to wake up gradually at some little café.  One place called Laura’s was fantastic.  They made some delicious doughnut-y thing and had great cappuccinos.  I never thought I would be a coffee drinker but it seems like the thing to do here and somehow cappuccino with chocolate looses that bitter coffee bite.  Eating breakfast outside in the shade with beautiful scenery makes me suddenly understand why Americans fall in love with Italy.  Here, what’s not to love? 


Also I discovered reading while eating.  It is nice because it slows me down.  Eating as a teacher has trained me to eat everything at once and as quickly as possible.  Here I have taken my time.  The meals have not been outstanding (pizza with veggies soaked in vinager-ick!; pancakey type noodles that made me think of something eaten when there are wartime rations, and crème brulee cold in the middle and with way too much lemon flavor!) but I did have one good meal at Cantina di Miky:  Yummy frizzy house wine, tasty bread, excellent spaghetti di mare, but curiously served at the same time as my salad which I could not finish and was disappointed by the abundance of fennel and cabbage.

Via dell'Amour

View on the walk to Manorola

I did not come here to eat only though.  I came for the beach of course but also because I heard that the hiking was beautiful and fun.  My first afternoon here I took a boat to the farthest town away—Riomaggiore.  It was a beautiful ride.  I met some nice recent college grads who were backpacking through Europe as their last hurrah.  It was fun to speak to other Americans.  Walking briefly though Riomaggiore I decided to walk over to Manarola a 1km stroll called Via dell’Amore.  It was a beautiful walk.  Manarola was a cute little village where I bought blackberry gelato.  It was really good and I’m glad I tried it. 

The hard to reach Corniglia

Flood damaged trails made me try another trail

On the advice of some friends, I decided to hike to the next village over, Corniglia.  It is too elevated to be reached by boat so it is accessible only by train and foot.  The hike along the waterfront is closed because of the fall’s flooding.  However there is another trail available—trail 6.  Starting up it, I hiked for a good 20 minutes until I realized that I was not on trail 6.  My friends had said you hike through vineyards.  Indeed I did but it turns out it was only vineyards and a dead end.  Scenic, but not exactly the cute town I saw from the boat.  So I tried again.  This time I found trail 6 but it was a bit overgrown and since I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going and had not seen any other hikers for a while, I decided not to continue on my own.  I went back to Manarola and took the train to Corniglia.  Rick Steves has about 3 pages on this little town and since it was at least a 15 minute hike from the station to the town and the next trains were either in 10 minutes or 1hour 45 minutes, I decided to hop back on the train and get off in Vernazza. 

Vernazza

Vernazza

Steves calls Vernazza, “the jewel of Cinque Terre.”  And indeed it is.  It was a charming town with more like 10 pages in Steves’ guide.  I strolled around and enjoyed the stunning evening light views.  There is a beautiful piazza on the water with a church and breakwater.  There are simply stunning views from different places around town.  The castle was closed as was a higher area due to storm damage.  Having 30 minutes to kill I had a glass of wine at a little restaurant close to the piazza.  Luckily for me a funky jazz trio started playing.  I always love Cole Porter covers and this one did a lot of them.  Adorable families spontaneously started dancing and locals sat in their doorways to listen.  It was quite charming.  Finally I headed home, back to Monterosso. 

Colorful life in Vernazza

Door in Vernazza

Overall, this has been a wonderful trip.  While going solo slightly impeded my water time and hiking, it was totally worth it.  I would have enjoyed company, but the freedom and the heightened attention to details around me made it an unforgettable trip.  Here’s to 30 and lifetime partnership, but here’s to independence too!