Confessions of a FOMOist

Since we had hired a car to get around Florence and neighbouring cities, we wanted to make the most of it by driving all the way to La Spezia to start our 5-day break at the UNESCO World Heritage National Park – Cinque Terre.

Rather than write about this one, I am going to make it more of a photo blog with pictures from the villages we visited, but before I get into it, here are a few things that may come in handy for anyone planning a trip.

We stayed at Monterosso which has an old town and a new part. Since it was 6 of us, we needed a bigger place but if I was to visit again, I’d prefer staying in one of the other smaller villages. Monterosso al Mare is very resort-esque for my taste.

Monterosso al Mare has the largest beach and majority of it is private. Since I refuse to pay to go to the beach, we always managed to spread our towel on the tiniest patch of pebbles (yes they are all pebble beaches).

When buying a ticket, you can either buy a one way ticket to one village only for €4 or get a day pass for €16. The day pass allows unlimited travel, including hiking, till midnight.

Finally, another accommodation related story. So we booked our accommodation in February and the description and the pictures showed a beach front apartment with a seaview. When we got there, it had the view of neighbouring walls and windows of other apartments. We complained and were given a refund but as soon as the lady left after check-in, the AC stopped working. When asked for a replacement or further compensation, both the provider and www.booking.com refused to cooperate. Imagine trying to sleep in 28+ degree celsius, with all windows shut (to keep the mosquitoes out) and 5 others. It ain’t pretty. So after lots of fruitless calls, we decided to leave the apartment in a state. I have never done it before but the feeling of swinging garbage and stale pasta around the apartment is exhilarating like you wouldn’t believe!