Cinque Terre Italy was always on our bucket list. What a beautiful destination. We arrived by plane into Milan. With only a short stay in Milan, we were able to take in The Last Supper Painting, Duomo di Milano and The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a great (expensive) place to shop. We traveled by train to Cinque Terre, arriving in Monterossa. We had rented a beautiful two-bedroom apartment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea through VRBO. The apartment was beautiful but the 140+ stairs up the mountainside to it, let me say just about killed me, I made sure I didn’t go up and down them too many times a day. All 5 of the cities are easy to get to by a train and the train runs every 20-30 minutes, all day long. The train ride between each city is only 4-6 minutes long. You can buy a 1 day Cinque Terre Card which depending on the season runs approximately 8-13 euros per person. Each city is beautiful overlooking the Mediterranean. We wondered and shopped in each city stopping for lunch in Manarola at Nessun Dorma Restaurant that sat high above the city overlooking the Marina, it was absolutely stunning. If you are more adventurous you can walk/hike between the 5 cities on the trail, as there are no cars in Cinque Terre area. Once we were ready to leave, we went by train again back to Milan and on to Strasbourg France. We stayed in a beautiful part of Strasbourg know as Petit France in the heart of old town in the Pavillon Regent Petit France Hotel. A beautiful hotel situated right on the river/canal that runs through the city. We continued on our journey once again by train to Colmar, renting a car and heading to Kayserberg, one of the many small villages that dot the map in the Alsace region. Kayserberg is also on the famed Alsace Wine Route. What a quaint little village, it looks like it is right out of a fairy tale. We even walked up the mountain to the Kayserberg Castle to view the city down below. We drove around and explored all the neighboring villages, each as cute as the last. We sat in the outside cafes enjoying conversations with the locals and tourists. We topped off our trip back in Colmar staying at the Domaine Martin JUND, Grands Vins d’Alsace an Alsacian house from the 16th century located in the heart of the city an old winery turned bed and breakfast. Cecile and Myriam were great hosts. The Colmar Easter Market was going on so we took part in the festivities. When it was time to return home, we took a beautiful train ride from Colmar to Zurich Switzerland, enjoying the beautiful scenery the whole way.
