Day 12 - (Tuesday)Cinque Terre and an afternoon train to Milan

This morning, I had planned to hike north along the Ligurian coastline to the villages of Vernazza and Monterosso. After last night's long arduous hike, I decided to just walk about 30 minutes north, take some pics and catch an earlier train to Milan. I'll need 3-5 days to "do" Cinque Terre properly and enjoy the towns at leisure. Why rush? And every muscle in my body hurt from 2.5 hours of steps🤣

Here are the remaining town descriptions and a few internet images, just as an FYI..

Monterosso is the largest town with the most amenities and is relatively flat.

Vernazza is probably the most picturesque and most visited of the 5 towns, with a lovely seaside piazza.

Below are MY photos from this morning's walk.. I didn't purchase a $20 day pass to hike the northern towns so this checkpoint is where I turned around.

Even walls are pretty in Italy!


Concrete repair...from a bucket!









Poppies are everywhere!
The long winding staircase up to Corniglia....at the end of the train platform.

I caught a noon train from Corniglia that passed along the coast, heading north. I changed trains in Genova, the gateway to the Italian Riviera, and it looked quite nice. Once we turned inland towards Milan, the mountains were replaced with flat, green farmland. I arrived in Milan around 4pm. The train station was crowded but beautiful.


I walked 6 blocks or so to my accommodations. The building was probably over 100 years old, but so charming with a nice garden and rooftop view out my 4th floor window. Yes, there was an elevator ;) 

There were trams, street cars, a Metro and trains to get around. Also some tiny cars!


Once I settled in, I decided to take the nearby M2 Metro line 8 stops to a really cool part of town.

Milan has a beautiful canal area called Navigli, with bars, boutiques, art galleries and waterside cafes. 

The Milan canals were built to transport goods, including marble to build the Duomo! It is rumored that da Vinci was summoned to Milan in 1482 to revamp the canals.

At one time, there were 5 active canals, lined with country homes and castles, making it resemble Venice. 

The canal was lined with packed outdoor cafes, and almost every one had a sign offering happy hour "drink+ aperitivos". For about $15, you could enjoy a beverage of your choice and all the wonderful appetizers, buffet style. I "inspected" at a few before settling on one and sitting at a canal side table, and it was delicious!




There is also a small tree lined canal, Naviglio Piccolo, which leads away from the city and provides a quiet respite. I didn't have time to walk it...

It was a beautiful night and I was pretty tired after figuring out and taking all the various trains etc, so I headed back to my room, but walked. Here are some typical Milan high fashion store windows that I passed...

That's a wrap for my night in Milan...

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