Cinque Terre

After one day of sight-seeing in Florence, Nate and I woke up very early to go on an all day tour of the Cinque Terre.  Friendly travel trip:  if you are looking for day or half day trip, try using the website Viator.  If you are like me and can't afford 7 day tours of Europe, then this is a good alternative.  Viator allows you to search and book tours from many different companies.  You can also read reviews of the tours.  All of the tours Nate and I did in Italy were through Viator and they were all excellent.  I also booked all my Spain tours through them.  They are affordable and cheaper compared to other tours I saw online that offered the same type of tour.  

Cinque Terre is about a two hour bus ride from Florence.  There was a large group going, but two tour guides to break up the group.  Upon arrival, I knew it was going to be an amazing day when I saw this:

Village of Manarola

We would be doing some hiking among the five villages of the Cinque Terre.  Cinque Terre is a national park in Italy.  The homes are built into the cliffs, which drop down into the Mediterranean Sea.  Residents continue to farm the land in a terrace-style.  Our day began in the village of Manarola.  We walked through the picturesque little village with it's colorful houses, and up onto the trail where we were afforded amazing sweeping views.

The houses appeared to just be stacked on each other!

Street view in Manarola

After Manarola, we walked to the next village, Corniglia.  There we had to ascend hundreds of stairs to get to our lunch!  But it was worth the climb.  Our lunch was a seafood plate and pesto.  I love pesto and hadn't enjoyed it yet this trip in Italy, so I was excited about that.  The drizzling rain let up for about 20 minutes, allowing us to enjoy some afternoon sunshine.  Here are some photos from Corniglia...

Climbing the stairs....

And here were our views at the top!

The sun finally came out (for a few minutes anyway)

I love the bright colors with the watercolor filter

After lunch, we began our 90 minute hike from Corniglia to the next village, Vernazza.  You can also take the train between villages (which we also did on the tour a few times).  This stretch of the Cinque Terre is considered to have some of the best views of the Italian Riviera.  Every time we rounded a bend, we were rewarded with sweeping views.  Here are some photos from the hike....

Lots of neature to appreciate

Nate, taking a break from making fun of how slow I hike, to smile for the camera

Sweeping panoramic of the Italian Riviera coastline

Leaving Corniglia behind

Just awesome!

Made it to Vernazza!

In the next village, Vernazza, Nate and I enjoyed some gelato by the sea.  It was the best gelato in Italy, hands down.  Vernazza is a picturesque village built on a peninsula that juts out into the sea.  There were more hotels, shops, and restaurants here than in the previous two villages we visited.

Colorful and picturesque Vernazza

Vernazzo

Street view in Vernazza

Beach in Vernazzo, a great place to enjoy a yummy gelato!

From Vernazzo, we took the train to Monterosso, another village that also caters to tourists.  In Monterosso, Nate and I enjoyed some free samples of local wine, limoncello, and honey.  We didn't have very much time to spend there before catching the train back to the first village (we skipped it coming in), Riomaggiore.  In Riomaggiore, we went on a little walking tour of the village.

Charming home in Riomaggiore

More steps to get a view of the village

At the end of the tour, the group enjoyed a glass of local wine on a terrace facing the sea.  Although it was drizzly part of the day, it really was an amazing day.  I would absolutely recommend Cinque Terre to anyone visiting Italy.  I would love to go back and perhaps stay in one of the villages in the summer, and have time to relax and enjoy la dolce vita.  Cinque Terre is a photographer's dream, with it's sweeping views and colorful villages.  You can also take a boat ride to see the villages from the sea; unfortunately, boats were not running when we went due to weather.  It's hard not to fall in love with the Cinque Terre.

Ciao until next time :)

Florence

Life sure is quiet around here without having a guest around.  The one perk is that I can finally update my blog about where I have been over the past few weeks.  Nate and I first went to Florence, Italy.  We stayed there for four nights in a lovely little hotel by the Santa Croce.  I was last in Florence about three and a half years ago.  Last time, my camera batteries died and I didn't have my charger.  This time I got to take photos with a new camera that Nate surprised me with as a birthday gift (thanks again!).

Nate and I met in Rome and immediately embarked on a fast train to Florence.  What a trooper, having been on a plane for 12+ hours and battling a sore throat and head cold to boot.  We finally arrived at our hotel and decided to go to a restaurant that our hotel recommended.  It just so happened to be the same place I had the best Italian meal ever the last time I was there!  I couldn't believe it.  The food is authentic Tuscan, homemade, and just awesome.  The next morning was Easter Sunday.  I enjoyed my cappuccino while watching the festivities at the Duomo in Florence.  Florence turned out to be jam-packed with visitors and tourists.  We couldn't go see the Uffizi gallery or David as planned, so instead bought tickets in advance and went to Piazza Pite.

View of Piazza Pite from outside.

It may not look like much on the outside; however, the inside was filled with beautiful architecture and Renaissance Florentine art.  Truly beautiful.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside.  Nate and I walked through room after room of ornately decorated rooms filled with paintings and incredible ceilings.  You had to spend just as much time looking up as you did around at the paintings.  Some of the rooms were still intact with original furniture as well.  We also got to go walk around the gardens, which provided fabulous views of Florence.  It is hard to imagine living on a compound like this.

View of Florence from Piazza Pite gardens.

Gardens and statues in Piazza Pite

On our way to the palace, of course we had to walk across the Ponte Vecchio.  This bridge is famous for all of the shops on the bridge that sell gold.

Strolling amongst the gold stores.

Afterwards, we enjoyed another amazing lunch and went off towards the Duomo, a large domed cathedral.  

The massive Duomo

It is impossible to show in a photo just how massive this cathedral really is.  It is also one of the few cathedrals I have been to that is more beautiful on the outside than the inside.  We weren't able to really walk around because of Easter mass, but we did go in (under the pretenses that we were staying for mass) just to have a look.  

Afterwards, it was about time to head to the bridge to see the sunset over the Ponte Vecchio.  Because of the time of year, it wasn't directly over the bridge like it was the last time I was in Florence, but still beautiful nonetheless.

Beautiful Ponte Vecchio

Using a watercolor filter on my new camera :)

Just the person I want to watch a sunset with :)

The next two days, Nate and I went on day trips to Cinque Terre and into Chianti wine country.  I will have separate entries for each later this week.  Florence was the perfect place to be for the first half of our trip.  The beautiful architecture, art, amazing food and wine just can't be topped.  It is saturated with culture and a richness for life, without the hustle and bustle of Rome or Venice.  Before we took the train to Como to relax on the lake, Nate and I went to the famed Uffizi gallery.  There we saw works by Michaelangelo, Botecceli, and countless other Florentine or Tuscan Renaissance artists.  It is a marvelous gallery that showcases some of the best Renaissance art in the world.  No trip to Italy is complete without spending some time in beautiful Florence.  I can't say enough good things about this city, and I hope to make it back someday for another visit.