Our Italy adventure continues when we moved from Florence to the town of Rapallo, where we would lodge for 3 nights, visiting Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre, which means 5 towns, are ancient fishing villages high on the Italian Riviera, with picturesque views of the water and those colorful buildings dotted throughout this area. It reminds me a bit of the Amalfi coast, with equally rocky and steep cliffside structures. It’s a truly beautiful part of Italy and this was my first time in this region. You can hike, take a train or a ferry boat to get from village to village. The five villages are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We went to 3 villages, so I’ll share a few pics of each. This was a fast paced look at Cinque Terre, but I’m so glad we got to experience it for one day. We also took a boat to Portofino and that was a treat! It was as beautiful as I thought it would be.
Rapallo
We stayed in the Hotel Europa in Rapallo and it was very nice and comfortable. Breakfast was complimentary at all the hotels we stayed at and all were delicious.
Riomaggiore
We took a train from Rapallo to Riomaggiore, our first stop along Cinque Terre and it was a rainy day, so we all took umbrellas. It wasn’t a hard downpour thank goodness, but a misty rainy day. It was still beautiful, even in the rainy weather.
I love all the rugged natural beauty of this area, with wildflowers growing out of the rocks.
Isn’t this so gorgeous? We only had a bit of time in each village, so walked to the scenic spots for pictures, I got a coffee, and we were on our way to the next village.
Pictures in between rain drops. I just adore all the colored houses in Italy and how all those colors complete a beautiful picture.
My new friend, Susan (who lives in Marietta) and me. We met on the Viking river cruise last fall and she and her sister-in-law joined us for this trip too. They are such fun and sweet ladies.
Zoomed out, this is where we were. It was a little bit scary as there was nothing to keep us from falling in the water.
More scenic beauty. I’m sure it’s fun to hike from village to village, but I’ll leave that to the younger set. Give me a ferry boat any day.
More selfies.
And one more.
Stunning rugged coastline. That’s the line to go down to the water to board the next ferry out.
I took lots of pics, but thankfully I’m only showing you a few. We’d be here all day otherwise!
More rugged rocks.
A lone seagull looking for food.
Views from the ferry leaving Riomaggiore.
Vernazza
We had time to walk around a bit in each village and had lunch in Monterosso.
This village was very pretty as well. See all the terraces on the left where they plant vineyards?
It was all I could do to pace myself and not eat everything in sight! I did end up getting a pesto and tomato sandwich before lunch.
I loved this view!
Street scenes.
Pretending I was climbing this hillside trail to a restaurant above as we were waiting for the ferry.
More beauty of the hills.
Monterosso
We arrived in Monterosso and had lunch here, which was very enjoyable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good outdoor day for lunch.
Spotted this work of art along the way, loved it!
Inside the restaurant we ate at was this beautiful sink in the bathroom. There is so much beautiful stonework in Italy. We ate at Ristorante da Ely and it was very good.
Here’s a look at some of the food we ate during this stretch of the trip. Yummy, right?
On the street, that’s Mark walking.
Lemons along the way.
Outdoor seating at restaurants.
Leaving Monterosso
Our next stop was Sestri Lavante, a cute town on the coast and we had lunch prearranged here for the group.
We walked around town for a bit before lunch and grabbed some scenic pics. The wisteria was fully blooming all over Italy and was quite impressive.
An example of the tiny cars all over Italy.
Loved these blue and white striped covers on the boats.
Each road had a scenic view.
Several of us were walking together and stopped in this sweet shop.
As you can see, that’s Mark’s vice, he loves the sweets, especially pastries with cream filling.
A beautiful building along the way.
We had lunch here, but inside.
This was so pretty on the way to our lunch table.
Back to the ferry in Rapallo and then we took a ferry to Portofino, one of the stops I was most looking forward to. I’ve seen it in movies and it looked stunning.
As we boated into the small port, it was just breathtaking to take in.
I loved Portofino and could have stayed here for a few days.
The colorful buildings were abundant.
It’s so quaint and pretty, just like in a movie scene.
The selfie opp.
Gorgeous from every angle.
Portofino was gorgeous and even though we were only there for a couple of hours, it was fun to see.
I can’t get enough of the laundry hanging out of windows. Loved it back 35 years ago and love it now.
Portofino was bustling with people, but I imagine summer is packed with tourists.
I’m so glad we got to visit Portofino.
There were lots of shops up this cute walkway.
And the fresh produce was just stunning. This was back in Rapallo.
These next two pics are also Rapallo. We enjoyed walking around here a bit and had a great pizza at one of the restaurants.
Such a fun part of our journey and I’m so glad we got to see Cinque Terre and Portofino. Each of these quaint towns and villages were just amazing to see. The natural beauty of Italy cannot be replicated anywhere and we both fell in love with Italy a little bit more on this visit!
The last part of our trip I’ll cover is Lake Como. There were 9 of us who stayed over 2 more nights in Lake Como for the extension and I’m so glad we did. What a treat that place was! Come back next week for that! I hope you’re enjoying our Italy trip, I’ve enjoyed sharing it all.
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