Italy, The Best Part

Oh my! Cinque Terre is just the loveliest! Comprised of five villages built precariously on the steep, rocky hills of five different coves, they are now a National Heritage site. A couple of the villages were built in the 11th century as forts and the other three added later. The sea is very rough here and boats must have a hard time getting in and out. We never saw a boat come or go, but there were plenty of boats pulled right up the hill to people's front doors.

A safe harbor, away from the pounding waves.

A steep climb up one of the many hills, we found crypt after crypt. 

It's a crypt condo.

 

I strolled around town and settled in near this man working on his boat. I really wanted to help sand, but because of the language barrier, I didn't ask. 

This statue is carved right out of the stone. It used to be even more elaborate but the weather has worn it away.

I always have my knitting and rested on this wall overlooking Monterosso where we were staying.

Looking back towards our hotel.

One can hike from village to village on the steep hills that tower over the towns. There were a couple trails closed due to floods a few years ago, but we were able to go from Monterosso to Vernazzo. We took the train to the other villages.

We met some GW students on the trail!

The views were spectacular of the sea, the rocks, the villages.

Upon climbing and climbing, we reached the top and lo and behold, some guy has set up a table right alongside the trail selling jewelry!

Cute and useful stone bridges helped us across the streams.

Love locks on a cable overlooking the sea.

What amazed me the most was the agriculture. These hills are so steep, yet they are terraced for growing grapes for winemaking.

To haul supplies up the hills, we saw this seat on a cable and thin track. Looked sooo scary.

As we rounded the top of the hill, Vernazza was getting closer.

…closer

….and closer (yay it was downhill from here!)

closer yet

and we're there! Lunch right down by the waterside and even a little time to knit.

Many street performers bring dogs for added embellishment. This one was flat on its back, totally zoned out.

Artists sketched the pretty buildings

I loved how laundry was out to dry. You couldn't go down one street without seeing colorful clothes, towels and sheets waving in the breeze. I don't know why Americans are so 'hung' up on not displaying their laundry. I think it's beautiful.

The vintagey side of me liked these old signs.

And after a day of hiking and sightseeing, it's nice to have our beverages of choice.

Good bye Cinque Terre!

For the final part of the trip, we took the train back to Lucca.

We rented bikes for the day and rode on a nice trail alongside a river to Pisa.

I spotted these dark objects in the woods and I rode closer I saw they were brown sheep, rounded up into a circle, nestled into the wooded thicket.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a border collie keeping watch and the shepherd sound asleep in an afternoon siesta.

One last night in Lucca and our last night in Italy. We had a nice Italian meal accompanied by a nice Italian wine, back to our Airbnb apartment and a good night's sleep. I was filled with beautiful memories of Italy and I'm hoping it won't be my last visit there. Ciao Italy!

Italy, Part 2

We traveled by train from Florence to Lucca, a beautiful walled city dating back to 150 BC.

It's 2.5 miles around the city on the wall, which one can bike or walk around.

Of course we had to grab some wine and beer in this cool pub.

I even checked out a knit shop. Italian yarn is nice, but I like ours better.

I was seen doing this a lot….checking out the wine menu!

We rented bikes and rode around the top of the wall a few times.  

I made a little video by holding my iPhone in front of me. 

Burlap bags have so many uses (Krista and I have been using them for a couple years now for our furniture and home goods) but this is really how they should be used!

Love the patina on these old buildings. What I noticed about Tuscany (I don't know about the rest of Italy) is that all the houses and buildings were either beige, mustard, sienna, pale yellow. And they almost always had red tiled roofs and were similar in construction. Makes for a very cohesive looking countryside.

Of course we sampled various pizzas. Some were ohlala delicious and some were so-so. Houston makes such good pizza, it was hard to compare to his.

Beverages of choice…I LOVE my coffee!

 
By taking the train, we saw a lot of graffiti. I am a graffiti fan, so was impressed with the quantity and the quality of it all.

Next up, my favorite…Cinque Terra.

Italy, Part 1

After a busy early spring season getting ready for Sheep & Wool Fest, then a very busy 2 days at the fest, I drove my trailer and truck into my side field, walked into the house, had some wine, went to bed, got up in the morning and packed for Italy. 

It wasn't the perfect timing for my first trip to Italy, but Houston had a conference near Florence and I was determined to go this time as I had missed out on 3 previous trips. Above is the very vacant Frankfurt airport lounge. It was 6 in the morning, so no one was relaxing is these very comfortable seats.

I arrived in early morning, caught a bus to the resort where the conference was held, just 10 miles south of Florence. Most folks would think the bus ride scary, but I was thrilled with the twisty turny, stone fenced narrow roads, with cars coming towards you at great speeds.

The views were magnificent.

Once there, I kept falling into bed. I'm not a napper but that bed was calling out to me. After a restful nap of an hour, I got up and went to see what the countryside offered. Houston was busy with cavity ring down sciency stuff so I took off for the hills. 

I hiked to a local monastery, where they still make wine.

Ancient car ports

. Monks still live here, although I didn't see any. This monastery wasn't very welcoming because I don't think it's really open for viewing. They are here to work, not see tourists, so I just walked quietly around, trying not to stand out too much in my American running shoes.

But most of my time was spent eating and relaxing at the resort. It was not an overly fancy resort which was just fine by me. They had great food, even better wine, and I had to appear smart talking to a heap of scientists about climate change. 

And here is where I sat knitting, reading and listening to the great music they had piped in. I was impressed with their indie artist selection.

In the evenings, they bussed us to Florence (yay more bus rides!) to wine and dine us at two different villas.

The food was over the top and wine non stop. 

The view wasn't too shabby either.

Villa 1

Villa 2

Beautiful gardens

and a final walk back to the buses. 

One of the days, we were taken to Florence for a walking tour in the heart of Florence. The theme was mostly about Dante, with the famous statues and landmarks thrown in.

Our tour guide was a very nice man, but my eyes glaze over and my mind starts to wander when they're pointing out important landmarks and interesting details, in this case, Dante.

So I distracted by the shop windows we were passing at a very quick clip. 

Loved this 'dress' made of various types of fabric.

and this picture frame shop

and who wouldn't swoon over these delectables?!

or marvel at all this color?

I got a chuckle out of this retro ad for men's wear. LOVE the 'man' purse!

 Statues aplenty

and ornate buildings with over the top embellishments.

But I like the quirky. This was a very ingenious way to store a bike.