La Zorza Riomaggiore

... so we decided it was best to settle away from the centre of town for a change and park in a residential district about 1km away... much more tranquilo!!<br><br>Splashed out on take away pizza for dinner but ate it in the shop and washed down with a bottle of beer. We became the hot topic of conversation when owners and local patrons found out we were Australian and were ...

... in the morning. Around every corner there was yet another stunning view of the cliffs and the crashing waves. The walls of the tunnel along the walk was covered in graffiti all with a love theme. I looked everywhere for a 'Ben' but couldn't find one. I didn't come prepared either, no sharpie on hand. People who walk the trails also bring or buy locks and leave them along the trail which was very neat to see. The rain was still lurking at this point so we grabbed lunch in ...

... a pleasant female voice that we have affectionately named "Fraulein" for our trip. Fraulein would later become our best friend.<br><br>As we moved about through the city heading to the highway, and ultimately to our first Autobahn, another odd tend was noted. When stopped at a red light, the yellow will light with the red for a couple seconds, to signal that the green is imminent. Once the yellow and the red go out, the green comes on. This ...

... again realize how incredibley lucky I am to be here right here and now and experiencing this amazing view.<br><br>Anyways...enough of my fodder.<br>I arrived, sat down in my hostel appartment and thought about my plan. Cinque Terra means The 5 Lands, as there are 5 small villages built into the cliff face and it is beautiful, with 14 walking trails linking them as there are no cars allowed into 4 of these towns. I ...

<br> Tuscan Riviera Portovenere<br> Had seen it on Getaway and looked very pretty.. Found a hotel with sea views and have spent 2 nights here resting , climbing around local castles&#8230; eating sleeping and watching the boats go in and out&#8230; not much English here but we are not hungry or thirsty so all going well&#8230;.<br> Tomorrow we are off to the South of France.. 3 nights planned in Nice.. Really looking forward to it but have loved Italy&#8230;

... a big kiss &#8211; see photo of her trying to escape it. The scenery was beautiful, but the sea was surprisingly rough &#8211; we later learnt that there was a hurricane or something out at sea which was making the water crazy. <br><br>The walk from the 3rd to 4th town was different to the 1st part, it was a bit harder as the track was skinnier and away from the cliffs with lots of steep steps and rocks everywhere. We walked through olive groves and scrub ...

... S*, i'm *n the train, trying t* read this st*ry, when, i can't rememb** what st*p, but n*t that many bef*re hand...i start hearing a l*ud bunch *f italians. What i didn't realize is that they w**e s*cc** fans f*r s*me team that was playing against La Spezia. S*, h**e i am, all calm, and then, all *f a sudden, the train starts getting banged *n, and a mad rush *f ppl sp*rting blue and yell*w **** start ent**ing the train, it g*es fr*m peace and quite t* an abs ...

... Machu Picchu! Not so. The hike was mostly uphill to the first town, Corniglia, which sits on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was pretty, with the typical narrow winding streets and colorful buildings. We bought nectarines and Gabe thought it was the best piece of fruit he&#8217;d ever eaten. Cute little shops lined the walkway and we admired the views before ...

... some gelato before deciding that we would finish hiking the trails tomorrow since it was so hot today. We headed back to our hostel to make dinner of local specialties, Pasta with pesto sauce, Foccacia bread and some Chianti. Dinner cost us just about 12 Euros, cheaper than eating at most Mc Donald's in Europe. The next morning we were lured to Monterosso again because of its irresistible beach and spent much of the morning and afternoon ...

... the times of the boats to the first of the villages, Rio Maggiore and have a look round. It's a lovely town, and with brilliant blue sky, sunshine and crystal clear sea, it isn't hard to do research. The tall narrow houses were all painted with different faded colour washes and huddled together along the waterfront. It was very busy, boats coming and going the whole time, even in late September, but there was ...