Nella La Spezia

... some shops and then all of a sudden there it was... the sun! We walked down to the beach and searched for pebbles before making our way to Vernazza. <br><br>The next town along with Manarola (where we are staying) is a bit smaller than Riomaggiore and Monterosso but just as, if not more beautiful. Vernazza is probably known mainly for its large scale (compared to the city) boating docks that wrap around the entire marina. The girls and I stopped for gelato before making our way ...

... ll see how it goes. <br><br>Tomorrow I am off to Milan, and kindly enough staying with a friend of the women who owned the horse place I worked at. Can't beat free, and many of the people that I met there vouched for him so, I'm off to another city. I'm hoping to make Milan, Verona and Venice by the weekend so I can go to Parma and see my cousin on the weekend. Wish me Luck!<br><br>Missing you all!<br>Benita<br><br><br>

Tucked away along the Mediterranean Sea is a lovely little place called Cinque Terre (Five Lands). It is a collection of five fishing villages sprinkled along the steep and rocky cliffs of the Italian Riviera. The buildings are clustered pastel specs on the edges of the coastline. Surrounding these villages are uniquely terraced vineyards, which produce a white wine ...

<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;

... staying in Torano a small town, perched in the mountains where marble is mined. <br><br>This will now be our home for the next couple of months. <br><br>As we aren't technically travelling at the moment we are temporarily suspending our blog, but will start up another blog about our lives in Tuscany. <br><br>Happy reading for now, and we hope you enjoy the winter or summer where ever you are. <br>

... 8217;t staying for dessert. She said it was delicious. We found out later from the others that it wasn&#8217;t at all delicious. We also asked her for directions to the train station which we soon discovered were wrong.<br> Anyway, all that behind us we got to the train station, bought tickets and boarded the train. It was one that only stopped at the first and last towns so we wanted to make sure we got off at the first stop. The train went for about ten minutes and then stopped ...

... Spezia, to everything I keep saying that I don't understand and I don't speak Italian, he got back onto the topic of going to get food or a coffee and takes my wrist to which I indicate a definite "no". He might have got it at this point because he said "you don't understand" to which I said a definite "Si" which got him moving on. Creepy old men aside though, La Spezia was quite nice for 2 hours. On the bus there were nice Canadians to talk to who are also staying ...

... a bottle of white wine and ate some gelato (not at the same time). The next day, the train workers were working again and we took the train to Riomaggiore, the first town in Cinque Terre. There are several walking trails that connect the five towns, and we decided to spend this trip walking along the coastal path. The towns themselves are situated right on the water, some on cliffs and some right up against the shore, and they are all surrounded by hillside ...

... allows you unlimited train travel and includes the hiking pass you need to show on the tracks checkpoints) l had my morning coffee overlooking the picturesque beach where l watched the rich Europeans changing in their bathing houses and renting their deck chairs on the private beach. With the coffee in me l felt energized to go and conquer the hardest part of the track. I will admit that it left me a little breathless at times and was very steep! Most of ...

... the first village called Riomaggiore. It was a long trek but well worth it! The view is incredible. Its soo picturesque. Mountains in the background with the ocean. We stayed here for hours just taking it all in...This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen! And the people are sooo kind. Italia is the place! Its my Utopia! I am telling you I have found bliss in Italy! I must learn ...