Lisa in Pisa, Italy

October 27th, 28th & 29th, 2010

Many people who visit Italy are there to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the train that takes you to Pisa is packed full of tourists, the main attraction being the Leaning Tower, Cathedral & Baptistery, all in one location; so......it's very busy there at the tourist hot spot, but not in the actual city; it's full of residents.

I stayed in a fancy B&B in Pisa, it was so nice and relaxing, right on the main street of all the shops and eateries; a bakery was right below my room...yum!  I tried my first gelato in Pisa - double chocolate and it was delicious, tastes like ice cream but creamier.

I really like Pisa, it is certainly one of my favorites; especially with all the people around and bicycles everywhere.  I had to be very careful walking around in Pisa, you can't make any sudden movements to the left or right or you were bound to get run over by a bike.  I also had to try to walk straight, (for people who know me - difficult, as I was drunk the entire time....!!!) and not move for bicycles, as they prefer to move around you; I found that out the hard way!

Everything starts to get happening at night around 11:00pm in Italy, as dinner is eaten at 9:00pm; something I still have trouble getting used to.  I went to the Leaning Tower at night to take some pictures and got a bit lost on my way back and found a lot of people out drinking and partying on the streets; that was interesting, as it was the first time I saw.

Here are many pictures of Pisa:  enjoy!

Also, thanks to everyone that called on my birthday, much appreciation...

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The tricky part about taking pictures of the Leaning Tower was I found myself turning my camera so that it was straight!  I guess it's the mini-photographer in me thinking it's wrong if it's not a straight shot!

Base of Leaning Tower of Pisa

All these pictures show the Tower really leaning as it normally is, however if you look in the pictures below, the Tower looks straight! 

Leaning Tower of Pisa & Cathedral

Cathedral & Baptistery - Pisa

The Cathedral & Baptistery are beautiful in combination with the Leaning Tower.  The grounds were immaculate as tourists are not allowed to walk on the grass near the buildings.

Leaning Tower of Pisa & Cathedral

Cathedral

Different angle of the Cathedral; me and my creative mind always wants a different looking picture.






















All three in one shot.  See how the Leaning Tower is straight!  Turned the camera a bit too much......

Baptistery, Cathedral & Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pisa along the river

Pisa along the river

Riomaggiore, Italy

October 25th, 2010

Riomaggiore, the last village in Cinque Terre, is just as beautiful as the rest; however with different features that I found:

Painting in Riomaggiore

A portrait randomly painted on a wall for no particular reason.  It wasn't as if it was painted on a building, but the detail and size was amazing.

Riomaggiore Church

This church in Riomaggiore, you could hear the church bells ringing but the it wasn't on the main road or near the main road; I had to walk up several stairs to get to this church and there was no one around, which is rare for Italy; usually there are hundreds of people taking pictures and mulling around.
















It seemed a bit strange to take pictures of this (below), but I couldn't resist.  After I got off the train in Riomaggiore, and really all the villages; there is a walkway or tunnel to get to the main village.  In this circumstance, the "tunnel" was creatively decorated with hundreds of tile mosaics and this is one of the them.  The mosaics went on for about 1km, amazing craftsmanship.  I have several more if anyone would like to see them....let me know.

Tile mosaic in tunnel to Riomaggiore village

Riomaggiore to Manarola

It is said that the hikes in Cinque Terre are for advanced hikers except for the 1km trek from Riomaggiore to Manarola.







The start of the 1km hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola

Riomaggiore to Manarola with train

Riomaggiore to Manarola - along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea

Looking down towards Manarola

You can see Manarola in the far distance in this picture and even the next village way way off in the distance.

Mediterranean Sea

Manarola

Manarola, Italy

October 25th, 2010

Manarola, the next village in Cinque Terre is just as beautiful as the rest.  I actually started the day in Riomaggiore and walked along the coastline (about 1 km) to Manarola.  The pictures in the next post will show the coastline.

These pictures are from Manarola....enjoy!

Just arriving in Manarola from Riomaggiore

Manarola

Manarola

Corniglia, Italy

October 24th, 2010

Corniglia is the middle of the 5 villages and where I stayed for 4 nights while in Cinque Terre.  As you can see, it's stunning when the sun goes down.

Corniglia on my first night.....about 30 seconds later

Corniglia my first night...about 30 seconds later

Corniglia on my last night

I was sitting at the train station waiting for my train to go to Pisa when I saw this boat go by.  This boat is a tourist boat that takes travelers from Monterosso to Riomaggiore.  While I was there, the boat was not traveling due to weather conditions.

Corniglia on my last day, waiting for my train to take me to Pisa

Vernazza, Italy

October 23rd & 26th, 2010

Vernazza is quite picturesque and people that live in Cinque Terre say that Vernazza has the best picture opportunities.  It's very difficult to capture the beauty of the area as it's all so breathtaking, but these should give you an idea of what Vernazza looks like.

Vernazza

Each village has its own designated square or main area where you find restaurants, shops, tourist traps that sell souvenirs and a boat dock.  In Vernazza, there were several boats in the water waiting to go out; however, on this particular day, it was very cloudy, cold and windy, so there were no boats out for a stroll.
 

This picture to the right is taken from the square or main area of Vernazza and looking north.  Montorossa would be just over the mountains here.

Vernazza

This picture has everything Vernazza, greenery, rocks, water, houses (up on the hill), nature and wildlife.

















The picture below is an extension of the one to the left.  The rocks in the middle of the picture to the left are the same rocks on the far left in the picture below.

Vernazza

    I went out at night.....to take some pictures of Vernazza after the sun went down. 

Vernazza right after sundown

Vernazza clock tower after sundown

A picture of the clock tower at night, this is facing into the main square east.

Montorosso al Mare, Italy

October 23rd, 2010

Montorosso, the northern-most village in the Cinque Terre is said to be the most glamorous with expensive resort hotels and elaborate food.

These first two pictures of a carving on the side of a mountain; not sure who it is, but he must have been trained by Bob, look at those abs!

Carving on side of mountain

Body by Bobbilio.....

Slightly to the right of the carving,
buildings & greenery

The picture on the left, is at the top of the mountain, just to the right of where the carving is.  Not sure what the building was, no name and wasn't allowed in, beautifully designed though with the brick and windows.  It's also very green and lush in Italy as you will see with more pictures.

Pretty Purple Flower

Isn't this purple flower pretty? 
I sure enjoyed looking at it!

Montorosso

Around the corner and up the street is where this picture was taken.  Notice the trees on the top of the mountain; pretty....


















This picture below is one of my favorites.  I'm not sure how I was able to catch the sun in that exact spot but I did and do you see the boat way far away in the distance?  pretty.....

Montorosso

Hotel at the top of Montorosso

The picture to the right here is looking the opposite way in Montorosso and the building at the top is a hotel.  Quite the hike to get to it as it's all uphill....

In the far distance is the next village Vernazza.

Pretty.......

Cinque Terre, Italy

October 23rd to 26th, 2010

Just to put it into perspective of where I am in Italy, here are two maps that point out exactly where Cinque Terre is located.

Cinque Terre, Italy

On the West Coast high in the northern area of Italy lies 5 small villages right along the coastline with the general area of Cinque Terre indicated on the first map to the left.

Below, the second map is all 5 villages with Corniglia specified, as that is where I stayed.  As you can see, Corniglia is in the center of all 5 with each village having it's own name.  All five have a relatively small population of about 200 people but can increase dramatically in the summer months of July and August.  Cinque Terre is the second most visited coast of Italy.

Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

Corniglia, Italy