Livorno and Cinque Terre - October 12

A watchtower at the entrance to the harbor in Livorno
A buoy that has seen better days
Terrace fields above Monterosso, Cinque Terre
Monterosso
Vernazza, Cinque Terre
The view along the Lovers' Walk
A first glimpse of Cinque Terre

Too many beautiful sights and pictures!

We docked again before dawn in Livorno and were off the ship as it became light. It was a gray day! As we drove along the Autostrada he rain came down and I thought I’d stay in the bus rather than walk along the coast of Cinque Terre. We drove through the ort of La Spezia and it looked grim. As we passed through a tunnel in the coastal mountains our guide Sybilla said we’d be lucky (maybe!). As we came out the fog was gone and we could see the beautiful coast of Cinque Terre (the five lands).

The mountains and hills plunge to the seas but all of them are covered with terraces filled with grape vines, olive trees and some citrus. The people here are obviously very fit to be able to tend their crops.

We left our bus and descended some serious steps to the first of the villages by the sea. The weather was not so good so it was decided that rather than boating from one village to the next we would eventually take the train. We made our way to the “Walk of Love” a path that follows along the cliffs. Unfortunately, we were there with a few hundred (maybe more) of our nearest and dearest friends so there was nothing really romantic about the walk. The views frm the path of the sea and the rocks were however beautiful.

We made our way by train through a couple of villages with some stops along the way and wound up in Monterosso. As we left our train serious rain began along with some very loud thunder. Fortunately this was the place we were to eat lunch. We found a little place that served incredible food. We had some local oysters on the half shell and a pasta with clams and mussels that were incredible. By the time we finished lunch, the front had passed through and we found a brilliant blue sky and fresh, clean air. We walked a little through this beautiful village ( and found some things to buy). Then it was off to our bus for a truly hair-raising drive up from sea level to the roads a few thousand feet above.

On the way back to Livorno, we passed Pisa and off in the distance we could see the Leaning Tower and other structures in the Field of Miracles (which we visited last year). It was another great day with many miles walked and many great memories.