Side Note: While we were on the train from Venice to CT, we shared seats with a couple from South Africa. He was a photographer and she was a an alternative medicine doctor. It was so interesting talking with them both. I especially loved talking with the photographer! We met so many neat people while traveling on this trip. It's so fun hearing people's different stories.
We stayed at a town called Levanto just north of the first CT village, which ended up being a great base to explore the CT from. Not to mention, we ended up loving Levanto. It was a charming little town with hardly any tourists. Our first day there, we stayed in Levanto and just explored, shopped, and ate. My kind of day! The lady who ran our hotel recommended a GREAT restaurant in Levanto, that ended up going on the "favorite restaurants of the trip" list.
Our second day, we explored the CT by taking a train to the southern most CT town, Riomaggiore.. and then hiked to the next town, Manarola. The "hike" was more of a leisurely walk...since it was paved and wide. It was so beautiful since it sat on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. We then had to train to the next town, Corniglia, since there was a landslide and the hiking trail was closed. From Corniglia, we hiked to Vernazza. Now this was a real hike! It definitely was a workout...my legs were shaky afterwards! Not to mention at this point it was in the heat of the day...so it was a little hot too. We then ate lunch in Vernazza where we had some incredible risotto. This is where Don's love for risotto was born and from then on he frequently ordered it during the rest of the trip. Vernazza was probably my favorite town of the CT. It was a neat little town with a small beach and beautiful views. Maybe it was also my favorite b/c it was an oasis after finishing that hike, ha! From Vernazza, we trained to Monterosso that is known to have one of the best beaches in the CT. It was a nice town, but we didn't stay long since it was by FAR the most crowded with tourists. Apparently, the cruise ships dock there. (The other towns really didn't have many tourists at all when we were there.)
Visiting Levanto and the CT towns was definitely a trip highlight for me. I just loved it and had so much fun exploring, hiking, eating, and taking pictures!
The next few pics are of Levanto, where we stayed. The one of Ry and I above, is in the cute little courtyard of our hotel.
This was the amazing restaurant we ate at in Levanto: Totano Blue
Hiking the Cinque Terra. People leave little locks an other things along the hike. I think the locks represent "lovers", if I remember correctly. My husband is so handsome....love this pic of him!
The water was so pretty and clear!
This cat reminded me a little of Smokey. RIP Smokey, ha.
Notice the risotto and pesto gnocchi pasta....delish!
No comments:
Post a Comment