Portofino and Cinque Terre (Northwest Italy)

Italy, what a fabulous country so far!  The food, the weather, the people, the

scenery... did we mention the food... are all wonderful!

Arriving at our first of many destinations in Italy

The picturesque Portofino Bay

Saturated with color

Look closely... this wall is completely flat besides the green shutters and wrought iron 

clothes hanger (most buildings are painted in this style in Portofino)

Drying their clothes the old-fashioned way (we think the tourist board requires it)

Walking through Portofino's colorful side streets

We love it here!

We worked hard for this picture.  We had to hike all the way up the hills looking for

the best view.  Turns out the only way to get a clear shot was to pay an admission to

some famous castle that overlooked the bay... so we did.  !t was worth every penny!

Sunset as we were looking for a hotel in the Cinque Terre

Two of Cinque Terre's five isolated villages connected by hiking paths (and train)

We took a ferry to see the the five villages from the water before beginning our 

8-hour hike from Riomaggiore back to Monterrosso where we started the day.

(this is Riomaggiore where we began our hike)

An easy stroll from Riomaggiore to Manarola

A rock-solid giant braces the cliff

Manarola - this was the third of Cinque Terre's five towns we were exploring

Serenaded as we strolled through the tunnel connecting two of the towns 

Brilliant flowers fill the landscape near Corniglia

Looking back at our hike so far... Corniglia and Manarola in the distance

Taking a pizza pitstop along the way

(discovered a new favorite: Pesto Pizza!)

Looking back along the windy hiking trail

Approaching Vernaza from the steep trail above

All good things come to an end...

To help 'preserve' the Cinque Terre area, it was recently designated as a National Park.

The bad news is the local fishermen can no longer fish in the waters that once provided

their livelihood.  Instead they must now rely on the tourism industry.  Is this preservation?

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All pictures  © Destin Bradwell 2005