But first, please take a minute to go over to Kitchen Daily -- they've published an article I wrote about creating new holiday traditions. (And if you'd click the "like" button at the bottom of that post, I'd be ecstatic!)
Patricia Stoltey's Trip to Cinque Terre
My husband and I visited Italy's Cinque Terre in 2000 and bravely attempted one leg of the hiking trail that connects the coastal villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Luckily, we only planned to do the section from Monterosso to Vernazza because it took a lot longer that we expected (mostly my fault since I was seriously out of shape for the climbing part of the trip).
A few of these photos were taken by my husband. You can tell which ones because he always manages to get me in the photo, usually from the rear.
#1: The path looked so easy when we first left Monterosso. Should we continue? "Sure," I said. "Piece of cake."
#2: Soon the trail began to climb and the wide pathway disappeared. In some places, stone steps made it easier to navigate, but there were no more handrails.
#3: Many sections of narrow dirt path circled the hills and wandered past hillside vineyards.
#4: When I turned to look back toward Monterosso, it seemed very far away.
#5: But soon I could see Vernazza in the far, far distance. It's nearly hidden by the shrubs in this photo, but it's down toward the water just right of and slightly below center.
#6: This is Vernazza from the same spot, but using my telephoto lens.
#7: Eventually we were on on way downhill, and the trail grew wider and easier to manage.
#8: Finally we made it to Vernazza, ready for gelato, lots of gelato, to make up for all those calories I had burned.
All of these photos were scanned from 35mm prints, and were lightly edited because the photos have begun to fade.
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
17 comments:
Hi Patricia and Terry - isn't that a wonderful memory .. sounds just great. Lovely part of the world .. and these tiny tiny coves .. sounds like the gelato went down a treat .. and I guess there's boat back, or a bus ..
Enjoy Christmas - happy times - Hilary
Beautiful! One day I want to go to Italy. Thanks to both of you :)
These pictures are wonderful, Pat! I've always wanted to go to this part of Italy. I've seen it on travel shows and it looks enchanting.
Good afternoon, ladies. Sorry to be late dropping by, but I managed to lift something the wrong way this week and now am alternating hot and cold packs on a wicked muscle spasm in my lower back. Not spending too much time at the computer each day...so I guess it's a good thing I'm mostly on a blog holiday.
Anyway, to answer Hilary's question, we left our car back in Levanto and took the train to Monterosso. After the hike, we caught the train at the Vernazza stop and took it back to our car. There aren't too many other ways to get down to the five villages.
It is a lovely place to visit, but if we ever go back, we'll be visiting each village by train. No more hikes...
Patricia - I feel your pain. Been there--more than once. I still have to be careful, and that muscle continues to give me trouble. And thanks for sharing your photos!
Thanks, Terry. I'm heading back downstairs now...first the cold pack and then the heated one. At least I have a great supply of good books to keep me occupied (and that Kindle we've resisted unwrapping so far). I'll check in again later.
Thank you for sharing my very favorite place in the world! It was a fun stroll down memory lane.
Beautiful photos! What a gorgeous place. Your husband was brave all right.
Feel better soon:)
Lovely, lovely 'photos! Thank you for sharing them. What a beautiful place! Those 'photos make me want to visit...
You can't go wrong visiting this coastal area of Italy, that's for sure. I have a lot of favorites on the Mediterranean, though. It's hard for me to choose a favorite.
Beautiful photos. I can't image hiking that.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Beautiful pictures! I've only been to Italy once, the southern part, but it is definitely a place I want to again.
aw... what a gorgeous place! The photos are magnificent.
Doris
Great pics, Pat,
We were in Italy a few years ago (Venice, Florence, Assisi and Rome) for a meeting, then spent a week in Pietrasanta with a few side trips.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time.
Peter
Sounds like the memories are as beautiful as the photos, and that's the way it should be. Thanks for sharing, Pat. We loved Italy, too, but never made it to this area.
I really enjoyed visiting this beautiful area of Italy. Your photos brought back fun memories.
Great editing job of the photos, Pat!
This looks like a most wonderful trip. How wonderful it is to have cameras so we can remember such trips this way.
Ann Best, Long Journey Home
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