Cinque Terre: Vernazza, part 1

We skipped Corniglia, but I spent a few hours in Vernazza and even hiked part-way between Vernazza and Monterosso to get some good photos!

Here are pictures from in town (except the first one - I think I took that one up on the trail).

 

Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore, part 2

More pictures from around the village:

A shop on the main street

Looking down toward the sea 

A pretty door

 Another door

Note the potted plants on either side. 

Everywhere I looked, there were potted plants and flowers. 

It seems that the residents of these villages see value in beautifying their space!

A side street

See the pots on the stairs to the right?

Here they are!

Walk a few steps up, and you can see even more flowers!

A few gardens

More gardens on patios

The local church

I love the red benches to the right.

Another pretty street

Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore, part 1

Our next stop was Riomaggiore, second village from the east.

Looking back at the village from a path on the west side

From the same path, looking toward the sea

A rocky view toward the east

Note the train tunnel on the lower left.

Looking down!

Boats at the harbor

Boats, harbor, iconic red building

 Looking to the west

My favorite picture of Riomaggiore!

Cinque Terre: Manarola

I didn't get many pictures of Manarola (the eastern-most village). It was raining while we were there, and we didn't stay long.

 Divers in the harbor

 Looking back at the village from the harbor

Jumbled streets 

A quiet path 

Looking back down the path

A rainy rose beside the path

We'd hoped to walk the Via dell'Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore,
but it was closed. :(

Lucca, part 3

Here's the view from atop the Guinigi Tower!

Here is the little garden on top of the tower.
These are the trees that can be seen from the street below.
(See Lucca, part 2, for a photo of the Tower from below.)

 This one is my favorite! 

I love the mountains in the background.  

Lucca, part 2

Here are a few street scenes from around town:

In this photo, in the center, see that red building? 

That's the Guinigi Tower (Torre Guinigi), and it has trees growing out of the top!

There is a little viewing area on top of the tower, 

and the view of the city from there is spectacular!

Lucca, part 1

Lucca is best known for the medieval wall that completely encircles the old town. The wall is about 30' high and 100' thick. The top of the wall is now a park with a paved path, picnic table, and benches scattered around it. It's a great place to spend an afternoon!

(Note: Click to enlarge photos)

 The wall, with the old town to the right 

and the new town (out of sight) to the left

Gus conquering the wall!

Gus reading on top of the wall

 

The path that tops the wall

One of the streets that connects the old town and new 

More wall

One of the city gates, outside

Same gate, inside

The open gate, which can also be seen on the left side of the previous picture

Note the human-sized gate inset in the lower left!

Part of the fortifications