Cinque Terre: Vernazza, part 2

And here are the photos of the little harbor and the views from the trail!

Vernazza!

The water at harbor's edge 

The start of the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso

Looking back toward Vernazza

Another view back to the east

This photo and the next are the reasons I hiked up the trail. 

The views from up there are spectacular! 

Vernazza!

Looking toward the west

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!