So we got off the ship in La Spezia and boarded a tour bus for our first stop Portovenere. My mom was still in a lot of pain but she figured she could manage. The tour guide was great on the bus drive explaining how La Spezia was very much a military area. There was lots of construction of bases etc that has been going on since the Napoleon era.
When we arrived at the village the bus let us off at the top of a hill they can not drive in the village at all. So we had to walk down. The tour guide equipped us with earphones and equipment so we can listen to what she said while we walked. They do not have to scream over the crowds. All the tours seem to have gone this route. At least the English speaking one's. The German tours we ran into were still shouting to be heard.
The tour guide took everyone on a tour of the town and they got a free pesto taste testing mom was in so much pain that she decided to rest on a bench. I toured around a bit on my own. When the short tour was over everyone had free time until we had to meet at the ferry.
A view of the church
A view of the hotel
Outside one of the restaurants
Frogs (my favourite)
Fresh local catch (it comes in everyday)
the small beach (very rocky)
When our free time was over we headed over to catch the ferry. So the Ferry starts in Portovenere and headed to Riomaggiore where it stopped and let people off and more people on. They do not even turn the boat off they load from the front of the boat. The next stop was Manarola, then Cornoglia, then Vernazza and last stop was Monterosso where we got off the ferry.
We once again were given a tour of the small village. We also got to do a white wine tasting. We were then given free time again. This time we decided that we would have lunch. There were so many choices of pasta, mussels and pizza but we wanted something not to heavy. So we had the most amazing Bruschetta that I have ever had. There was so much that could be done in the village and we did not have the time to see it all and mom was still very sore and having difficulty walking.
The villages are built up the side of the cliffs and each village is different colours
It's amazing to see the gardens growing the way they do
The beach there was a few brave souls checking it out
Church in the town square
The local wine we got to taste (it was quite lovely)
Taking a selfie at lunch
Picture of Mom
My fresh Bruschetta plate
(fresh tomato, mushroom and olive oil)
Train
So when we were done exploring on our own we headed up a hill through a tunnel and down a cobblestone road for about 1 km to the train station. These villages have very narrow streets and sidewalks and cars are very limited. Most people get around with the Ferry's and by train.The train ride was a quick 10-15 minutes and we got off and headed to our bus where we took the highway to get back to the ship.
Some of the scenery from the bus ride.
It amazing to see the villages built up so high in the hills. All of them seem to have churches. The olive trees where all along the coast.
This was another really long day and we made it back to the ship with no delay's however my mother's pain was not getting any better and she was taking a lot of pain killers to make it through the day. This definitely fulfilled my bucket list. I do wish I could have stopped and explored in every village and had some local mussels but we don't always get everything.
The next port is Civitavecchia (Rome).
Here's where you can find me:
www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
www.exclsuivetoyoutravel.com or www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
slough@exclsuivetoyoutravel.com
