The above photo is of myself in Vernazza

 Seeing Photos of Cinque Terre are probably the main reason I wanted to visit Italy the first time.  If you have read my blog at all, you know I've become addicted to the country.  Cinque Terre is just as amazing as I thought it would be, but there are so many other wonderful areas I've visited and want to visit for the first time or again in the near future. 

You can see the first post and photos I took in Cinque Terre in the spring of 2014 here:  Visiting Italy's Five Enchanting Lands: Cinque Terre

  On the day trip I took to Cinque Terre I visited four out of the five villages.  The only village we did not visit was Corniglia because it requires a fairly lengthy hike and climbing many stairs to get there.  The tour lasted fourteen hours so it was quite a long day already. Cinque means five and terre means land.  I must say that this enchanting area is just as beautiful as I imagined and looked just as magnificent as all of  the photos I've seen! Cinque Terre became a national park in 1998.  Fishing was what sustained their economy until that time and then they needed to find new sources of income.  Cinque Terre's current number one source of income is from tourism and the second is from the incredible white wine they produce.  More than 3 million people visit Cinque Terre each year.

I know many of you have seen some really beautiful and incredible photos of this magnificent place.  Hopefully mine will share a slightly different perspective.  I'm just really happy to have some of my own photos and memories of this experience.

                                                                                                     In Riomaggiore

One of the things I admire about Italy is the pride and care the people put into the appearance of their homes and businesses:

This famous statue is in Monterosso

Inside Vernazza's Church Santa Margherita di Antiochia
The people who live in this beautiful area are especially friendly.  This man was happy to have his photo taken with his dog while eating an ice cream cone:

 Thank you for visiting my blog.  I love reading your comments and treasure every one of them.  I hope you have a fantastic week! 

~Michelle

Perhaps it seems a little silly that I would visit the same city in Italy in just a little more than a year I actually almost stayed in the exact hotel I had in 2014.  At the last minute I decided to stay in a different location that was closer to the train station as I knew that I would be taking several day trips. 

When I visited Florence last summer it was very crowded on the streets.  It was wall-to-wall people on some days in some areas.  I was told that November was a very slow time there.  I noticed a slight difference in the amount of people but it was very slight. 

The good thing about my trip was November the weather is quite unpredictable in northern Italy and it did not rain a single day of the ten days I was there.  There were many days that I walked around with short sleeves on as it was close to 70°F.  When you're doing a lot of walking as I do in Italy you warm up pretty quickly, 

I took day trips to Cinque Terre, Rome  as Tuscany .  I left a couple of days open to visit Venice .  The weather, however, in that area of the country looked quite chilly and rainy so I decided not to go.   Although I am glad I saw Rome I would never go on a day trip to such a large area again the same goes for Tuscany.

  If you have been following my blog you know that I have visited Italy a lot and been to several areas.  I would have to say that Tuscany is on the top of my list for places I want to revisit.   I felt my trip to Rome was quite rushed. I did not get to see much of anything.  I did learn that it is a place I would like to visit for a longer period of time and spend at least five days there.  I was afraid of going to Rome as it is such a big city, but I won't be in the future.

   Florence also has pretty easy access to areas such as Tuscany and Cinque Terre.  There are several museums and offers everything a very big city does, but is not nearly as big as Rome.  Here are some of the photos I captured during this visit it is tough to go wrong with the Arno River as the architecture is so beautiful and interesting on each side of it and the sunsets are lovely. 

The Arno River is such a beautiful scene and a great place to have dinner or coffee:

At sunset:

Here is the Duomo which is way, way too big to capture in one shot, but it literally took my breath away the first time I saw it!
My hotel had a great view of the Duomo.  Below is a self portrait otherwise known as a selfie:

Below is a carousel in the middle of town and I was lucky enough to see a couple of princesses riding it!

Below is a photo of the Santa Maria Novella Cathedral.  I was lucky enough to witness another lovely wedding.

The interior of the cathedral:

Here is the ceiling of the breakfast room at my hotel.  No wonder I love eating breakfast in Italy which is something I never do at home!
My hotel had a lot of lovely antiques (another self portrait)
Here is a lovely coffee shop I stopped in on my last day for a cappuccino.  I was sitting there relaxing after walking for miles when the owner brought me these yummy confections:

The hospitality never fails to surprise me in Italy!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  Have you ever visited a far away city two times in a short period of time?  I love hearing and reading your comments!  Have a great week. 

~Michelle 

Visiting Italy and especially Cinque Terre were very near the top of my bucket list and I made it there this week!  I visited four out of the five villages.  The only village we did not visit was Corniglia because it requires a fairly lengthy hike and climbing many stairs to get there.  The tour lasted fourteen hours so it was quite a long day already. Cinque means five and terre means land.  I must say that this enchanting area is just as beautiful as I imagined and looked just as magnificent as all of  the photos I've seen! Cinque Terre became a national park in 1998.  Fishing was what sustained their economy until that time and then they needed to find new sources of income.  Cinque Terre's current number one source of income is from tourism and the second is from the incredible white wine they produce.  More than 3 million people visit Cinque Terre each year.

I know many of you have seen some really beautiful and incredible photos of this magnificent place.  Hopefully mine will share a slightly different perspective.  I'm just really happy to have some of my own photos and memories of this experience.

I couldn't get enough of the beautiful scenery!

  A very out of focus shot of a very jet lagged yours truly :)

This was one of my my favorite areas of the tour:

The beaches were a little rocky but nice and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Are the kids on top of that BIG rock crazy or just being kids and having fun?

The above is a VERY large statue stone carving in the cliffs high above the beach

Flowers everywhere - especially framing the windows.

  I loved the brightly colored houses perched on the cliffs

As in most of Italy there were several lovely cathedrals.

Looking down on the busy town

The structure which is built into a cliff above was built to help prevent landslides which have been a problem in this area.  It has helped a little.

As you can see the land is terraced for growing crops such as lemon and olive trees.

These final three photos were taken in the village of Riomaggiore

I am debating staying in one of these gorgeous villages for a few days this summer.  Do you think you would enjoy being in such a remote area with so many tourists or would a day trip be enough for you?

 Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a nice week!

~Michelle