Tag Archives: Cinque Terre

The Search for Souvenirs

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Part of the fun of travel is bringing back souvenirs that have memories of where and when they were purchased.  I have lots of postcards and refrigerator magnets but some of my favorite souvenirs are things I can look at such as art prints and calendars.  I also like things I can wear like scarves and bracelets.  When I was in Italy I wanted to find some unique souvenirs, but where should I start?  Wherever I went there were so many choices it was difficult to decide.  As I looked around I saw possibilities like these:

Interesting choices
Souvenirs and flowers
These won’t last long…
Wearable souvenirs
So colorful!

It’s a good idea to stop for some refreshments along the way.

Souvenirs

But instead of fruit I decided to stop for a gelato and this photograph is a great souvenir!

gelato

A Walk in the Cinque Terre

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When I got off the local train that stopped at the villages of the Cinque Terre I carried a copy of the train schedule.  That way I’d know when to be back at the station to go to the next stop.  Once I knew how much time I had for my walk I decided to take in all the charming sights I could.  It had rained earlier so I had a slightly soggy umbrellas in my bag.  Although there were lots of visitors that day I managed to get away from the crowd and enjoy my walk.  These are some of my impressions.

It’s a good idea is to have boats available…

Cinque Terre

Shopping for souvenirs
Steep steps
A door to…?
Flowers and shopping
Nice place for a walk

And wherever you are, there is the sight of water:

Cinque Terre

 

Check out Jo’s Monday walk here.

A Train Ride along the Cinque Terre

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When I was in Italy in May one of my favorite experiences was taking a train from La Spezia to see the villages of the Cinque Terre.  The first stop was the village of Riomaggiore.  It had been raining when I boarded the train in La Spezia but as the train pulled into the station at Riomaggiore the storm had ended and the clouds were transitioning to blue sky.  It was late morning and an ideal time for a walk, although it was challenging because the sidewalks were so steep.

Many levels of buildings
Follow this sign!
A door to…
The water
Steep steps

While walking I couldn’t decide whether to look at the buildings, some with laundry hanging from terraces, or do a little souvenir shopping.  Another thought was to look for a gelato shop and keep walking.  Since they were such interesting possibilities I decided to do all of them!

A little shopping
Laundry day
Non-gelato food choices
Lemon scented soap
Souvenir shop

Although this chair looked inviting for a little rest, I had a train schedule to follow to get to the other villages so eventually I had to walk back to the station to catch a train to Manarola, another village in the Cinque Terre.  I’ll tell you about that soon.

Italy