Starting where I left off in part one, the next day the 3 of us decided to go check out a town called Porto Venere. We grabbed a coffee and pastry before leaving Monterosso. We first took the train to La Spezia and then from there had to catch a bus to take us to Porto Venere. We had to walk to the bus station so as we walked I snapped a couple of shots.
We found the bus station and waited about 15 minutes before it arrived. The bus ride was so beautiful! The closer we got to Porto Venere, the prettier it got. I wanted to get off at every stop to take photos, but they don't really let you do that. ;)
We saw the most breathtaking views of snow capped Alps. I have been to the Alps numerous times, but seeing them from a distance with water in between was something so magical. I wish I had a photo to share but I know sometimes it is nice to just take it all in without the thought of trying to document it with your camera.
We arrived in Porto Venere and were all glad we chose this location to spend the day.
This photo above does no justice to how it appeared on the way in.
We walked around for a bit and decided to scope out a place to eat. The seafood in these port towns is super fresh and just amazing so of course we opted for that. We found a great spot to sit outside as the weather could not have been better. We had a little white wine, prawns, and several other local fish. Our waiter misunderstood our order so we wound up having a much longer lunch than planned, but it was no problem to us. We just relaxed and enjoyed. :)
After lunch we had a quick gelato, then began wandering around. There is a church there called The Church of Saint Peter, and I believe it was built in 1198! It was pretty amazing.
As we made our way up we stopped along the way and saw the pretty "windows" that looked up on the hill and out on the ocean.
We made our way inside and saw the beautiful architecture and the candles.
We made our way back down and I could not help but take this photo of some awful European fashion. ;)
We then hiked up the hill and took in the views from above. Just amazing!
We then headed down into the back alleys of the town. I have to say that is one of my favorite things about Italy! I just love that you can walk down a tiny corridor and find amazing shops and restaurants!
After walking around for awhile we decided it was time to go back down by the water and have a "spritz" and a little snack. I actually didn't wind up liking the spritz but at least I tried it.
After the spritz we continued wandering around the town and found a great shop that sold all kids of yummy olive oils and spices. I bought some basil olive oil and some truffle oil, as did Dory. They let you write you name on the wall in the shop, which was pretty cool. Dory did the honors for us.
After that it started to get a little dark so we made our way back to the bus station to get back "home" for the evening.
Once we got back to Monterosso we found a pizza place that was highly recommended on Trip Advisor. We had some yummy pizza and wine, and even a little dessert. It was the perfect way to end a fabulous day!
(Below is Dory and me in a fuzzy cell phone shot at dinner)
.jpg)
Stay tuned for part 3!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment