Blogs from Manarola, Liguria, Italy, Europe

Merely a decade ago, Cinque Terre was as popular as Mondays. But thanks to Rick Steves and the advent of social media, word about this hidden gem spread faster than ebola, becoming an epidemic in and of itself. So concerning is the influx of tourists that Italian officials will instate a quota on the number of visitors this summer to 1.5 million. The lottery system to determine the lucky souls able to visit these sleepy abodes atop the cliffs will help preserve the culture and sustainability of the area, which UNESCO dedicated as a World Heritage Site in 1997. While these backwaters are no longer the best-kept secret in travel, it still remains a largely untapped source of majestic beauty. Just don't expect to enter "Cinque Terre" into your GPS or that 5-star resorts are waiting ... read more

September 24 - Cinque Terre - Manarola We left our hotel in Florence at 9:00 am sharp with our driver to Cinque Terre. The drive was very interesting, we passed by many marble and granite quarry's. We saw many raw blocks of granite and marble ready to be processed and shipped out. We also drove through the city of La Spezia. A beautiful seaport town with large cruise boats, ocean going transport vessels, and one of the home ports of the Italian navy. We then began the climb up the mountain to the sea. We made a number switchbacks and finally entered a large tunnel which emptied us out to the Mediterranean Sea. We then started our trek to our village, Manarola. Manarola is the second village of the five along the national park of Cinque ... read more

Cheerio Okes! (More on that in a bit) Alright. What a week it has been! Last post I had just arrived in Avignon and had been regaling you with stories of finding wine in caves, making Pain Perdue, as well as the odd comment of how beautiful the train ride was. Now that we're caught up, let's begin : Avignon is quite the cool little town. It was once home to the French popes in the 1300s I believe, (I'm bad with history). It therefore has a huge castle which is called popes palace. This castle stands above everything else in old town, and can be seen for quite a distance. The streets of Avignon are windy and plentiful. Had a great first evening wondering around the streets and seeing people out and about enjoying the ... read more