Amber00131

Our last hiking day takes us to Portofino, probably the most anticipated village for both Ralf and I, but not before we make our longest hike yet from Rocco to San Fruttuoso and then on to Portofino. Maybe it was just because it was such a long hike, but there were honestly times in the last few hours where I questioned if we'd accidentally missed a turn-off and taken a longer route because it took so long to actually see Portofino. In the end, we were on the right path all along and eventually we did make it to Portofino. The only unfortunate thing about the day was Portofino was a bit of a disappointment (more on that later) but it was a amazing hike, despite the strenuous terrain. Rewind....to start the day we took the ... read more

These are the trip notes for today's suggested hike: Cinque Terre Park; Coniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso- The walk today really allows you to explore the National Park of the Cinque Terre. Starting from Monterosso, you walk along the olive groves with panoramic views of the sea. Your path continues gently towards Vernazza, an important and historical village being the only natural harbour of the Cinque Terre. Return by train. Distance 9km; approx. 4 hours walking. Ascent 300m, descent 300m. We started today's hike in Monterosso which is located at the very center of a tiny natural gulf. Starting from sea level, we climbed about 500 meters over a couple of hours to arrive at the Sanctuary of Soviore. This is the oldest sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the whole area. Recently the archaeological excavation conducted ... read more

Leaving Florence by train through the Tuscany Region and then arriving in our "home" for the next week, Sestri Levante. We were able to walk to our hotel, the Sole e Luna, which was located right at the beach with amazing views from our balcony. For the next five days we'd start out there each morning after a quaint breakfast with "Mama Mia" and travel by train to one of the villages of the region and then spend the day hiking to one or several other villages. For first day of hiking, we took a Train to Levanto and then walked to Monterosso. This is the description from our walking tour notes; "This morning take a train transfer to Levanto and spend some time in the historical centre dating back to the 12th Century. From here, ... read more

I got to see the third city in the trio of significant Saxony cities, Leipzig, which was the trade center in the trio years ago. (Dresden was where the royalty lived and most of the social activity occurred and Chemnitz was the manufacturing/ working class area. Ralf had a meeting there so we stopped on the way back from Berlin and I explored the city on foot for a few hours by myself. I missed my German tour guide but managed to find the market area and got some good shots of the ever impressive architecture.... read more

This visit to Germany, we decided to spend some time at the Baltic Sea as Ralf had traveled there in the past but this was the first time for me. We stayed in the Usedom area which I learned is actually an island, with a string of adorable little seaside villages, many of them connected by wooded trails for biking or walking and boardwalks along the sea in the villages scattered with little fish smokehouses and shops. The leaves had just started changing colors so this was a beautiful time to visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the crisp sea air in contrast to the unbearable heat and humidity in Florida all summer. My first glimpse of Baltic Sea life was Zinnowitz, where I quickly became familiar with a common sight of covered basket seats at the ... read more