Blogs from Portovenere, Liguria, Italy, Europe

Day Two of hiking brought us our first variation from the Trip Notes suggested itinerary. We were to take a train to La Spezia where we were supposed to take a city bus to the medieval town of Portovenere. We followed the directions to the bus stop but there happened to be a huge outdoor flea market that day in the area of La Spezia where we were to find the bus stop. Traffic on the roads in that whole area was limited to one direction and as a result the bus route must have been modified. We did figure out that we needed to buy tickets for the bus at the Tobacco Store which we did but it was still unclear where the bus stop was relocated to. After a couple hours of chasing buses ... read more

I finished working the Med Season and I looked at my location (Imperia Porto Maurizio) in the map of Italy to find an interesting place to go while I wait for my training classes to start. Cinque Terre was just 3 hours away by train. I headed straight there. On my way I was texting a friend of mine that was in France and she decided to meet me there and spend a few days exploring and doing gastronomy excursion accompanied by sightseeing and wine tasting. We rented a cute little apartment in La Spezia up in a hill by a church with amazing views of the city and the marina. The buses were limited but quickly we got used to go up and down the hundreds of steps that would take us straight down to ... read more

Up and off to the Stationale to look at our options for getting to Sorrento tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Trenitalia only gets us as far as Naples. What an adventure! It was pouring with rain as we then headed off to find a boat to Porto Venere - oh, it's no longer in season, the seas are high, there are no boats running. So off to the Information Centre and the decision was to bus. There is a huge naval presence in La Spezia town, all behind high block walls - heaps of battle ships. Canons sounded as we were waiting for our bus. A chap advised that it was a show of military force to the people. Then later, another friendly Italian chap on our bus told us it was just testing equipment. ??? The bus ... read more

We took the passenger ferry from Riomaggiore to Portovenere which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The boat trip is along a steep and rocky coast of folded sedimentary rocks from the Appenine Mountains in the background. There are many slips and houses perched on the sides. One wonders how people access the houses – from the road above, or the sea below? Portovenere is a beautiful town of very ancient and modern. It is situated in the Gulf of La Spezia also known as the Gulf of Poets after Byron, Shelley and DH Lawrence who lived in the area. We walked along the modern harbour (away from the tourists) then returned to the main attraction – the old walled town. The ancient walls encompass tall walled fortified houses facing the harbour, running along to the ... read more