Our hotel in Levanto, on the edge of the park. This gorgeous property was waaaay up on a hilltop overlooking the entire valley and our room had an ocean view!
Great balcony for a glass of local red wine.
Selfie from our hotel window! I love this guy!
Queen Anne's lace outside in the olive groves.
We had a small fig tree next to our parking spot. Poor fig didn't last long with me there! It was delicious! I hope to have a fig tree when we live in SD!
In Levanto for dinner the evening we arrived.
A tiny village we could see from our hotel.
Fuzzy little moth on the window at the train station in Levanto.
The first and farthest village from Levanto is a small place called Riomaggiore. It's not too much to see, but cute.
Plaque of the National Park. There's a wildlife reserve here as well as off-shore marine reserves with multitudes of fish and endangered species. If we ever come back and have more time, I'd like to rent kayaks for the day and go up the coast to view some of these creatures!
Boat cat in the next village, Manarola. What a lucky little thing!
It basically ignored us as all self-assured cats do, but it enjoyed a good pat. D didn't know what to do with the cuteness!
Manarola from the cliffside. So picturesque! The whole coast looks like this but this view was the best one available to us, by far!
It was a perfect day for sightseeing!
Third village was called Corniglio and to get to the village from the train station you had to climb a set of over 3,000 stairs straight up a hillside. It was totally worth it - I think this was my favorite village! TINY, but so beautiful and quaint!
Fantastic gelateria. I got basil gelato! Delish!
Sitting down for lunch in the fourth village, Vernazza. Vernazza is considered to be the prettiest village, is the least touristy, has no direct road access, and has the only natural "port". It was gorgeous.
My fresh fish with olive oil and a side of fresh lemon preserves. One of the best fish meals I have ever had! I ate just about everything!
Beautiful mixed breed dog.
Street musicians singing traditional Italian songs. Very good! I love the accordion!
Ancient brown tabby cat hanging outside of a small shop in Vernazza. What a sweetiepie!
We're cat people. :)
Walking through a small cave to the beach. In 2007 this village was destroyed in a catastrophic flood that killed several people. The mud and water came down the main boulevard and destroyed everything at street level and even some of the second stories. The water escaped through this cave to the sea, but it took days. It then took years to fully recover. The town is still freshly renovated and tourists are just starting to come back. There are photos all over of the damage. What a tragedy!
A very pretty rock castle on the beach. Someone took a lot of time to construct this!
At the "port" in Vernazza. The following several photos are all of Vernazza. It really is gorgeous.
Kiddos of all different nationalities and languages making an ever-evolving heck of a sandcastle. Looked like so much fun!
Not picking her nose. :)
Sunset in the last village, the closest one to home-base: Monterosso al Mare.
Next time we have a chance, I'll be laying out on this beach with a cocktail in hand!
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