(back to our road trip through Italy) . . onward to Pisa and Cinque Terre!

Wow . . . never thought I would make it to the leaning tower of Pisa . . . but that is just where I ended up one sunny day in May! :-) Pisa was great!! I have heard some negative comments about the fact that the only thing to see in Pisa is the tower . . . but I definately think that is enough! It was fabulous! I think we enjoyed looking at all of the poses people were striking in an effort to "hold up the tower" almost as much as viewing the tower itself. Truely was beautiful and I am so glad we did not listen to those negative comments and decided to stop! I LOVED it!!

 

 

 

 Our next stop was the Cinque Terre! The cinque terre consists of 5 small villages (within hiking distance to each other) along the coast of the Italian Riviera. The five cities, along with the area surrounding, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We personall visited the fourth city, Vernazza, which is the most famous and most pictured of all 5 cities. We were able to see first hand the great distruction that came the the Cinque Terre in October of 2011 when torrential rains caused severe flooding and mudslides. Almost two years later we could still see the damage that was done. Vernazza was colorful and full of life! (it was also raining and quite wet) We enjoyed a nice lunch at the edge of the pier and continued with a hike up in the hills to get better views, and pictures, of this little Italian jewel. I would have loved to stay a few days and hike (or take the train in the event of sudden laziness) from one town to the next. I have heard that each of the cities have their own unique style and beauty. Well . . . I have a year left here in Europe . . . perhaps I will make it back before I leave :-) We also witnessed the sneaky fingers of "umbrella snatching Bev" . . be careful with your umbrella. If it is left laying about she will snatch it faster than you can blink . . . we added two large umbrellas to our stash this day

 

(boys enjoying one of the many "gelato" stops)

 

 

(umbrella snatching Bev strikes again . . and again. . and again)