For me nothing conjures up feelings of wonderlust better than seeing a beautiful picturesque photo of Manarola and so I was super excited to be going today to Cinque Terre, one of the most beautiful stretches of dramatic coastline in the world. Fashions in Florence were quite conservative, so in the morning when I put on my Kimono over my jeans and lace dress I felt a little bit out there…but really I had to dress up for a meeting with one of the world’s most beautiful villages and so after throwing caution to the wind, I added some more bracelets and a sequin clutch to make my look that much more bohemian.
We took the train from Florence to Pisa, then from Pisa to La Spezia from which the little villages of Cinque Terre were just a short regional train journey away. It hadn’t taken us long, only 2 hours (with the stop in Pisa) but as we neared the more mountainous Italian Riviera if felt as if we had traveled to the edge of the Earth. We had a short wait to took the opportunity to gorge on Ferrero Rochers and drink Capuccionos before taking the final regional train, which ran smoothly through rock hewn tunnels.It was amazing, the whole journey was so easy and cheap (even without speaking Italian) and had only taken us just over 2hours. Now that we were in La Spezia, the villages were really close with Riomaggiore only 7 minutes away by train and Manarola 12.
The train started and we followed the ragged coastline. A lot of the time we were in darkness as we sped through the cliffs, but when we emerged we were right on the waters edge and had some amazing views.
Our first stop was Manarola. The little coloured houses were built in clusters on the rocks and the steep mountainside. The streets were really narrow and deserted and down by the waters edge there were beautiful fishing boats and restaurants. We hiked up the wrong way and almost died climbing the step steeps but we saw the town from the back, from the local’s vineyard plantations on the hill. We had the best food of our whole trip in Manarola when we had the Muscle Pasta and fresh seafood at Il Porticciolo. We wanted to get an amazing view of the village, so we walked along the costal path and took pictures of the sun setting over the horizon. On our way back we went through Riomaggiore which was equally spectacular!
These villages were so spectacular and I couldn’t believe that they were so close to La Spezia because they really felt so remote. This was such a dramatic end to our road trip and the returning to an unbelievable stylish hotel. with colour themed rooms in Pisa was the perfect end to our Italian adventure.
WEARING
Monochrome Kimono – PRIMARK
Black Jeans – GUESS
Sequin Clutch – PRIMARK
Swarovski Encrusted Bracelet – CASTELLANO ETHNIC ORIGINS
Silver and Opal Bracelet – MARRAKESH SOUKS
Silver Bangle – MACY’S
Such beautiful scenery, nice!!
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Thank you John! I am pleased I could share these photos with you 🙂 Wishing you and your family a very Merry Chirstmas and I hope you have a great day xxx
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Wow, wow, wow! Such beautiful scenery and the town looks so quiet despite its fame.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I am so pleased that you liked the pictures. The scenery was really breathtaking…it felt so remote and the towns were built on the cliffs, a very special place. We went really off season so it was really deserted. I would love to see it in the summer because I bet the colours are better and the sea looks lovely, but it was nice having the villages to ourselves 🙂 Abi xxx
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Gorgeous!
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Thank you sweetie 🙂 I am so pleased you liked the pics ❤ xxx
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Spectacular photos! Looks like an amazing holiday 🙂
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Thank you so much for your lovely words. I am so pleased you liked the pics, the holiday was really great and even though we didn’t go for that long we saw so many things. I hope you liked the other posts and I am so pleased I got to share my trip with you 🙂 Abi xxx
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Such a beautiful town – love the small Italian villages
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Yes I agree, that whole coast is so stunning! The colored houses built on the cliffs are just so beautiful! Thank you for your lovely comment, Abi xxx
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this is so beautiful!!
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I am so pleased that you like it! 🙂 Abi xxx
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Only thing is, can you imagine living at one of the houses up the top, then coming back from food shopping and realising you forgot the milk?!?
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LOL! I know right,it looks so remote and steep! We actually walked up the wrong way to try to get a decent view…and ended up climbing up the back of the mountain behind the houses…almost had a stroke… Abi xxx
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Reblogged this on S.O.U.L. S-P-A-C-E and commented:
Glorious Cinque Terre is on my bucket list!
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Thank you so much for reblogging my post! I am so pleased you liked it! It was on my bucket list too and I was so pleased to have gone there to visit it! I do hope you get to go because it is so beautiful and picturesque and really close to Pisa by train! Definately worth venturing out there to see it! Thank you again and hope that you are having a lovely Christmas ❤ Abi xxx
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The photography on some of these locations shots is great! Such a pretty place!
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Thank you so much, what a great compliment. I am so pleased you liked the pics and the villages of Cinque Terre ❤ My camera really helps me to capture night shots of towns and cities so really I must give most of the credit to it!
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No comments on the meals!
That looks great! Along with the views; an A+!
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Thank you so much 🙂 Glad you liked the post and thank you for your lovely support ❤ Abi xxx
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Okay, so I just nominated you for the Liebster Award–as I understand it, it’s to help promote blogs from fellow bloggers. Here’s my blog with more information and rules and all that. https://achaosfairyrealm.wordpress.com/2014/12/23/liebster-award/
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Thank you so much for your very kind nomination! It really means a lot that you felt my blog worth of your nomination 🙂 I will endeavor to take part in the challenge asap and will definitely be following your blog too! Abi xxx
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stunning photos! I want to be there.
xx
mallory
http://www.the-drifter.com
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Hey! Thank you so much!I hope you get to go soon too! I am so glad you liked the photos from our last part of our Italian Road Trip xxx
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Gosh, absolutely gorgeous. It almost doesn’t look real. Gorgeous buildings and gorgeous looking food, too. ❤
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Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am so pleased that you liked our pictures, and I agree with you, the villages were truly remarkable places, so remote and yet so colorful even in the rainy winter! Thank you, Abi xxx
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I can’t stop looking at those pictures! So beautiful 🙂 and your jacket/cardigan/thing is amazing 😍
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Great! I am so pleased you liked the pictures 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind words. The Kimono/ Cardigan is from Primark and got it because I really liked the pattern, so I am pleased that you liked it too 🙂 Abi xxx
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I love the colours of the town – stunning!
Seasons greetings… Emma 🙂
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Hi Emma! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas :))) I am so pleased you liked the pics, I agree the colors of the houses were something else, so pretty! ❤ Thank you for your kind words and hope you have a great holiday xxx
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The view is really breathtaking. love it! ❤
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Thank you for your lovely comment and I am so pleased your liked the view. We hiked up the wrong path, round the back of Manarola, up to the vineyard fields and couldn’t work out how it could be so steep for tourists to climb…it wasn’t until we were halfway off the edge that we realized that the actual path was down by the water’s edge… The view was breathtaking and its such a beautiful part of the world! Glad you liked the post, Abi xxx
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Such beautiful pictures. Absolutely love it. thank you for sharing
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Aww thank you so much :)) I am so pleased you liked the pics. Cinque Terre is such a stunning part of the world, it was such an amazing experience going there so its my pleasure to share them with you! Abi xxx
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This place is very high on my ‘must visit’ list!
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I don’t blame you! It was high up on my ‘must visit’ list too and I felt so lucky going there. It was really a lovely part of the world, so I hope you get to go soon as I am sure that you will really enjoy it! 🙂 Abi xxx
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One of my all time favorite places. 🙂
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I agree, I really loved my trip there, truly a magical place! xxx
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I would love to visit this place.. Thank you for the fabulous photos..have shared your post. Thank you for following my Journey In Peru
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I would love to visit this place.. Thank you for the fabulous photos..have shared your post. Thank you for following my Journey In Peru
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