Italy! April 16 Saturday - St. Mark's Square

We walked to St. Mark's Square, many people were congregated here taking photos of the iconic clock tower and other landmarks just as we were.

Italy! April 16 Saturday - Going to Venice

We woke up early the next morning to pack up our belongings and catch the 9:16 a.m. train from Vernazza, we would have three train changes this day before arriving at Venezia S. Lucia at 2:20 p.m. The train system in Italy has been very easy to follow as I had mentioned, stations have city signs in bold letters. We preordered tickets at home and printed them out, and we found that station officers checked tickets randomly, if you don't have a ticket you can be fined on the spot or kicked off the train, both of which we witnessed.

The entry to the northeastern city of Venice was dramatic, bodies of water on either side of the train tracks.  Exiting the station, we were met with the Grand Canal of Venice, boats, buildings, and water, no cars!  From S. Lucia Venice Station we took an ACTV Public Ferry to the closest stop to our hotel. This still had us walking down winding streets and across bridges to get to the Ai Mori d'Oriente Hotel. Thank goodness we arrived during daylight in good weather, as it had been everyday during our trip.  The hotel room was over-the-top, just like this city!

Italy! April 15 Friday - Vernazza Evening

Yes! We made it back after our Cinque Terre tour extravaganza. After we arrived at the apartment, Steve went back out and brought home our daily gelato snack. Then a quick rest, and we went back out to climb the steps of the Vernazza Lighthouse. After dining at Il Pirata for the second day in a row, we took a night stroll. Nightlife in Italy takes care of itself at all of our destinations, the scenery, background chatter and music in some areas, it has all been so entertaining.

Italy! April 15 Friday - Corniglia to Vernazza Hike

The weather we had experienced during the trip could not be better, mid-70's, sunny skies. The trail between Corniglia and our homebase Vernazza was hilly and scenic beyond words. Red and white paint marked the way to go. A nice respite was Bar Il Gabbiano, which served snacks, coffee and delicious citrus juice.

Italy! April 15 Friday - Riomaggiore and Corniglia

From Monterosso we took the train to southernmost Riomaggiore. We had a snack of mixed fried seafood at Il Pescato Cucinato, and took a stroll. The trail from Riomaggiore was closed, so we then took the train to Corniglia, passing Manarola on the way. Our destination for lunch was the recommended Mananan, which served traditional pasta and especially good pesto. This small family-owned restaurant takes pride in their menu, a foreigner next to us asked for balsamic vinegar for their dish, at which point the server refused to bring it to them, it would alter the true flavor of the dish considerably. Steve and I enjoyed our pasta dishes before the hike back to Vernazza.