A magical Meditteranean vacation - the Italy road trip COMPLETED - Page 32 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Friday 18 July – part five: that just seems to cling to the cliff face…
We headed off again, stopping after a couple of miles to get shots here…
… including photos of Manarola far below us, a village that just seems to cling to the cliff face…
We headed off again, and rather alarmingly, went through a series of bends, where the road was down to one lane, and they seemed to have done repairs to it.
We stopped again to get some photos, and now in the distance, we could see Volastra, where we’d stopped for lunch…
There were more homes clinging to the sides of hills as we drove along…
… then we seemed to be so high up that we were almost in the clouds…
We stopped again, and this time far below us was Vernazza, the only one of the Cinque Terre villages to actually have a harbour, and it certainly looked as if they were making good use of it:
We set off again, and we could see islands out to sea that were literally just rocky outcrops in the water…
We stopped again, and this time, we could see villages scattered in front of us as far as the eye could see down to the ocean…
This was an interesting stop, as while Mari, Raleigh and I were out taking photos, Mark backed the car up from where he’d parked. The only problem with this parking area was that you had a massive dip to get over, so we certainly heard some interesting noises as he moved it around. I figured it was probably better we weren’t in the car when he was doing that…
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I don't think you'll find prettier views anywhere in the world than these coastal towns. I am so glad I did my touring of Italy in my pre-scooter days.... talk about inaccessible!
I just saw a news feature that said the city of Venice is banning the use of wheeled suitcases!! Apparently it's too noisy on the streets and residents are complaining. After reading of your struggles getting to and from the hotel in Venice I can't even imagine trying to do this without wheels on your bags!! The fine for using wheeled luggage will be 500 euros! I don't think this law has passed yet, but good grief!
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This is the classic Italian coastline I've always pictured. And it's just how I imagined! How those buildings were built so long ago perched on the cliff like that... I don't know. But it sure is beautiful!
Your camera zoom is still doing wonderfully!!
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Tanya
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I don't think you'll find prettier views anywhere in the world than these coastal towns. I am so glad I did my touring of Italy in my pre-scooter days.... talk about inaccessible!
I just saw a news feature that said the city of Venice is banning the use of wheeled suitcases!! Apparently it's too noisy on the streets and residents are complaining. After reading of your struggles getting to and from the hotel in Venice I can't even imagine trying to do this without wheels on your bags!! The fine for using wheeled luggage will be 500 euros! I don't think this law has passed yet, but good grief!
Oh my goodness! That is just insane - I cannot see how anyone will be able to get around Venice without wheeled cases. I guess the only way around will be to hire one of the porters you see. If that law comes in, I seriously doubt we'll be going back to Venice - it would just be too much of a nightmare to get around.
This is the classic Italian coastline I've always pictured. And it's just how I imagined! How those buildings were built so long ago perched on the cliff like that... I don't know. But it sure is beautiful!
Your camera zoom is still doing wonderfully!!
Well, yes and no. That camera I was using ended up being replaced in October, as the lens had problems and, under the warranty we have, it couldn't be fixed in less than two weeks, which entitled us to a brand new one. It's a bit worrying, as we'd bought it new in June!
I just saw a news feature that said the city of Venice is banning the use of wheeled suitcases!! Apparently it's too noisy on the streets and residents are complaining. After reading of your struggles getting to and from the hotel in Venice I can't even imagine trying to do this without wheels on your bags!! The fine for using wheeled luggage will be 500 euros! I don't think this law has passed yet, but good grief!
I heard the same thing on the Today show this morning, not law yet, but in the works. I had the same thought as Laurie that you had enough trouble with luggage as it was. I can't imagine trying to haul non-wheeled suitcases.
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I heard the same thing on the Today show this morning, not law yet, but in the works. I had the same thought as Laurie that you had enough trouble with luggage as it was. I can't imagine trying to haul non-wheeled suitcases.
I hadn't heard anything about this over here, so if you hear any updates guys, do keep me posted!
Our next stop as Legnaro, and in the distance, we could see the town of Levanto, and the sea beyond it…
We headed down through the village…
… and soon we were entering Levanto.
It was nice to be back in a town and civilisation, after passing tiny villages for so long. Levanto is a popular place now for tourists, thanks to its beach, but in history, it’s been an important centre for agriculture and trade. It’s interesting, as we had discussed whether people in the villages just live off the land, or whether they have to travel to buy things, as we hadn’t seen the basics, like shops in the villages we’d gone past.
We headed out of there, and ahead of us in the distance, we could see the motorway that we’d be joining in a few miles!
Before then though, we still had some gorgeous scenery to travel past, and some more twists and turns to negotiate…
Eventually, we were back on the motorway, and it was one set of what felt like continuous bridges or tunnels. Just like driving in Switzerland, it was a bit of an engineering masterpiece, and you could see what your toll money was spent on.
We came off at the junction for Rapallo, where we were staying the night, and what a nightmare junction. The line wasn’t to pay the toll, it was to get into the town, as you went from about four lanes into one, and of course everything just backed up, and you crawled along. Amazingly, no-one once tooted their horns, so we guessed this is just a way of life here…
We speeded up a bit for a little while as we passed through some of the town…
… then we came to a halt again with stop-start traffic for about half a mile, where we just inched forward, and Mark had to keep his wits about him, with mopeds coming from all directions. Honestly, these guys seriously have a death wish!
That is a curious thing to think about. Do those who live in the little mountainside villages have to venture into the bigger towns regularly? And to do that on those roads on a regular basis.... you'd better not be prone to being carsick!
Beautiful photos, I'm loving the mountainside towns (remote as they may be!)!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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And what a great lunch you ended up with! More please! 
It's a bit worrying, as we'd bought it new in June! 
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