Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Ciao! Our second day in Cinque Terre was spent exploring a few different towns. We began in Riomaggiore and it was magical. Sophie and I got up early and took the train just a few minutes to the first town of the Cinque Terre. Our first stop was breakfast, and we were lucky to find some delicious apricot croissants at a small cafe. Afterwards we wandered through the town, heading up as we went. The cloudy weather was a welcome break from the sun and made for some really beautiful pictures. 

This region of Italy is known for their Lemons, and Sophie and I bought some lemon soap to take home as gifts. Soon we made it to the top of the town and the view was amazing. I highly recommend making the trek up in Riomaggiore, it gives you a peek into the lives of the residents and time to notice all the colorful details of the town. On our walk down to the beach we stopped at the Mamma Mia restaurant and got fish and chips to go. The lower part of the town has huge rocks where many people sit and enjoy the ocean. 

I hope you enjoy our colorful pictures from Riomaggiorie, tomorrow I will be sharing our second stop of the day, Vernazza! 

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La Spezia and Manarola, Cinque Terre

In order to travel to Cinque Terre you must travel through La Spezia. This is also where Sophie and I boarded our sailboat trip I recapped yesterday. Here are a few photos I captured walking through La Spezia on the way to the harbor: 

Like I mentioned yesterday, we stayed in Manarola during our time in Cinque Terre. We loved eating dinner overlooking the beautiful town and watching the sun set each evening. Tomorrow I will begin to share photos from the other towns we visited in Cinque Terre, but it was wonderful to have a home base in Manarola. During the day – and into the evening – people swim among the rocks and even climb to the top and jump off into the sea. One of our other favorite activities in Manarola was taking pictures in front of the beautiful flowering walls. Enjoy!

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Cinque Terre Sailboat Trip

Today I am sharing Sophie and I's boat trip in Cinque Terre! This was one of our favorite experiences of the whole trip – it still doesn't quite feel like it was real life. After leaving Pisa we once again took the train to reach Cinque Terre. This train trip required several stops, and we were VERY grateful that our hotel in Manarola was right outside the train station. The Hotel Affittacamere San Giorgio is the perfect place to stay, I can't recommend it enough. The location made our whole experience so much easier. Our first evening in Manarola was pretty relaxed after a busy travel day, but the next morning we headed back to La Spezia by train to board the sailboat! 

There were only four other people on our boat, and we had a great time getting to know them throughout the day. The boat first sailed past Portovenere and then slowly made its way past all five Cinque Terre towns. We were also able to swim off of the boat in two different locations, and eat lunch with a view of Monterosso. Thankfully we didn't see any jellyfish while we were actually in the the water, but we did see a GIANT one once we were back on the boat. Experiencing Cinque Terre from the water was an experience I know I will remember forever. If you have time while you are visiting this would be at the top of my list to repeat, especially in the July heat. Ciao until tomorrow! 

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Think.Make.Share. Bookplates

In celebration of #NationalBookLoversDay I created a post for Think.Make.Share. featuring downloadable bookplates by several Hallmark artists (including myself!). Go peruse and download some for your own library HERE. Happy reading! 

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Lucca, Italy

Happy Monday! Today I'm recapping our day trip to Lucca from Pisa. After a quick croissant near the Leaning Tower we jumped on the train and stopped just outside the town! Lucca's walls still survive from the Renaissance, and it is very popular to walk or bike along the paths on top of the walls. Sophie and I rented a double bike cart (which conveniently had a roof) and pedaled along almost the whole path! There were a couple of areas that were blocked off, but we had a great time enjoying the views. The most difficult part was getting the cart back down off of the path without crashing. 

After biking we stopped in a hardware store and bought our parents a door knocker! I love how unique all the doors are in Italy and this was the perfect gift for them. We continued walking around inside of the walls until we reached the center of town (which forms an oval). After some gelato and a glass of wine we walked by the famous tower with oak trees growing out of the top, and then headed back to the train station. Lucca was truly a lovely little town to visit, and I think a day trip was the perfect amount of time to enjoy it. Next up, four days in Cinque Terre! 

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Pisa, Italy

Sophie and I's second stop on our Italian adventure was Pisa! Like I mentioned in my previous post, we took the train from Florence to Pisa and then checked in at our hotel (Helvetia Pisa Tower). We set down our bags and immediately started wandering around. We walked all around the town, even across the river, and even found the Keith Haring mural I was dying to see! After our long walk we relaxed in our room before an amazing dinner at Paninoteca il Canguro Spaghetteria. (Our pappardelle pasta was so good we even go a second order!) For dessert we got gelato at a nearby shop and watched some jugglers and walked around the Leaning Tower and church. The next morning we took a day trip to Lucca (blog post coming soon), but the day after we had one last morning to climb the tower! 

I highly recommend buying tickets to climb the tower online before your trip (especially if you choose to go in July like we did). There were tons of tourists flooding in and I don't know that we would have made it to the top if we didn't have tickets already! You could really feel the tower lean as you walked up the stairs, and the view from the top is beautiful. We had a wonderful time in Pisa, but you could also easily take a day trip there from Florence so you wouldn't have to change hotels an extra time. Up next, a Lucca recap! 

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