Porto Venere and Florence

being in Levanto felt like a holiday from our holiday.  Beaches, sea, postcard pretty towns, boats, etc

A view from the Castle, Porto Venere

the weather was actually slightly cooler due to being coastal - but still plenty warm enough for a swim, and to enjoy wandering around the different villages that make up the region.

yes, it's a total tourist circus.  goodness knows what it's like during the high season - train stations etc were bedlam.  So, we took to the sea and went to Porto Venere.

There is a great boat service up and down the coast although only a couple of times a day from Levanto so we couldn't afford to be late for the 10am sailing.  All those gorgeous postcards of the cinque terre are clearly taken from the sea - you definitely get the best views of them from there.

Vernazza, from the boat

Within a few minutes of setting off the boat had slowed and there were dolphins.  Lovely.  Plus, every time one popped up the whole boat went "aaahh"

Geoff made friends with a woman from Brisbane and they chatted about this and that until we arrived at Porto Venere - just south of Cinque Terre and within view of La Spezia, the major town for the area (which we didn't visit).  The way it sits around a harbour with all the houses jumbled up the hills did rather put me in mind of Wellington.

Turns out Byron spend a fair bit of time in this area, including a famous swim from the grotto (Byron's grotto) beneath Chiesa San Pietro, across the bay to visit Shelley (or something like that).  Anyway, we had a couple of hours to see the sites (2 x churches, 1 x castle ruin with lovely garden), grab a bite (just a humble lunch today) and jump on the boat back to Monterosso, with actual beaches, for a swim.  Yay. Swim in the Med = happiness.  It was so salty and clear - lovely to float around and not think of how polluted it probably actually is...

Beach at Monterosso.  Our boat is in the background.

Grabbed a short train ride back to Levanto as the last boat didn't leave for ages (crazy crammed but only a short ride through the tunnel), a quick geocache celebrating the history of alpinism in the area, and then home for a freshen up before dinner.  Yum.

It was the UEFA champions league final so people all over the place were glued to their teles - just like when we were in Spain a couple of years ago.  It seems (tho I may be wrong) that both teams were from Madrid but the final was held in Portugal. When we were having our coffees ATL was ahead of Real but we didn't stick around to see the end and I still don't know what happened.

Our hosts at La Dolce Vita were lovely and included station pick up and drop offs as part of the deal, which saved us the hill.  Both times we tried to get into the driver's side. Duh.  Valeria was a lovely host and her husband also - he is a train driver when he's not helping her look after guests.  

Train to Florence was text book - Levanto to Pisa, then Pisa to Florence - easy.  Florence was a bloody oven.  Nearly fell over from the heat immediately.  So we hopped in the taxi queue - smart move - and high tailed it to our brand new (as it turns out) apartment.  Best views in Florence (they reckon) and for free from the fifth floor.  I put that on Facebook, twitter and instagram (just to be sure).

Ravioli with cheese and pear.  Delicious.

We found a place to do our washing - no mean feat on a Sunday afternoon - and after forty winks, toodled into town for dinner.  We had a lovely meal - bodes well for the rest of the week, if not our waist lines.