On our way! |
Taxi-ing from the Nice airport to the Nice Ville train station. |
The pretty blue water that we didn't get a picture of last time. |
Nice train station. |
First Orangina! |
My sweet. |
Stop over in Ventimiglia to change trains. |
Enjoying the new iPod. |
Waiting on the platform in Montorosso - it's been a loooong journey. |
Monterosso |
Our gourmet first night's dinner - pizza & prosecco. |
Vernazza by night. |
Vernazza's town clock. |
The view from our window. |
Our view of a hillside vineyard. |
Loading grapes onto the trenino. |
Jenny takes in the view. |
Our sea-view! |
Looking down onto our front stoop from the other window. |
Our harbor view. |
The rooms across the way. |
Bedroom of our affita camere. Notice the rock wall! |
Joe taking a breather on the front stoop. |
Downstairs - another rock wall. |
The narrow caruggi - Vernazza's alleyways. |
We rented our room from Elisabetta Carro. |
The neighboring house. |
Our front door. |
More caruggi. |
I love doors. |
Yummy Vernazza focaccia. |
Vernazza pastries. |
A peek at the sea.. |
Locally harvested grapes hung to dry. |
On our way to lunch. |
Up the stairs... |
to Ristorante Castello. |
The incredible view. |
Every restaurant has a cat. |
The local white wine. |
Oh the water... |
So blue! |
Harbor view from the restaurant. |
Another harbor view. |
Joe had pesto lasagna - I had Tegame all Vernazza. |
Joe fake sleeping. |
Joe for real nodding off. |
Joe trying to wake up. |
Hillside vineyard view. |
One of the cooks, the other one hid. |
Laundry is always out drying everywhere. |
Boats in the harbor. |
Sitting on the sea wall. |
Joe is more daring and is sitting on the rocks next to the sea wall. |
Local sailor guy. |
View of the town from the breakwater. |
Sailor guy getting his boat ready. |
Pt. 2 |
Pt. 3 |
Inside the small shrine on the main street. |
Street performer. |
The little shrine. |
Love those doors. |
Cats abound - we counted 8 or 9 on our way home one night. |
Jenny waves from the second night's room. |
Caruggi leading up to our new room. |
The way out to the main street. |
Another view. |
Cat in a flowerpot! |
Detail of shrine cross. |
A surprise in the pavement. |
Our front stoop - notice the trail marker. |
A little shrine at the beginning of our hike. |
Hiking from Vernazza up to Corniglia. |
Hoo boy...steep steps. |
Looking back on Vernazza. |
What a view! |
Joe & Jenny & the castle. |
Our version. |
Looking ahead - little bit scary here. |
Another little shrine to Mary. |
The path. |
I think this is St. Francis. |
Joe & the view. |
Joe striking a pose before another round of steps. |
A lovely reminder of why we're on our trip. |
More steps...this was a strenuous hike! |
Olives! |
Rolled up nets waiting to be spread out to catch olives. |
The coast and Corniglia in the distance. |
Coming up on the bar that is at the halfway point between Vernazza & Corniglia. |
the views are incredible. |
This way to Corniglia! |
Pretty coast. |
Monster bamboo. |
Looking back. |
We're almost there! |
Nearing the town. |
Very lush area. |
Hilltop vineyard in the setting sun. |
Gate in a stone wall surrounding a vineyard. |
Another gate. |
Love these gates. |
The vineyard. |
The "use what you have" gate. |
A fallen in door - zapped with a Vivid Color action. |
Walking into town. |
The other half of Corniglia. |
Town church. |
Tromp L'oeil |
This way to the center of town... |
Pretty terrace. |
The sunset. |
Resting our tired bones. |
This wine probably came from grapes hauled down in that trenino! |
Delicious - Corniglia is known for it's white wine. |
Too bad we forgot to take the lens hood off... |
Pesto and linquini! Pesto was invented in Cinque Terre! |
What's left of the fish. |
Ahh...cappucino... |
Waiting to catch our train to Riomaggiore. |
My sweet. |
Me. Trying to cover up my chin... |
Have Merrells will travel! |
Riomaggiore by night. |
A pretty church. |
Nighttime narrow street. |
Riomaggiore train station. |
Vernazza's harbour. |
Our adorably tiny 2nd night affita camere. |
Looking down on Joe. |
The view out of the window. |
Our view. |
Pretty room. |
2nd night's hosts. |
Grape buckets? |
Heading out... |
Vernazza's main street. |
Getting ready for market. |
First business open! |
Even t-shirts look romantically Italian drying on the line. |
A quiet morning. |
Such pretty colors. |
Vernazza train platform. |
Another town clock - they chimed about 5 or 10 minutes apart. |
Morning grape harvesting. |
Corniglia Gate |
On the train on our way to Florence |
Yummy Vernazza pastries! |
Cappucino in the train station waiting for our connection. |
A little shrine in a dingy area of Florence near the train station. |
The view from the terrace of our Tuscan agriturismo! |
The terrace outside our room. |
Looking out over the vineyard |
Another view - just can't get enough! |
Looking out the side window over the breakfast patio. |
Beautiful built in armoires on the left - view from room out onto the terrace |
Our B&B (agriturismo) room. |
My love. |
View out the side window. |
B&B breakfast room. |
Gorgeous... |
Main B&B villa on left, smaller house up ahead. |
Grapes above the shop entrance. |
B&B shop (I think...) |
Garden view - this place was just beautiful. |
On our way to Siena. |
Rolling countryside. |
Driving along the Chiantigianna road on our way to Siena. |
Chiantigianna road is number 222. Such a beautiful drive! |
Siena - walking towards the center from the city wall. |
First view of Piazza del Campo! |
Heading towards the Duomo. |
A beautiful sunset is on its way. |
The Duomo. |
'nother view. |
Inside - beautiful art everywhere. |
Pulpit |
Above the altar |
Duomo candles |
A smaller chapel |
Illustrated music |
Ceiling of the music library |
Music library |
More illustrated music - so awesome to see it up close! |
On our way back to the Piazza. |
Palazzo Pubblico - town hall of Siena |
Gathering in the Piazza |
Blurry but I like it. :o) |
Really neat lamp on the walls of this contrada |
The contrada (neighborhood) flag |
We had gelato on a narrow balcony overlooking the Piazza as an appetizer |
Piazza by night |
A restaurant we trekked up to - a Rick Steves recommended one. SO GOOD! |
Prosciutto and Porcini mushroom appetizer |
Delicious house red |
Shaved truffle pasta! |
Wild boar in this amazing milk sauce |
The restaurant - |
Breakfast at the agriturismo the next morning |
Stairwell with timeworn stone steps |
Other end of the breakfast room |
Grapes above the shop entrance - both green & red |
Peeking into the kitchen |
The breakfast patio |
Just one hill over from our B&B |
The vineyard between our B&B and Greve in Chianti |
Another view |
So cool! (we pilfered one of the grapes and ate it - quite yummy) |
Same vineyard |
View from the Chiantigianna road |
Another hilltop view...getting closer to the classic Tuscan scene |
Stopped off in Asciano for a quick sandwich |
A quiet, non-touristy town on the way to San Giantimo abbey |
Pretty town |
View towards the town church |
Contrada flags |
Ham & cheese never tasted better! |
Town sign so we didn't forget where we went... |
View from the abbey |
view in another direction |
Sign from the monks |
Pretty sunlight streaming through the trees |
Very peaceful place |
Baptismal? |
The abbey's getting a facelift |
Saint Catherine of Siena, if you look closely you can see a mini-Siena around her feet |
Beautiful frescoes |
Painted by |
Loved this quite literal one about Saint Benedict coming to the monks in a dream telling them to build this abbey. |
A chapel |
The main sanctuary |
Another chapel |
So pretty |
Monk-made anti-cellulite cream! |
An artist |
Herb garden for the on site cafe |
Saint Benedict (unique ceramic halo) |
Mary |
Those tuscan trees! |
|
|
The sun was starting set and the light was incredible |
People were pulling over to take pictures of this farmhouse! |
Pienza in the distance |
Tuscan vista |
Gate into Pienza |
A pretty little hilltown. |
The town hall |
the town church |
with a real live nun :o) |
We're about to get an incredible view |
The town cat? |
gorgeous sunset |
Looking out over the countryside |
So beautiful... |
Looking back on the town... |
My dorky sweetheart |
Love of my life |
What an incredible sunset - first time we got to something when we wanted to ALL DAY |
|
|
|
Tallest peak in Italy |
|
|
Enjoying a couple glasses of Brunello - a famous local wine |
Delicious! |
|
Cheese shopping |
Pienza is well-known for its Pecorino cheese |
Stopped in Greve in Chianti on our way home |
Town piazza |
Our really cool bathroom in the agriturismo |
We loved this room. |
Ah - finally got to have my beloved train Cotto e Funghi sandwich! |
Doing some journaling - trains are good for that |
Milan train station |
Flying over the Swiss Alps from Milan to Paris! |
First Parisian view! (besides riding in on the RER) |
Our view from the window |
View down the street |
Fantastic old hotel with wooden beams and tall windows. |
Wonderful old armoire and fringy ceiling lamp |
Joe takes in the view |
Sacre Coeur carousel |
The Amelie grocery stand |
Place du Tetre - view from our table in the middle of the square. |
We took the touristy plunge but enjoyed it. |
Mussels - that's just my appetizer! |
Wonderful French-Canadian couple that we met |
Peeking in a Montmartre cafe - you can just barely see the pianist's hands |
Looking down the steps that lead up to Sacre Coeur |
Caught some fantastic jazz at Le Ducs du Lombard |
Our neighborhood patisserie - Eric Kayser |
First patisserie meal on the go! |
Plie au chocolat - soooo good |
Our Parc Disneyland field trip for a few hours |
|
Main Street |
Cool photo background in the storefronts |
Wider and shorter buildings than DW |
The barbershop! DW barbershop no longer exists. :( |
Neato Giant Pumpkin in the works in front of the castle |
Tomorrowland |
Sleeping Beauty castle - drizzly day, hard to get a good picture! |
Castle Detail |
The inside was beautiful! |
Love the title in French... |
Stained glass windows of the story |
Storybooks spaced along the walls with scenes behind them |
There is a DRAGON under the castle! The theming at this park is amazing! |
So cool and Dragonquest-y! |
Moves around and roars at you and such. |
Entrance from the outside |
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves |
Detail inside |
Us'n and the castle |
Adventureland |
Better castle picture |
In line for the Indiana Jones ride |
Pirate Cove! |
Carousel |
Pinocchio ride - don't have one of those at DW |
Frontierland |
Outside the gates to Frontierland |
Phantom Manor |
The Manor |
Again - more incredible theming |
Such a good ride! |
Coupla characters in Frontierland |
|
So cool with Sacre Coeur in the background |
Sennelier! |
They mixed paints for Cezanne here |
Oil Sticks |
Signature Sennelier oil paints |
The front counter - very busy! |
Outside |
Ooh - stumbled upon Laduree while looking for Pierre Herme! |
Gorgeous display window |
Pretty little park |
Stopped to eat some of our chocolates |
Ah.... |
|
|
|
ooh look - a Thai festival! |
Thai Joe |
Beautiful little building |
An artist working on boats |
This man made incredible shadow puppets |
On the way to Poilane |
Love this dog |
OOh - Poilane! A Barefoot Contessa inspired field trip. |
They were nice. They let me take pictures of the bread. |
Photo exhibit along the outside of Jardin du Luxembourg |
Well...Poilane's bar next door was closed so we couldn't get tartines. Two HUGE slices of bread were the next best thing. |
Deux cafe cremes s'il vous plait |
13th century passage across from our hotel |
Dinner that night at a Frederic recommended bistro down the block - Andre Allard |
Escargot |
Haricot vert salad with prosciutto |
House wine - this bistro was amazingly good |
All the action is down the hallway |
a quiet moment |
The table across from us |
Dessert! |
We were enjoying ourselves for hours, even outlasted most of the natives! |
Lovely bistro |
Outside view |
The front of the restaurant |
Pretty windows |
A restaurant in the old passage |
Joe in the stairwell |
Me trekking up - it was 4 flights |
the view down into the street |
Wish we had one of these at home! |
Supposedly voted the best croissants in Paris recently? |
|
|
I want to ride around on a bicycle with a baguette in my backpack in Paris! |
Empty cafe tables |
Neat buildings... |
Very old building |
Neat rooftop |
P1140234.jpg |
P1140235.jpg |
P1140236.jpg |
P1140237.jpg |
P1140238.jpg |
P1140239.jpg |
P1140241.jpg |
P1140244.jpg |
P1140245.jpg |
P1140246.jpg |
P1140247.jpg |
P1140250.jpg |
P1140252.jpg |
P1140253.jpg |
P1140257.jpg |
P1140265.jpg |
P1140271.jpg |
P1140279.jpg |
P1140287.jpg |
P1140310.jpg |
P1140324.jpg |
P1140332.jpg |
P1140360.jpg |
P1140377.jpg |
P1140392.jpg |
P1140397.jpg |
P1140405.jpg |
P1140409.jpg |
P1140415.jpg |
P1140422.jpg |
P1140425.jpg |
P1140431.jpg |
P1140433.jpg |
P1140439.jpg |
P1140440.jpg |
P1140444.jpg |
P1140450.jpg |
P1140454.jpg |
P1140455.jpg |
P1140456.jpg |
P1140457.jpg |
P1140459.jpg |
P1140460.jpg |
P1140461.jpg |
P1140462.jpg |
P1140463.jpg |
P1140464.jpg |
P1140467.jpg |
P1140469.jpg |
P1140470.jpg |
P1140471.jpg |
P1140472.jpg |
P1140474.jpg |
P1140476.jpg |
P1140478.jpg |
P1140479.jpg |
P1140488.jpg |
P1140489.jpg |
P1140490.jpg |
P1140491.jpg |
P1140492.jpg |
P1140497.jpg |
P1140498.jpg |
P1140499.jpg |
P1140500.jpg |
P1140507.jpg |
P1140518.jpg |
P1140522.jpg |
P1140523.jpg |
P1140528.jpg |
P1140529.jpg |
P1140530.jpg |
P1140535.jpg |
P1140537.jpg |
P1140538.jpg |
P1140540.jpg |
P1140542.jpg |
P1140543.jpg |
P1140544.jpg |
P1140545.jpg |
P1140547.jpg |
P1140548.jpg |
P1140549.jpg |
P1140550.jpg |
P1140555.jpg |
P1140558.jpg |
P1140560.jpg |
P1140562.jpg |
P1140571.jpg |
P1140573.jpg |
P1140574.jpg |
P1140575.jpg |
P1140576.jpg |
P1140577.jpg |
P1140581.jpg |
P1140582.jpg |
P1140584.jpg |
P1140585.jpg |
P1140586.jpg |
P1140587.jpg |
P1140588.jpg |
P1140589.jpg |
P1140591.jpg |
P1140592.jpg |
P1140593.jpg |
P1140594.jpg |
P1140595.jpg |
P1140596.jpg |
P1140598.jpg |
P1140600.jpg |
P1140601.jpg |
P1140602.jpg |
P1140603.jpg |
P1140607.jpg |
P1140608.jpg |
P1140609.jpg |
P1140610.jpg |
P1140611.jpg |
P1140612.jpg |
P1140613.jpg |
P1140614.jpg |
P1140615.jpg |
P1140617.jpg |
P1140618.jpg |
P1140619.jpg |
P1140620.jpg |
P1140622.jpg |
P1140623.jpg |
P1140624.jpg |
P1140625.jpg |
P1140626.jpg |
P1140628.jpg |
P1140629.jpg |
P1140631.jpg |
P1140632.jpg |
P1140633.jpg |
P1140634.jpg |
P1140635.jpg |
P1140636.jpg |
P1140638.jpg |
P1140639.jpg |
P1140640.jpg |
P1140641.jpg |
P1140642.jpg |
P1140645.jpg |
P1140646.jpg |
P1140647.jpg |
P1140649.jpg |
P1140650.jpg |
P1140651.jpg |
P1140652.jpg |
P1140653.jpg |
P1140655.jpg |
P1140660.jpg |
P1140671.jpg |
P1140675.jpg |
P1140676.jpg |
P1140679.jpg |
P1140686.jpg |
P1140688.jpg |
P1140689.jpg |
P1140692.jpg |
P1140694.jpg |
P1140699.jpg |
P1140709.jpg |
P1140712.jpg |
P1140715.jpg |
P1140717.jpg |
P1140718.jpg |
P1140719.jpg |
P1140720.jpg |
P1140721.jpg |
P1140722.jpg |
P1140723.jpg |
P1140724.jpg |
P1140725.jpg |
P1140726.jpg |
P1140729.jpg |
P1140730.jpg |
P1140731.jpg |
P1140733.jpg |
P1140734.jpg |
P1140735.jpg |
P1140739.jpg |
P1140740.jpg |
P1140744.jpg |
P1140746.jpg |
P1140748.jpg |
P1140749.jpg |
P1140750.jpg |
P1140751.jpg |
P1140753.jpg |
P1140754.jpg |
P1140755.jpg |
P1140756.jpg |
P1140758.jpg |
P1140759.jpg |
P1140760.jpg |
P1140763.jpg |
P1140764.jpg |
P1140766.jpg |
P1140768.jpg |
P1140770.jpg |
P1140775.jpg |
P1140776.jpg |
P1140780.jpg |
P1140785.jpg |
P1140789.jpg |
P1140790.jpg |
P1140793.jpg |
P1140798.jpg |
P1140811.jpg |
P1140812.jpg |
P1140813.jpg |
P1140816.jpg |
P1140819.jpg |
P1140823.jpg |
P1140824.jpg |
P1140825.jpg |
P1140827.jpg |
P1140835.jpg |
P1140836.jpg |
P1140840.jpg |
P1140846.jpg |
P1140852.jpg |
P1140854.jpg |
P1140855.jpg |
P1140856.jpg |
P1140857.jpg |
P1140859.jpg |
P1140861.jpg |
P1140864.jpg |
P1140867.jpg |
P1140871.jpg |
P1140872.jpg |
P1140873.jpg |