From La Specia we drove northward through the Liguria and western Emilia-Romagna regions, crossing the Appennino chain of mountain that forms Italy’s backbone. It was foggy and rainy earlier in the mornings drive but clearing as the day progressed. These areas of Italy felt somewhat more similar to the mountain
“The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the northwest of the city of La Spezia. “The Five Hills” is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
Several months ago I received an email from a representative of the Arbor Day Foundation stating they wished to use a Crapemyrtle Tree photo of mine they had found via this blog in their upcoming July/August newsletter. Believing in their cause, I granted them permission to use it as long as they indicated it was my copyrighted photo and with the understanding they were to sent me a couple of copies of the newsletter when published. They agreed to both terms.
Our next destination was to visit the Cinque Terre coast of Italy but for the best logistics we stayed in nearby La Spezia and made use of the Italian train system. On our drive to La Spezia from where we’d been staying between Florence and Siena, we stopped and had lunch in Pisa. It was crowded, lots of tourist, so we only caught a glimpse of the leaning tower on our way out, deciding not to stop and fight the crowds.
“Things do not change; we change.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
We had scheduled a tour of the Castello di Brolio and then nearby dinner for our last evening in Tuscany. However due to a late start and a longer drive then anticipated we missed joining the tour group. “The impressive Castello di Brolio dominates the southern Chianti Classico countryside and has done so for over ten centuries.