Cinque Terre, Italy, Manarola, Photography, Travel

European Vacation – September 19/19 – Manarola (Cinque Terre), Italy

Manarola is a village or commune of Riomaggiore in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is the 2nd smallest village in Cinque Terre, with a population of only 353 and may be the oldest of the 5 villages, with the church cornerstone dating from 1338.

(Source:Wikipedia)

In fact, this village is so small and the streets are so steep, it must have been difficult to find a large enough flat spot to build the town piazza or square. As you enter the town from the station tunnel, you must walk up some stairs to the piazza, then down the other side into town.

Someone has figured out how to get a comfortable spot away from the tourists.

The village is very small and you soon reach the waterfront.

From the waterfront, we opted to walk along the shore up the hill, thinking we might take the hill walk back to Riomaggiore.

It was another gorgeous day and the tourists and locals alike were out enjoying the water.

As we reached the top and decision time for the walk, darkling shadows began to gather and we soon heard distant thunder. Nothing worse than being out on a hillside during a thunderstorm. Things settled down and I was just starting to say “I don’t hear any more Thund…” when the loudest clap of thunder yet reverberated directly above us. I guess someone upstairs was giving us a sign.

We headed back down into the village and to the train. As we boarded the train, the rain started and by the time we hit Riomaggiore, it was bucketing down. We had to wait in the tunnel for a bit until it slowed down.

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kagould17

Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement. I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure. I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.

8 thoughts on “European Vacation – September 19/19 – Manarola (Cinque Terre), Italy”

  1. This is such a bucket list destination, just seeing Manarola trough your photos fills my heart and soul 😊 It’s also amazing how they managed to build the houses right on the cliff edge. Thanks so much for sharing, Allan 😊

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    1. Tourists have become a problem in Cinque Terre and there are considerations to putting a tourist quota in place, so the beauty and quaintness of the place is not destroyed. The tourist who choose to stay in the villages are not the main problem. The hordes of day trippers who visit from as a side trip from Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Genoa, etc. can overwhelm the villages, without really supporting the local businesses. We were glad we went and stayed in the area. Thanks for reading and commenting Joni. Allan

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