Italy Day 6: Cinque Terre & Pisa

We booked a private day trip to Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy with a stop in Pisa for the day. We are glad we went to Cinque Terre but it was very crowded and hot. Pisa was fantastic.

Our first view of one of the towns in Cinque Terre. 

The people terraced the mountains to farm. 



Walking into the first town. We stopped for a snack.

Beth had her 6th espresso and Ally had a smoothie.


After snack we got tickets to take the ferry to 2 other towns. We had some time to walk around before the boat and I fell. Tripped on the stone walkway and fell. My big toe was bleeding, my hands were bleeding and I skinned my knee really badly. 

So Beth and Ally walked a ways up a hill to a pretty viewpoint. I’m the picture above it was before my fall and that is our guide Luca.

View of town #2 from the ferry boat.

We had lunch overlooking the Mediterranean. Beth looked right at place amongst the brightly colored umbrellas.

Beth had a hat she said was the best meal of the trip. It was tagliatelle pasta with shrimp.

We walked around the tiny town and bought some delicious lemon hard candies that Ally loves.

I took portraits of each of us. Some of us were very sweaty.



Some of us looked cool.



View from the boat of the 3rd and final town we were visiting.

Our plan was to swim. But it was so very very hot and crowded Beth, Becky and Ally just waded in while I sat all covered up on the beach. I didn’t want to get sand in my open cuts.

Then we found a gelateria.

And got back in the air conditioned mini van for the drive to Pisa.

Ally conked our asleep on the drive to Pisa.

But was ready with handstands as soon as we arrived. 


I can’t decide which handstand picture I like best. Both are awesome. I had to sit on the steaming hot pavement to get Ally and the tower. 

While we did that Becky and Beth went with our guide Luca to get tickets. He told us that Fibonacci was buried here and since Becky (and Beth) are such math people we should go see his grave in the cemetery and go inside the beautiful church. 

Ally’s a scorpion in the cemetery courtyard. 

We thought the baptistery here looked like the Nott Memorial at Union College.

Inside the cathedral.




It really is amazing how they built and decorated these churches.

Then it was outside for some touristy pictures with the leaning tower of Pisa.

Becky looks GINORMOUS.

It is surprisingly difficult to pose the shot.

On the drive back to the hotel thru Tuscany we saw field of sunflowers. It was on my wishlist. 


When we arrived back at our hotel 11 hours after we left we realized we didn’t have a group picture from the day. So Our guide took one and we parted ways.

It was a long exhausting day. So worth it and amazing and fun.