Italy - 30th Anniversary 2025-06-09

 30 years and counting.  Cinque Terre, Via dell'amore

Cinque Terre is a region in Livorno that stretches from Riomaggiore, to Manarola  to Corniglia to Vernazza to Monterosso; 5 Towns. As Cinque Terre is a National Park, you must have procure a pass to do any walking/hiking. There are a ton of trails from 'that wasn't too bad' to 'holy crap why did I agree to this'. If you want to traverse the Via dell'amore, there is an additional fee and a timed entry. You can also tack on unlimited train rides between La Spezia (where we needed to change trains) to Livorno (farther north). Since it was our anniversary, we bought the 'whole shebang' tickets.

Via dell'amore is a paved, wide trail that starts at Riomaggiore and ends in Manarolo and is not quite 1km. It had been closed for about 20 years due to the mudslides the region periodically experiences. They've done a great job showing off the expanse of the coast and also the ability to see other towns. They also spent time curating interesting things to see along the way.

The shoreline:

A memorial:

An art display:

Via dell'amore is certainly a romantic spot and it also includes a fence full of locks people have left to declare their love - this says loosely - don't touch, it might kill you. I'm so glad it didn't kill anyone and there really are some fantastically beautiful dedications.

The via dell'amore leads you to the train station - handy! - where they are making repairs to the shoreline all via helicopter with small buckets.  That is Corniglio in the background of this first shot.

Because helicopters are cool!

We waited for the train and went to our afternoon destination - Bagni Stella Marina at Monterosso Al Mare.  Janiece and Terry may recognize this as the place we put in for kayaking last time we were here. This is a cross between sand and small pebble rock.  Again, we rented an umbrella and two chaise lounge for about 30euro for the day. There was a small food selection and plenty of beverages to appeal to a wide variety. This is a serve yourself establishment. The restrooms and changing rooms were clean and we had a fab time reading, drinking and eating our way through the afternoon.

The two notable pieces of art and architecture at the point of Monterosso. 

Building art:

The free beach:

After we had our fill of beach, we looked around for a restaurant that suited our palate. We decided that since we still needed to take a train to La Spezia to catch our train home, that we felt like exploring La Spezia and their fare which is very close to the train station so we wouldn't have to rush.

As usual, public art is abundant.

We found a great restaurant and enjoyed a lovely meal and beverages along with Tiramisu for JR and a pistachio affogato (ice cream and espresso) for me.

We spent time talking about the last 30 years and what we hoped the next 30 (hopefully) will bring. We decided we still liked each other, so we signed our extensions rather than go for free agency. After a very satiating dinner, we boarded our train to head back for Florence, full of fun, sun, love and contentment.