Day One Hundred Fourteen - April 29

Ciao and Arrivederci from Italy. Time to say Goodbye

Today is sadly our last port in Italy as we dock in Livorno. We began this part of the journey with a stop in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia on April 5 and complete it on April 29.

Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 157,000 inhabitants. It is the third largest commercial port in Italy supplying goods to the region and the major city of Florence near by.

The ship tour, Cinque Terre was 9 hours in duration with a scheduled departure of 07:10. We were to visit three of the five villages.

The Cinque Terre is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On our way to Cinque Terre, we were able to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa from a distance.

Our coach made its way through the city of La Spezia which is home to one of Italy's naval ports before stopping to let us out and walk through the first village of Manarola. We then took a ferry to the next village of Vernazza.

There was very little time to explore in either Manarola or Vernazza as we were booked on a ferry to take us from one village to the next.

Taking a second ferry from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare we passed the smallest village of Corniglia.

We were given some spare time in Monterosso so we had lunch and did a little shopping which included our door magnet.

These villages were quite crowded even at this time of year so I can't imagine how busy they would be in the summer season. Definitely early spring or late fall would be the best time to travel to this stunning area of Italy.

I must apologize for the brief description of this blog but we still have 10 more port days before our next sea day so I do not have alot of spare time. I hope to be able to provide more pictures then.

We say good bye to Italy with a heavy heart as we really enjoyed the history, quaint towns, wine and especially the pizza. Till next time....

Our next port of call is tomorrow April 30 in Toulon France 205 nautical miles away.