Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre (five lands) is a region made up of five towns on the Mediterranean Sea.  The towns are connected by train and by hiking paths.  The area is absolutely gorgeous and reminds me a lot of the northern California coast.  Chance, Cassy, and I spent 3 days exploring the towns, eating great food, and taking lots of photos.  Here are the highlights.

We stayed in Vernazza.  The northernmost town (Monterosso del Mare) of the five can be seen in the distance.

The Via dell'Amore (path of love) connects the two southernmost towns and supposedly got its name from young lovers from two towns who would use the path to meet one another.  Now a tradition is for couples to lock a padlock to part of the fence somewhere on the path and throw the key in the ocean.  Damn litterbugs.

Chance and Luc near Corniglia

Gelato break

 

Bellisima

Vernazza at sunset

Lookin' good for your age, girl.

On the trail near Monterosso del Mare

Vernazza

Cortina

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a ski town about 2 hours north of our house.  It's an amazing place, with huge mountains that tower above the town.  We made our first trip in early spring, just after most of the snow melted off.

The ski jump behind Chance is leftover from the 1956 Olympic Games in Cortina.

The biggest anthill any of us have ever seen.

This photo shows part of the hike we did.  We came in on the upper trail from the left and hiked behind the waterfall then dropped down into the canyon via a fixed ladder, then climbed back out to the point where I took this photo.

Cassy behind the falls

The Italian Alpine Club maintains thousands of miles of trails in Italy and they're all marked clearly with this red and white symbol.  Many times the trail number is also painted over the symbol.  Combine the great markings with good maps that are sold in every town and it makes for an easy way to go out for the day without wandering aimlessly in the mountains.

Cassy descends the via ferrata (iron path).  This is a very mellow section...some via ferratas are super exposed and require a bit of gear for protection.  

Pisa

We swung by the town of Pisa for a couple of hours to confirm that the tour is, in fact, leaning.  

I bet 100 leaning tower photos were taken each minute while we were there.

This pose got everyone's attention...all the cameras turned to Jess, whose amazing strength allowed her to prevent the tower from toppling.

Chance and I walked up these worn steps to the top of the tower to check out the view.

View from the top.

Cassy and Jess hanging out in the grass below the tower.

Chance on the summit of the Leaning Tower

Arco

The small town or Arco, located on the northern shore of Lago di Garda, is an outdoor mecca.  The town is surrounded by mountains and endless rock walls.  Here are some photos from our last couple of trips. 

Lago di Garda from above

These faces have lots of long (1000 meter?) routes and above the orange spot of rock is a BASE jumping exit point that overhangs the wall.

The town of Arco and its castle

Pizza and pasta.  What you don't see is Jess laying next to me.  Italian restaurants are cool with dogs and often bring a bowl of water and a treat from the kitchen for Jess.

Cassy always overpacks for trips.  This was no exception.

There are some pretty narrow 2-way streets in Arco.  We often pull in the side mirrors to avoid hitting the walls.

Cassy enjoys the view of Arco and Lago di Garda from her belay station.

I pulled onto a ledge and thought this train of caterpillars was a snake.

Another cool 2000 year old castle in the town of Drena.

Jess makes herself comfortable after a hard day of climbing.

Chance and Cassy on the sharp end