On May 28th,  we left Pienza at 8.30 A.M.  for the train station in Florence where we would be catching the train to Cinque Terre.  Unfortunately two members of our family would not be joining us  on this  extension part of the trip.  (Beth and Fred).  We sure missed them- we had became quite a close group in the past ten days and it just didn't feel quite right without them but we had no choice but to say goodbye.     Anyone who says travelling by trains in Italy is fun  obviously did not travel with a lot of luggage and camera equipment!   Thankfully I had help from our group (and some gypsies but that is another story) because I would never have been able to manage on my own.  We had to change trains in Pisa and finally made it to our final destination of Monterosso al Mare around 3PM after travelling on the trains  for about three hours.  

The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of the coast on the Italian Riviera.  It is in the Liguara region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia.   The five lands are composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.   The coastline, the five villages and the surrounding hillsides are al part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Paths, trains and boats connect the villages.  The actual road to Cinque Terre is very narrow and has lots of bends therefore only a few tourists visit the area by car.  

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We got off the train at Monterosso al Mare where we stayed for four nights.  After arriving at our hotel, we had a welcome reception,  got organized and then went out for an early dinner  of pizza zand some photography.   This is a shot overlooking the beach and boardwalk area. 

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One of the colourful buildings in town.

20130528_2013_may_italy_0002 For street photographers there was lots to see and photograph.  

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20130528_2013_may_italy_0004 There was lots of colour everywhere.

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  People have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea.  

20130528_2013_may_italy_0005 Like the hill towns of Tuscany, there were many narrow streets.

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20130528_2013_may_italy_0009 We walked down to the water and found lots of action.

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20130528_2013_may_italy_0010 Well I guess the frisbee game was over for the day.  

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This pedestrian trail leads to the town of Vernazza.    

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The gorgeous Ligurian Sea.    The Ligurian Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean that lies between the Italian Riviera and the islands of Elba and Corsica.  The water is very clean and warm (warm might be open to interpretation) .

20130528_2013_may_italy_0016 Monterosso was devastated by heavy flooding and mudslides on October 25, 2011.  You can still see signs of damage and the repair work going on throughout Cinque Terre.    There has been a remarkable recovery process.  Throughout the winter and spring of 2012, the Italian government, local residents and relief workers teamed up to remove literally acres of mud from the towns of Monterosso and Vernazza.  Since then the streets and sewer systems have been re-engineered and the ground floors of most of the affected businesses have been renovated.  Still outside of the town centres, a lot of work still needs to be done to repair  structures, rebuild terracing and prevent future flash- flooding.

20130528_2013_may_italy_0013 I just liked the look of this tree that I saw walking along the boardwalk.

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A great spot to stop for a drink.  

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Even though it was around seven there were lots of people still on the beaches fishing and relaxing.

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20130528_2013_may_italy_0022 Walking along the boardwalk.  

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Like most places in Italy, there were cafes and restaurants everywhere.  

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Also, lots of colourful buildings in the town.

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There were fishermen everywhere.  I never actually saw any fish being caught though.

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I also noticed colourful garbage containers everywhere.

By now there were very few people on the beach.  

20130528_2013_may_italy_0034 It was after eight and the lights were just starting to come on. 

20130528_2013_may_italy_0036  People eat late in Italy so the restaurants started to fill up with tourists about this time.  Unlike Tuscany and very similar to the Amalfi Coast it was difficult to find restaurants open for dinner until 7.30 or 8.00.

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Waiting for some business.

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I liked this colourful display in one of the shops.  

20130528_2013_may_italy_0041 By now it was getting dark and it was time to call it a night.