Cinque Terre

It is slightly ridiculous that it has taken me almost five months to get these photos edited, and the sad part is that I've only gotten through the first city. But I figured I would post what I have so far....





We flew into Pisa and did a very quick tour of the tower before hopping on a train to our first destination.




The grounds surrounding the tower were also really beautiful. I wish I knew what all of these buildings were for...like I said, it was a very quick side trip. And sadly I spent the majority of the time there looking for a camera shop to replace my broken filter.




The first stop on our trip was the Cinque Terre. I've been wanting to go there for ages. I'm afraid it has turned into a bit of a tourist trap (thank you Rick Steeves), but it was still gorgeous and we all had a good time. This little bridge was on the walk down from the train station.




We took Rick's advice and stayed in Vernazza. It seems a lot of other people did as well, but for good reason.




The little town had it's own harbor full of boats and sunbathers. It was really nice to go for a swim after a long, hot hike.




The first day we decided to explore Vernazza and found an amazing cemetery up in the hills. There were walls and walls of these graves.




I really loved the striped walls. I'm not sure of the significance, but we found the same stripes at other churches throughout our trip.




There were a handful of graves in the ground. What a beautiful place to be laid to rest.




This was a church we saw on our way up to the cemetery.




During our exploration we came across this tower.




What manly men they are!




Al and Ryan looking down from the top of the tower.




My favorite part of the Cinque Terre was all of the bright colors.

On the second day in the Cinque Terre we got up early to do the hike between the 5 different towns. The rest of the photos are taken during that hike.


All of the towns were covered in stairs. I can't imagine being old and living here!









Not exactly sure what Taylor is doing, but he seems to be enjoying it.









Oh Ryan.




There was a part of the trail that was called the "Via Dell'Amore" (or Lover's Walk). For a couple hundred yards there are locks everywhere, put up by couples to symbolize their love.
























The last section of our hike was really beautiful. Sadly we didn't have much time to enjoy it as it was getting late. Ryan, Al, and I ran most of it in order to make it to Vernazza in time to photograph the sunset. But I couldn't pass up this bridge.









Ryan and I didn't have tripods so we had to make due with fences, rocks, and anything else we could find. I think between the two of us we took over a hundred pictures while the sun was setting, with only a couple turning out. Next time, I guarantee we won't make that mistake again.