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Our Photo Diary of the Italian Riviera

We arrived with a BANG in Rapallo (between Portofino and the Cinque Terre) after a 3 hour trip from Lake Garda.    

Frederico (17 yr. old boy on vacation from Milan) zipped by us with his dad's classic Vespa and took our bumper along with him. 

FIAT...fix it again Tony, and no work needed on the Vespa.  Go figure

We then drove a short distance back to Genoa to exchange the car for a new one and then settled into this view from our apartment balcony.

We toured around downtown Rapallo and bought some olives and some fresh prosciutto.

Took in some nightlife in Rapallo

(this photo and 3 above) Visited the town next to us called Santa Margherita.

(this photo and 3 above) Spent the day taking in the sights of beautiful Portofino with a hike to the lighthouse and a nice picnic overlooking the ligurian sea.

Before Amy's sister arrived we took the train to Cinque Terre and were able to see 3 of the 5 villages.  Unfortunately it was boiling that day, but the villages were beautiful.

Amy's sister arrives for a visit.  We enjoyed the beach and some gelato.  Can you spot us?  I am not the one in the speedo and Amy is not the one going topless.

(this photo and 4 above) We braved the hike through the villages of  Cinque Terre with Amy's sister.  Luckily, the skies opened up on us and to our joy it poured rain the whole way and only let up once we arrived at the first village.  We were soaked, but in about an hour we dried up completely.  Needless to say we took the train back instead of the long hike.

After a delicious lunch (I had lobster ravioli and Amy had the swordfish steak) we headed home to Rapallo.  Our friends Candace and Joel Brown had a cousin that was also touring around Italy.  We managed to meet up with her and her friend for great company at a Rick Steve's recommended restaurant. Thanks Chia and Eric...and Mr. Steve's for that wonderful recommendation in Manarola.

(this photo and 3 above) Took a gondola ride up the mountain in Rapallo to see some 12th century frescos and took in a little hike.  Portofino is at 11 o'clock in the photo above.  Just across the bay from us.

We left Rapallo early and were able to visit Lucca and Florence before pulling into our new home for the month in Tuscany.