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Sunshine & Coastline

  • Location: Verona - Manarola - Pisa, Italy
  • Nov 9, 2016
  • 4 min read

This was my second time visiting Italy, but the first time for my mother and my husband. We planned out a week and a half long trip starting in Northern Italy, down to Rome, and then back up to Venice in our own car. Even though I'd just spent close to 2 weeks driving through France, the thought of driving in Italy was absolutely terrifying to me. The last time I was in Italy I had gone by myself on a group trip through EF College Break and therefore never had to drive, but the bus driver's required maneuvers through traffic - especially in Rome - terrified me enough to know it would probably be horrifying. Nevertheless, we decided it would be the easiest and cheapest way to get to each destination. Fortunately, my husband felt confident about the driving and so I let him take the lead on this one. No complaints here though, as it let me take in the breathtaking views from Wiesbaden, Germany (our home) through the Swiss Alps (breathtaking!) and down to Verona - our first stop.

Even though we only had one evening and morning in Verona, we were able to stay in a lovely apartment with a nice historic ambiance just on the outside of the city center. With a short walk across the old bridge into the center of town (absolutely lovely both at night and during the day) we had a great dinner outside of the Colosseum (at the restaurant pictured above, only this was taken the next morning), and a wonderful walk around through the narrow streets the next morning as we searched for the main reason we came here.

Juliet's courtyard was a place I'd dreamed of visiting for years. Although the "Dear Juliet" letters are no longer allowed to be stuck to the main walls of the villa (in order to preserve the historic architecture), they would allow it in the main tunnel into the courtyard. Even without having a letter to leave for Juliet's secretaries (yes, I loved the movie "Letters to Juliet" like every other starry-eyed girl), the courtyard was still so lovely. I highly recommend visiting it in the early morning right after they open, otherwise you may be stormed by hordes of those starry-eyed girls (and guys), anxious to leave their letters and give the bronze breast of the Juliet statue a good rub. No, I did no do this either. Haha. Besides, in the early morning the courtyard is rather quiet as the sun slowly rises over the high walls, creating a cool and soft atmosphere.

After wandering through the quiet streets of Verona for an hour or so with a lovely cup of tea and delicious chocolate croissant, we headed back to our car and started our trek out to the coast. Unfortunately we only had the day to visit the Italian coastline, so we could only visit one of the many stunning towns sitting along the cliffside. Therefore, I chose the one I'd dreamed of the most: Manarola.

This bright and beautiful coastal town is one of the 5 famous and centuries-old Cinque Terre villages of the Italian Rivera, and is known for its vineyards and colorful buildings set upon the cliffside. It is a very popular tourist destination, and no cars are allowed within the city limits (with the exception of an occasional worker or resident), so be ready to park your car above the village and walk down the steep slope to get to this gorgeous rainbow of a town. Don't worry, its definitely worth the short walk!

This is the view facing the other side of the coastline, away from the city. So green and beautiful!

After taking a plethora of photos (clearly), we ate some delish Italian food just above the bridge at the bottom of the city (pictured above) with a gorgeous view of the Italian coast. I mean, seriously, can a town get any more charming than this?! I have my doubts.

After a "quick" walk back up to our car - a little less fun swimming upstream of the swarms of people running down to the cool waters, while we trekked uphill in the heat - we continued our drive along the coast and then back inland with one last stop before our final destination of Florence....

The last time I was in Italy I skipped the day trip to Pisa (so I could spend more time in Florence) as I'd read many times over that the only reason to really visit this city was to see the leaning tower, which at the time didn't seem worth it. However, as this time we would be driving right past it on our way from Manarola to Florence, it would've been nonsensical skipping this quick pitstop to see the famous tower (and the other beautiful buildings we didn't realize shared it's courtyard)! Unfortunately I didn't realize we'd be visiting a cathedral that day (pictured below) so I was not dressed appropriately to enter.

EUROTRAVEL TIP: always make sure you check on the dress code before planning an outfit for a day of touring cathedrals!

However, my mother (who is always dressed appropriately) went in and said it was the most stunning cathedral she'd ever seen - at least until we visited Siena a few days later (but more on that later).

Another good reason to stop by: fantastic people-watching. I mean, how could you skip an opportunity to watch hundreds of people posing in ridiculous positions up and down the courtyard.

Including myself ;). Guy-in-crazy-boardshorts doesn't know whats about to hit him - hehe!

♥M.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Floral Romper - H&M * Grey Suede Purse - Francesca's * White Sneakers - H&M * Sunglasses - H&M * Stone Jewelry (studs & rings) - H&M

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© 2016 by With An M. - Micole Fuller

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