Portovenere

We arrived in Portovenere via car. There is little parking in the village, so we had to park and take a bus into the town, which wasn't a problem for us, but is something to consider! We met our host and made the long trek up to our rental apartment. The apartment was below Doria Castle, which watches over the town. It was incredible, with a gorgeous yard of olive trees and a spectacular view of the bay. We settled in before heading to the town again. We arrived at the overlook near the Chiesa di San Pietro, a historic church built right on a rocky point that stretches out to sea.

This was our day to visit the Cinque Terre! It was a beautiful October day when we hopped on the ferry from Portovenere to the nearest Cinque Terre town, Riomaggiore. We explored the little town and stopped for coffee and gelato before getting back on the ferry. We then went to Manarola. As we were traveling with kids, we stopped for a swim in Manarola, and hiked to the top of a hill for what might be the most picturesque playground on the planet! We spent a little longer than planned in Manarola and needed to get the last ferry back to Portovenere. We stopped for a quick sandwich in Manarola before taking the ferry back to Portovenere.

On our third day, we took a small boat tour in the Bay of Poets, primarily around the three islands near Portovenere: Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto. Our boat picked up a group of Italian archaeologists working on Palmaria, which was unexpected and very interesting! When we arrived back in Portovenere, we found Byron's Grotto (named after the poet, who spent time in Portovenere) for another quick dip. We also visited the church near our rental, San Lorenzo. Before heading home for the evening, we picked up a focaccia pizza (a must in Portovenere--so is the focaccia in general!) at the delicious Forno de Mä.

We (sadly) had to leave Portovenere on our fourth day, so we spent the morning buying souvenirs (mostly pesto!) and walking through the narrow streets one last time. We had pastries and coffee in a courtyard right on the bay, at the Moon Café. We then took a bus up to the parking lot and drove back to Florence.