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The last destination of our Italian road trip - time to hit the coast!!
FROM TUSCANY TO RAPALLO!
Rapallo is in northern Italy and is part of the Tigullio Gulf. It's located in between Portofino and Chiavari.
We had chosen to stay at 'Excelsior Palace Hotel'. It was roughly a 2 hour drive from San Gimignano.
I was so excited as the hotel looked really amazing and it was right on the coast!
This was the entrance............
We parked up and headed to the foyer to check in.
The foyer was beautiful, very luxurious and full of sun light.
This was our room.
The balcony really had the WOW factor. Check out that view!!
Just STUNNING.
We were so pleased with our choice! We unpacked a few bits and then headed down stairs to explore!
This was the hotel's restaurant over-looking the sea ...where we had lots boozy lunches :)
INFINITY POOL!!!
One morning we woke up at 6am to watch the sun rise. It was magical watching the world wake up.
The colours were breathtaking.
This is Portofino ( 5 min drive from the Rapallo ) where we ate one night. It's really pretty with lots of restaurants over looking the marina.
Some of the yachts were HUGE, you could smell the money :)
I love this photo, it sets the scene well.
We had a lovely evening there, drinks and dinner with a gorgeous view. It's definitely worth a visit.
After a boozy night in Portofino (every night is boozy in Itlay) we woke up early to hit the Cinque Terre! This is the main reason why we stayed in Rapallo!!
Cinque Terre
Strung along 18km of serrated cliffs between Levanto and La Spezia, the Cinque Terre is one of Italy’s treasures.
These five higgledy-piggledy villages – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – are cut off by mountains choked with olive groves and dry-stone-walled vineyards.
We got the train to Riomaggiore - from there you can get a boat that takes you to each village. You need a whole day to see all five.
RIOMAGGIORE
BEAUTIFUL!!!
Time for a snack. There are lots of little bars, restaurants, cafes, shops and food stalls lining the winding, cobbled, streets. I just wanted to eat and drink EVERYTHING.
The magnificent surroundings.
We walked up the steep streets to the top...........
We had to do a few cheesy couple shots!
We walked along the rocks that led into the sea to get this shot!!
It was such a fantastic day out and I strongly recommend it!
If you are super fit there is a trecking path that takes you to each village by foot - it takes about 4 hours! What a challenge!
I think I would collapse after an hour, especially in that heat but lots of tourists like to do it.
WHAT A TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had such an amazing time!!!!!!!! Hiring a car and doing a road trip really is the best kind of holiday. It gives you the ability to see so much more and there's a nice balance of relaxing and exploring.
I hope this post has encouraged you to do it and also given you some ideas of where to visit and stay.
TripAdvisor is so useful when planning this kind of trip - I swear by it.
Arrivederci!
Great trip, how nice to watch the sunrise.
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline. It really was!
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