I’m in the middle of my workshop in Tuscany at the moment, but I thought you might want to see a few more pictures from our time in Cinque Terre.
Our first day had been spent hanging out in the little village of Manarola, so the second day we took off to explore the other four villages along this stretch of coastline.
Figuring out how to read the train schedules in Italy takes a little time. And, as a novice, it’s always a little nerve-wracking, not knowing if I’m standing on the correct platform while waiting for the train, or if the train I just got on is actually going where I want to go. So my modus operandi is to just ask lots of questions. Sometimes the person I happen to ask is just as baffled as I am, but more often than not, it’s a native Italian for whom this is all as simple as waking up in the morning.
We did manage to find the right train that morning in Manarola, and we traveled about five minutes up the track to arrive at beautiful Vernazza…
Vernazza was hit hard by the flash floods that devastated Cinque Terre in 2011. After the rain stopped, the harbor area was covered with mud and debris thirteen feet deep. Today, you wouldn’t know it had ever happened.
Check out this gorgeous stone mosaic in front of the church…
I got a kick out of this narrow alley between two buildings, with multiple arches supporting and connecting the two structures.
This cute guy reminded me of my Buckley, waiting for me thousands of miles away, back in Pennsylvania.
Laundry, laundry everywhere! I need to paint this.
My dessert at lunch – panna cotta with fresh fruit…
After a few hours in Vernazza, we hopped aboard the train again and rode a few minutes up the coast to Monterosso. We didn’t stay long, since we’d already been there the evening before and walked around the Old Town area quite a bit. This time we just wanted to see the waterfront area in the daytime. It was worth the trip just to see this….
Due to time constraints we decided to skip the tiny landlocked town of Corniglia. It will have to wait until next time. Instead, we visited the larger town of Riomaggiore …
The sidewalk displays were so pretty and colorful…
Our brief time in Cinque Terre was filled with amazing scenery, delectable food, and memorable experiences. And sharing it with nine friends (who don’t think it’s crazy to spend time sketching) made it really special.
Right now I’m in the middle of a week-long workshop at Fattoria Bacio, near Certaldo, Italy. On Saturday, I’ll say goodbye to this group and welcome another. Most of my time this week has been spent either teaching, touring or sketching, which makes it difficult to squeeze in writing, too, so I’m going to wait until I get home to post more pictures here. I’ll post on Facebook every day or two, though, so be sure to “Friend” me, if you haven’t already. (My Facebook name is Leslie Conklin Fehling.)
I’ll have lots of time to share both sketches and photos when I get home, so I’ll see you in October!
3 Comments
Wow! So many great things to sketch. I bet you all wish you had more time! Cinque Terre looks like such a beautiful and interesting place.
You are in one of my favorite places, so I really enjoyed seeing all your photos! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for sharing this, Leslie! Wish I were there with you!