Oh, you know, just another Thursday on the coast of Italy. Cinque Terre, Italy

I woke up even more sore on Thursday...but only in my calves. So weird. I mean it's not like I don't do stairs. I live on the 2nd and 3rd floor and do the stairmaster. hmmm... Oh well, like in all things, I power through. I woke up at 5:30 to take some pics which I'll have to share another time since I forgot to download them. Then, I went back to bed for an hour and got up to start my day. I started with another omelet and tomatoes but added a "fruit drink" aka a smoothie. BEST smoothie. Seriously.

I decided it was going to be a long day so I started with laying on the beach and reading/listening to music. You'd think this beach would be uncomfortable, but NO. Loved it. 

I love how clear and beautiful the water is here.

I took the ferry to the last town, Monterosso after lunch. I was going to meet up with a photographer who has a gallery here. He is popular in this area and has even been in National Geographic. I had met him last year and visited him on Tuesday. He told me that if he brought his car on Thursday, he would bring me to the best spot for night photos. So, it was now Thursday. I also met a new friend on the ferry. Her name is Carrie and she is also traveling alone. We chatted and agreed to try and meet up the next day. 

I went to meet the photographer, Mauro. We drove through the countryside which was awesome. We stopped at this church which is the oldest shrine in Liguria. Learn more here: Oldest Shrine

We then went to Portovenere, a beautiful town on the water outside of Cinque Terre. We had amazing pizza and then set out to take pictures. The first is before it was too dark and the rest are after dark. I am still working on my night photography and felt lucky to be with such a talented photographer. I was also happy with the results. :) Mauro told me that the buildings were built so tall and thin because when pirates came in to port, the residents would go all the way to the top and poor things like hot oil down to stop them from coming in. The way they are all connected was also because of protection. 

This is the Church of San Pietro, the most sought after church for weddings in this area. It is beautiful and lit up perfectly at night. 

We walked up to the top of the church and took pictures of the sky, which was amazing with vivid color, looking back onto Cinque Terre. 

To end, we went farther up in the town and took pics of the church from another angle. How beautiful is this place???

Last, we stopped on the way out so I could take a shot of the whole town from above. Great end to another great day. Not as many pics because I was taking some down time. :)