Stopover at the Cinque Terra

In the morning I left Portofino at 10 o’clock towards Florence. Since the famous village of Manarola on the Cinque Terra was right on the way, I decided to stop there.

The last 15 kilometers from La Spezia to Manarola were just a dream. From the road high up there was an incredible view over the sea all the time. Of course, I stopped now and then to take in the view.

To Manarola, as in Portofino, you can not get in by car. At first, however, I was unsure how far I was allowed to drive. Because a big stop sign announced that you were not allowed to drive further from a certain point. So I stopped and another German parked next to me, who was also unsure. However, the sign was only for buses and we were allowed to continue driving.

Directly in front of the village was then a parking lot, on which you could park. From there it was not far to the city center.

Of course, I found the vantage point from which you can look at the village and you always see on the pictures on the internet not right away.

At 25 degrees Celsius at noon in the blazing sun, I climbed a mountain to follow all the other tourists. Although you had from there a great view over the sea and the coast, but not over the village. So I went down the steep and dangerous stairs again.

The way to the lookout point over Manarola was easy to find and there was no need for a steep climb in the midday heat. From there I enjoyed the view of the village and the sea at lunch. Already two hours later, after I arrived, I was already on my way back to the car, as I still had a long way to Florence before me.

On in Italy’s inland

The trip went perfectly and relatively quickly I reached Florence. Even though it wasn’t that bad, I didn’t feel very comfortable driving through Florence by car. I was quite relieved when I finally parked my car in the parking garage. From there I went loaded with my luggage on the way to the hostel, which was one kilometer away.

My first hostel after one and a half years! Even the entrance of the hostel was more like the entrance of a hotel. The whole hostel was very chic and modern. There was even a terrace overlooking the city and a pool. Worn out by the day and the arrival I decided that evening not to leave the hostel. I shared the room with a blind man. A small challenge, because you always have to make sure that you don’t even accidentally leave your things in the way. An experience that I had never encountered before.

Exploring Florence

The next morning, I went straight to the city. My first stop was at the Cathedral of Florence. From there I went on to the famous bridge Ponte Vecchio. Before I made my way back to the hostel for lunch, I just stopped by the Uffizi Gallery.

At about two o’clock I went back to the city. This time I passed the cathedral and crossed the Ponte Vecchio bridge to Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you have a panoramic view over the whole city.

I have to admit, Florence is a city that you can definitely visit, but there are also more beautiful cities. In my opinion, staying more than one day in Florence is not worthwhile.

Around five o’clock I was back at the hostel. Actually I wanted to sunbathe by the pool, but since it was in the courtyard, there was only shade at that time. So I decided to get a little tan on the terrace.