where I've never been : Italy

The day started out overcast and cool, warming up by noon, and heating up by 2 pm.
The morning was spent at a talk on the food of the region. It is quite unique and of course, is dependent on the resources of the region. Lots of seafood in coastal areas, vegetable dishes in other areas, a special type of mushroom, olive oils, pasta, and chestnut dishes including flour made from chestnuts.

I grabbed 40 winks back in the room after our guide took a break from her talk, and felt a bit better for it. Lunch was on our own and my friends and I heading to a Moroccan place I had seen the day before - chicken schwarma with a diet Coke - yum!

At 2 PM we met and headed out to catch a ferry boat. It was about a 25 minute ride over to Porto Venere. We travelled with a new guide from this area and she led the tour once we boarded. This village, together with the 5 Cinque Terre villages are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

We visited the Doria Castle and Church of St. Peter. The gothic church of St. Peter, was consecrated in 1198, and was built over a pre-existing 5th century Palaeo-Christian church. The new part, from the 13th century, is marked by white and black stripes on the outside.

We also saw Byron's Grotto, from which the English poet Byron swam across the gulf of La Spezia to San Terenzo to visit Shelley in Lerici, in 1822. That's a pretty long swim! Our guide was knowledgeable and the views were wonderful, as was the architecture and the stone work.

The houses in Portovenere are multi-coloured, tall, narrow buildings. They are like stacked apartments and many individuals seem to live in the adjoined buildings.

On the ground floor, businesses such as restaurants and shops are the tenants. It seemed a shame to have these commercial establishments take over but I guess tourism is a big part of their economy.

We were given some time on our own after our tour and I wasted no time ordering a gelato - a strawberry and chocolate hazelnut combo!

Then I explored the main shopping street which was beautiful and photogenic as well. I found a lovely bracelet for myself and some olive oil and pasta for friends back home.

It was time to leave all too soon and we caught the ferry back at 6 PM.

Supper was at the same restaurant as our first night here. Enroute I took some wonderful sunset photos of the harbour and the colourful buildings of Lerici.