Le Cinque Terre.

The first time I arrived in Le Cinque Terre was in 2011, we drove into Levanto late at night. It was pouring rain and so windy our car was shaking all over the place, so instead of making a scene we found somewhere to park, rolled the seats back and went to sleep for the night. It was twilight when we awoke and the wind and rain had completely disappeared, so we drove down to the beach only to be greeted with head high waves and not a single person in sight. We got changed as quickly as we could and got out there. We never expected to see any kind of rideable wave in this part of the world, but as is quite customary if there are waves somewhere it’s almost guaranteed there will be a surf scene and as the morning dragged on Italians came out of the hills from everywhere with their boards and were surfing, like it was a normal every day thing. By lunch it was completely flat and we did not see anything that even resembled a wave again. We started the walk at about 10 and finished late in the afternoon. It was the first time I had done the walk, it was mind blowing, the landscape and architecture were incredible. The second and third times I have done the walk I have been just as blown away. I have returned to this part of the world on more than several occasions and every time I see it with fresh eyes and a new perspective and am completely awestruck by its beauty and allure.

Vernazza.