Portovenere, Italy

My sister and her husband, Mike, came to visit for two weeks about two weeks ago. We did lots of fun things in the area, but the highlight of the trip was driving 5.5 hours to Portovenere, Italy (ok the car ride itself wasn't that fun...two adults and a toddler cart seat in the back- enough said). 

Portovenere lies on the southern border of the Cinque Terra National Park, which is a quite popular place to visit and to hike the path connecting the 5 towns on the Mediterranean coast. 

We had hiked there when we visited Switzerland a few years ago and it was a beautiful and great experience. But, I am so happy that we stayed in portovenere. It is a typical coastal Italian town with the colorful buildings, plus there is a big church, castle, and island right there. We enjoyed two nice hikes, including one going over and around the island, which gave us breathtaking views. 

 

The only downside is most restaurants serve meals late, dinner starting at 7 or 7:30... Normally lasting a few hours, that doesn't work to well with a two year old who is used to going to bed at that time. Nonetheless Portovenere was rather child friendly and overall we enjoyed it more than the more touristy cinque terra towns.