On the way to Venice - Soave and Vicenza

4 July - On the way to Venice we stopped overnight in Soave, and went on to explore the elegant world heritage township of Vicenza.

Soave is famous for its breads and white wines.

In the morning we walked up to the castle above the walled town of Soave.

Vineyards around Soave

Next sight-seeing stop was Vicenza, a UNESCO world heritage town.  Much of the architecture was by Palladio in the 1500's (probably not this sculpture though!)

The Piazza del Signori and the bell tower, Loggia del Capitaniato (which is straight up and down in real life).

Rather a dull day in Vicenza - too bad because the buildings were very colourful.

Two beautiful cities - Mantova (Mantua) and Verona

3 July - We headed eastwards across Northern Italy and took stops at two very beautiful and historic cities.

Mantova (Mantua) had a very historic town centre.  The round building is a Roman building, now a church.  Other buildings dated from the 1500's.

Palazzo Ducale, Mantova

On to Verona, famous for its opera festivals.  This Roman arena is now used for outdoor operas.

Verona was very spacious and much of the inner city is pedestrian only so it was a pleasure to walk around and explore.

This gate, La Porta Borsari, was built between 50 and 40 BC.

Markets were busy both in Mantova and here in Verona.

Famous, and very old frescoes in Verona.

Yes, we are in Italy!

Another view of the Roman Arena in Verona.

Sabbioneta - an unexpected highlight

2-3 July - Driving on from Cinque Terre, we needed to take a stop for the night in central Italy.  We just selected a town on the map and it turned out to be a very good choice.  Sabbioneta was built in the 1500's and is surrounded by a fortified wall.  It was very peaceful (almost no tourists), and it was like stepping back in time with its cobbled streets and arcades.  We bought a self-tour walking ticket and followed a trail of palaces, theatres, churches and a synagogue.  So much history and beautiful architecture!  Next morning we spent more time walking around and taking photos, we really did not want to leave.

A historical drawing of Sabbioneta

Aerial photo - you can see the complex fortified walls around the town

Palace interior

Galleria o Corridor Grande - upstairs

Galleria o Corridor Grande - ground level

Another palace

A historic synagogue.  It was OK to be in shorts but I had to wear a shawl over  my shoulders.  Owen had to keep his cap on.

The entrance gate to the town - we drove in and out here.

Typical cobbled street

We stayed at thisAlbergo - it was wonderful

Dining outdoors at a cafe beside the Galleria (under renovation)

The courtyard of our accommodation.  Our room was the one upstairs at the back.

Next morning, more photographs before leaving.

Cinque Terre - Italy

1-2 July - we spent two days exploring Cinque Terre (pronounced chink-wa tear-ay).  These are five small, delightful, colourful villages perched precariously on rocky coastal promontories.  There is no road access, the only way to reach them is by train.  You can also walk from one to another but unfortunately only one of these walking tracks was open.  We took the chance to do this, it was an hour's walk and was actually quite steep and rough.  We were glad to start early before it got too hot.  Cinque Terre is a huge tourist attraction and it was very crowded.  We were also warned about pickpockets, especially on the trains.  Still these colourful villages were well worth visiting.

Lunch at a beach -pizza of course!

Riomaggiore

On the walking trail between Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza

Vernazza

Corniglia

From France to Italy

30 June From Menton, France to Ceriale Baciccia, Italy

It was such a beautiful morning in Menton that we spent some time walking and exploring the waterfront.

Driving into Italy was crazy - very busy roads, many traffic lights, but here we are in San Remo .

The old part of San Remo was "a labyrinth of twisting lanes and steps".  Some alleys were covered over.  We loved exploring this old town.

Alassio on the Italian Riviera - how visitors spend a day at the beach.

The French Riviera

29 June - A drive from a high plateau of 1,000m down to the French Riviera coastline

We had camped overnight at Castellane - that's a church at the top of this huge rock bluff.  The only way to get to it is to walk!

Many hairpins as we drove downhill, dropping 1,000m.

The city of Nice - a water and steam "mirror lake" like we have already seen in Bordeaux.

We discovered an Iron Man event in progress at Nice

The beachfront at Nice - it was cold and raining.  The beach is coarse gravel.  Notice the huge cruise ship.

We drove on high above the coastline on the "Moyenne (Middle) Corniche" - famous for its views.
We then drove the "Grande Corniche" - even higher, but we thought the views were better on the first drive.

The Riviera is very built up

Menton - our destination and our last night in France for a while.  There is a New Zealand writer's residence somewhere here.  What a pleasant place to spend a year writing!