Riviera Road Trip: Part 2

The Italian Riviera does not get old. Fishing villages galore awaited us as we continued past Cinque Terre into the Poet's Gulf. The gulf got it's name because it attracted and inspired some of the world's most celebrated poets and artists. The area starts in Portovenere and continues to Lerici, San Terenzo, Fiascherino and Tellaro. The windy drive between the towns is breathtaking. There was a lot of, "Oh my goodness look at that!! No, not you! Keep your eyes on the road!!" Needless to say, Jeremy loved that.

I had researched so many small fishing villages along the coast for our drive and we didn't exactly know where we were going to stop. But, one spot that was a must-see for me was Portovenere. We did have by far the worst meal on our trip here. We were served microwaved pizza on paper plates while Queen music videos were playing in the background. Thankfully, it was all uphill from there. In the words of our beloved Italian hero, Freddie Mercury, "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Byron's Grotto

Church of San Pietro built on the site of the ancient temple of Venus

Just down the road was Lerici, the largest of the towns in the Poet's gulf.

Overlooking Lerici

Kayak water polo?

Jeremy celebrating after urinating in public on a cliff above the ocean....classy.

Lerici Castle

No caption necessary.

And, I hope you made it past those incredible Dinosaurs because here is my absolute favorite place of the Poet's Gulf, our entire trip, and possibly my entire life. Tellaro. We almost didn't stop here because we had our first extremely stressful driving moment on our way into town. Let's just say we scraped our rental car on some stairs and had to go the wrong way on a one way road to get out of a little mishap. But, in the end we made it, we are still married and it was totally worth it. This town was untouched with the most beautiful harbor I have ever seen. And, we were literally the only people down there. Check. This. Out.

Nothing can do it justice, but I am going to try my darndest. Here is a little video.