Genova and the Cinque Terre

Next up, I crossed the border to Italy and stayed for a couple of nights in Genova.

Genova itself seemed a little run down, but the historical part of the town was very nice.

I visited the Cinque Terre from Genova. These are five villages along the Italian coast, with hiking routes between them. I went from the northernmost village, and hiked south to the middle one. Those were the two longest distances, and although the paths were officially closed, there were a lot of people out walking.

Sadly, it wasn't possible to walk between the other villages due to landslides.

Along the way, there were people growing olives and oranges along the hillsides. This was a really amazing place.












There was even a kitty along the way...










This area had been really badly hit by landslides...































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Nice and Monaco

After Nimes, I stayed in Nice for a couple of days. Nice is a lovely city with some pretty cool nightlife, including lots of Irish people and loads of Irish bars.

I've got some pics of Nice on my phone which I'll dig out soon. There's a cool hill that overlooks the city, with a lift to take you to the top of it. Of course there's a marina with lots of fancy yachts and stuff.

I visited Monaco for the day. Monaco's a strange microcosm of rich people, guys in suits and shades, and toy dogs everywhere. Billboards advertise plane insurance and yacht maintenance services.


























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Perpignan and Nimes

My first stop after Barcelona was Perpignan. This was an interesting town with a cool old quarter and a massive fort. All the pictures are on my phone. I'll find them later.....

Then I stayed in Nimes for a night. This was an amazing town with some cool roman buildings, including a complete roman colosseum.















And then there was this....







There was also a huge park with a roman watchtower on top.



















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Leaving Barcelona

I visited the cathedral of Santa Eulalia, which was right next to my hostel. This place was pretty impressive...














That evening, there was tapas and pubs with people from the hostel. That was fun....

Then the next morning.... Off to France!


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Montjuic

Friday was Monjuic day. This is the mountain/large hill that overlooks Barcelona. There's a big fort on top of it too.

This was about a third of the way up.



The way up was rather nice...






Then on top was this castley thing.






There's a lot of.... Port going on at the other side of the hill.


The kings and queens of the castle need to learn to drive. Within the walls of the compound is this:


Barcelona hosted the Olympics in 1992. They're still very proud of this fact, and talk about it a lot.



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