Oh, Monterossa al Mare!

Color!

Color!

Color, EVERYWHERE!

Everywhere you look in Italy you will be dazzled by combinations of colors you might never think to put together – color upon color, hue upon hue –rich and alluring, full of possibilities.

Inspiration is around every corner if you just look for it –this is what “traveling with a quilter’s eye” means to me.

Inspiration is found in buildings, in water, even in the food presented on your plate.

Look at this photo and point out the colors.  The green of the trees, the lovely shades of terra cotta of the buildings, the neutral gray of the sand next to the delicious turquoise of the water.

This is Monterossa al Mare, our last stop on our tour of the Cinque Terre.
We arrived by train after leaving Venazza where we had our fabulous lunch at a thousand year old fort over the sea.

Walking towards town with our group!

The beach at Monterosso runs along most of the coast line and is well used by tourists and locals. The beach is the only extensive sand GRAVEL beach in the Cinque Terre. Monterosso can be overrun by tourists in the summer months, so I am glad we chose MAY for our trip.  It was perfect, with not too many tourists, besides us!

Quilt sighting!

What colors do you see in this photo?  the quilt was possibly a Chinese import, hanging out to dry after laundering.  Next to it was a crocheted afghan in a ripple pattern.  The shutters are green against a lovely rusty terra cotta stucco background….

I loved the sights of laundry hanging outside of windows.  To me it is a sign of REAL LIFE happening in these towns.  Laundry happens!  It must be dried!  Clean laundry wafting in the sweet May italian breezes by the sea ---it was wonderful!

Narrow streets and alley ways.  Look at the texture of the flat steps!

Pink and white striped buildings!

The ancient church, 16th century, was such a delight to hold for the things I am always looking for –Color, Contrast, Value and Variety!

More stripes!

I may be struck dead for saying this – but we got the giggles going inside thinking of this as the Church of Beetlejuice ---stripes stripes and more stripes! As quilters – we LOVE stripes!

Lots of stripes!

I’ve uploaded all the photos into a slide show – including lots from the inside of the church.  Click the image below if you are unable to view the slide show on your mobile device.  You’ll be taken to the photo album for viewing.

Monterossa al Mare, Cinque Terre Italy 2015

Of course, after a long day of wandering around the Cinque Terre, there was time and a NEED for a gelato!  ((Try the coconut!  Or my fave – pistachio!)) and also a wander on the beaches along the shore.

Jill and I – and a bit of Ahhhhh!

Here we are  on one of the lovely beaches along the Italian Riviera ---but be prepared for gravel, not fine sand.  It was a bit ouchie to try to walk here and put our feet in the water.

But there is an upside to gravel….when it was time to head back to our train, it was easy to brush off and our backsides were not dirty from wet sand!  ((Always look for the silver lining!)

In real time --

I’m home!  I was up and moving for over 24 hours straight to get home –but I’m home.  And I slept in my own bed –I woke up at 4:30am, but went back to sleep for another 3 hours so I am feeling pretty good.

It’s going to be a couple of crazy days here getting caught up, and I leave on Wednesday for Alaska ---so I’ll be busy as a bee over here.

IF I can swing it –let’s plan for Quilt-Cam tomorrow evening at 9pm EST.  I’ve been away from my machine a while and I’d like to get an hour or so of sewing in before I take off again.

Keep watching for updates, I’ll let you know by tomorrow afternoon if I’m up to it or not.

Have a great Monday, everyone!


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