I'm a sucker for wrought iron hearts. And shadows in bright sunlight.

Location: Portovenere, Italy ★

As with most old architecture from Europe and around the world, I am moved by how colorful a whole town or architectural style can be. What happened to that? At least, speaking on modern architecture in the United States, in general. Whether residential or commercial spaces, the color palette you often find in the U.S. is so drab, inside and out. To say nothing of the dull architecture itself. I don't want white walls unless their crisp and complimented with deep and dreamy blues, as you'd find in the Cyclades (Greece). Give me yellow stripes, pinks, and pastels any day!

Sori at left, Lerici at right.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

To compliment the colorful villages that dot the sea- and hillsides, Liguria is lush with green, green, and more green, as far as the eye can see. Or so it seems.

The cliffs surrounding Camogli at left, garden-loving Portovenere at right.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

One of the many reasons that I avoid summer travel in Europe is because I hate crowds. Hate, hate, hate. I don't like fighting through throngs of tourists in an effort to try and enjoy my time abroad. This isn't to say that you won't still encounter a madhouse in the more popular cities or spots, but I promise you it will be far less mad than during high season. The proof is in the pictures.

Boat service between the Cinque Terre towns and some of the other picturesque fishing villages along this sunny swath of Italy typically starts in late spring and runs through the summer. But demand in spring can be pleasantly low. I was on this afternoon ferry from Lerici to Portovenere at like, three o'clock in the afternoon or so? And I was one of maybe four or five passengers total, tops. It was fantastic! A front and center window perch all to myself.

And that's Tigre there, at the bottom. Miss you, Tiger. Love to think about how much fun you must be having this summer, meeting and greeting the throngs at your little intersection.

Location: Portovenere, Italy ★

Step right up! From big sets to small, Liguria is sea of stairs.

The town of Sori on the left, Riomaggiore on the right.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

Liguria is a riot of light and dark, of wide open spaces and narrow lanes. I love the contrasts it offers.

The beach at left is Bonassola, and the passageway on the right is one of Genoa's famous caruggi or tiny alleyways. It is said that Genoa has the largest labyrinth of these medieval old streets in all of Europe.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

Probably the most popular of the Cinque Terre towns with Americans, Vernazza is jam-packed with tourists during the day. I hear it's nicer at night when the majority retire to other towns, but I wouldn't know because I've never stayed that long. I just can't handle the throngs. The town is too tiny on the main drag to really enjoy with the number of visitors it routinely packs in.

I think Rick Steves is pretty much to thank for its popularity. At least with the American set. His guidebooks are the most used in Europe by Americans, I believe.

Location: Vernazza, Italy ★

One of the prettiest sunsets I've seen in the flesh.

Location: Camogli, Italy ★

I can't stress enough that if you're headed to Liguria and want to enjoy it to the full, your legs and overall stamina had better be in top form. Liguria is the land of stairs, and they be no joke folks. That said, the payoff if you can hang is high. And on high! The views from the top are always amazing.

That's lovely Lerici on the left and my favorite Camogli on the right.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

I love old Italian walls. From left to right: Tellaro, Portovenere, and Sarzana.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

One of the ornate Palazzi dei Rolli that I strolled through, adorned wall-to-wall with paintings pint-sized to palatial.

Location: Genoa, Italy ★

Listed as one of i borghi più belli d'Italia - the most beautiful villages of Italy - Campo Ligure is certainly that. Though I only spent about 30 minutes wandering around the old town center, I was instantly smitten and look forward to returning when I'm healthy and don't have to rush back to my hotel to rest and dose up on cold meds.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

Another peek at Rolli Days, when Genoa's many pretty palaces - the UNESCO recognized Palazzi dei Rolli - are open for all to explore and enjoy, gratis.

Location: Genoa, Italy ★

Liguria definitely has flower power. From left to right, the towns of Sarzana, Lerici, and Portovenere. Divine, right?

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

Still on the topic of trompe l'oeil, the most enchanting applications aren't hidden behind palace doors. Instead you can find them outside, gracing the exteriors of traditional residential buildings and churches throughout the region.

The example on the left was a pleasant surprise after a long climb to the top of Sori, and the two on the right are in equally steep and soulful Camogli.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

Liguria has some of the loveliest examples of trompe l'oeil anywhere, with some of the most breathtaking specimens found in the plethora of 16th and 17th-century palaces lining Genoa's grand old town boulevards.

I was lucky enough to be there this May for Rolli Days, when La Superba opens its many UNESCO World Heritage Palazzi dei Rolli to host special art installations, live music and theatrical performances, and guided tours. All free to the public. It was fantastic. I was in trompe l'oeil fresco-ceiling heaven, as pictured.

Location: Genoa, Italy ★

Pretty Sarzana was prettiest in pink. What I wouldn't give to have a window like that on the world.

Location: Sarzana, Italy ★

Though I'm generally not a fan of organized religion, I am a huge fan of churches - mainly of the external architecture, but sometimes the internal art and architecture, too. And while I'm not enough of an architecture buff to know for certain, it seems that as striped churches in Italy go, Liguria is the place to go to find the most magnificent variety.

The black-and-white striped church on the right is in the Cinque Terre town of Monterosso. A busy and well-touristed town, it seems a challenge to get a moment alone with this charming church during normal business hours, so to speak. I was in a thick crowd of gawkers on a weekday in May when I snapped this shot.

In contrast, the church on the right in Camogli is delightfully difficult to reach, and I was entirely alone with it. I'd spotted it on its hilltop perch from much lower down in town, and asked a group of local men how I might get up there. They pointed out the route and explained that it was connected to a monastery.

The next week I promptly got sick and all but gave up on seeing the church up close on this visit to Italy. But, by the grace of God perhaps, I felt strong enough on my last day to make the trek. I did it in honor of my youngest brother, who I'd found out a day or two before was in the hospital with a mysterious and virulent pneumonia. I'm agnostic, so I thought it would be nice to make the climb and say a prayer for him on the off chance that it might actually help.

I'm happy to say that two weeks later, my brother was released from the hospital to recover at home. He's still recovering and I like to think that in some small way, my visit to this pretty, sunny-striped church and the prayer I said for him there is part of why he's cruising comfortably back to good health now.

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

"Ciao, Tigre!" said a man with affection, clearly a local resident intimately familiar with the friendly striped beast before him, as he crouched down to give Tiger a little love. Tiger pranced up to the man excitedly and relished in the attention. That's Tiger in the top shot, sunning himself and his ample amber belly.

Though I only spent about 15 minutes with him, Tiger regarded me as an old friend. Seems he treats everyone like that, locals and visitors alike.

I met him standing at the center of a heavy pedestrian intersection in pretty Portovenere, meowing enthusiastically and physically blocking people's paths in an attempt to get them to slow down and spend some heavy-petting time with him. The absolute sucker for cats that I am, I happily stopped and stayed a while.

Tiger's stone cousin there in the bottom shot is one of the two lovely lions gracing the entrance to San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa's enchanting old town. I'd have to compare photos, but I think these San Lorenzo lions look uncannily like the one standing at attention outside the Arsenale in Venice. Both have the identical sad, stressed out countenance, as if they're on the verge of tears. Same sculptor with the odd ability to make stone cats cry?

Location: Liguria, Italy ★

No, I did not have the "Hamburger Salad". But yes, I considered it. Briefly. I mean, so far as I know, you can't get such a thing Stateside.

As a self-taught calligrapher (who's not done much calligraphy in a long while), I love poring over other people's handwriting. So it figures that I'd have a thing for photographing handwritten menus. In the menu on the right, I particularly like the look of enoteca. How about you?

Location: Monterosso (Cinque Terre), Italy ★