sights uncovered
Travel with Tessa

Top Fifteen
Views From My Window-Europe

There is something so enchanting about drawing back the drapes of my room in a foreign country and being greeted by a captivating view. These views live not only in my photo collection but are always vivid in my memory. Like a soothing collage, they transport me away from the present when I need help falling asleep, or just relaxing and meditating awhile.

It was a challenge to narrow my choices of favorite “Views From My Window” to 10, so here are 15.

Cinque Terre – Italy
The Cinque Terre are south of Genoa in the Liguria region of northwest Italy. Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are the five (cinque) seaside villages that hug the coastline. We chose to stay in Corniglia, which is the smallest and quietest of the four, particularly in the early mornings and the evenings, when the day visitors depart. The colorful homes cluster together in a beguiling haphazard jumble, like a village created by happy, carefree children.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Cefalu – Sicily – Italy
It was after dark and pouring with rain when we drove into Cefalu. When we drew the drapes early the next morning, this exquisite, tranquil view of Mare Tirreno and its clear turquoise waters, welcomed us to Cefalu.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Taormina – Sicily
We would have breakfast every morning on our tiny balcony and soak up the view of the Ionian Sea and the gentle waves lapping on the shore.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Siracusa (Syracuse ) – Sicily
Ortigia Island is the historical center of Siracusa. The view from my balcony delivered a panoramic picture of the ancient fortified walls, the sea, and the road that winds around the island, through the archway in the distance and into the ”new town” of Siracusa.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Tuscany – Chianti
From our stone cottage, we looked out at a quintessential Tuscan sight – the sloping hills covered in lovingly raised and tended vines.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Matera – Italy
The Stone City – Matera, in the Basilicata region on the border of Puglia, is famous for its Sassi – rock-hewn cave dwellings. Matera has been occupied for 7,000 years since the Neolithic period and is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world. From our window, we had a view of the stone houses and Sassi snuggling on the mountains overlooking the plateau and canyon below.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Lake Como – Italy
Iconic Lake Como lives up to its reputation as being one of the most serene and picturesque lakes in the world.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Positano – Amalfi Coast – Italy
The first time that I visited Positano, I was nine years old. As we wound around the hairpin bends our tour guide repeated over and over: “Po-sitano, the artist’s paradise, the paradise of the artists.” A lifetime later, I returned with my husband. This was the view from our balcony at the Buca di Bacco Hotel, that welcomed me back to magical Po-sitano, the town that had lived in my dreams since childhood.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Kranjska Gora – The Julian Alps – Slovenia
An autumn morning after a night of rain. We looked out of our apartment window at the house across the road, cloaked in fog, under an umbrella of clear blue skies.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Avignon – Province – France
Old – town Avignon is so seductive; it’s like living within a beautiful movie set. This little bistro below our apartment was brimming with diners every night of the week.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Albarracin – Spain
Now a boutique hotel, Caseron de la Fuente, was once a mill overlooking the river. Unique elements of the mill have been thoughtfully retained and blended into the new construction. The town of Albarracin is set into the mountain. The pinkish stone houses snuggle up to one another, leaving hardly a finger of space between them.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Cuenca – Spain
Surrounded by the mountains of Central Spain, Cuenca is a small autonomous community in La Mancha province. It overlooks the Jucar and Huecar canyons and rivers. The view from our window could pass for a landscape painting.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Toledo – Andalusia – Spain
The overhang on the left of this photo is the awning of our balcony. It felt as though I could almost reach out and touch the façade of Catedral de Toledo, which is a magnificent example of medieval Gothic architecture and one of the grandest cathedrals in all of Europe.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Ronda – Andalusia – Spain
This one was a real wow!! Beneath our balcony, these pillars of stone dropped down to the canyon floor, where pools of water glistened in the light. To my right, a massive bridge linking the historical side of Ronda to the “new” part of the town, stood like a stately twenty-story building with its top floor at ground level and its basement on the canyon floor.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Algeciras – Andalusia – Spain
Algeciras in Southern Spain is home to one of the largest ports in Europe. It lies on the Bay of Gibraltar with a view of the iconic Rock of Gibraltar. The dazzling, full-on view from our window of the harbor and rock, was an unexpected treat on our last night in Europe en route to Tangier – Morocco.

Top Fifteen Views From My Window-Europe

Disclosure: I did not take the photo of Positano. My photo of this view is pasted into a photo album. Those were the days before digital cameras when we made copies from negatives, which have long been discarded. My thanks to Kaity W, a more recent visitor to Buca di Bacco.