"How do you say it? Chink-y Terre-y?"

Today we scoped out the rest of the towns in Cinque Terre (so hard to pronounce the name!). 

We started in monterosso, which is the northernmost town of the five. There was a beautiful sandy beach which was 

dotted with chairs and umbrellas. We decided to hike from monterosso to Vernazza using one of the coastal trails. It was a beautiful hike, but had a LOT of really steep stairs. I have never sweat so much in my life! 

The hike itself isn't far, but it's really steep and can wind you pretty easily. 

The trail was covered in wildflowers, grass, overhanging trees, and you walk next to some beautiful vineyards. 

The views from the hills overlooking the towns are absolutely gorgeous. It took my breath away (which wasn't hard after climbing all those stairs). 

One weird thing we passed was a donation canister for food and water for the feral 

cats that I guess inhabit the hills above Vernazza. We 

saw a couple of the kitties lounging on picnic tables. 

Once we started the descent, we could see Vernazza. As we walked into town, we passed 

all sorts of little shrines for Catholic saints and there were two men playing

the accordion and violin to welcome the hikers into the next town. 

After the hike we guzzled water, ate some mediocre food at a touristy

restaurant, and then got some ice cold gelato (Nutella for me). 

We walked around the docks and the other girls decided they wanted to swim. 

I hadn't brought a bathing suit. 

After some deliberation I just decided to jump in the sea with the others. 

Even though my clothes were soaking and not fun to walk around in, 

I figure 'you only live once'. 

The water was cold and super salty.

It was worth it. 

After that we went to the next town, Corniglia. 

There are 365 stairs (one for each day of the year) to go to the town square. 

Corniglia is small, quainter, and doesn't have as many 

places to swim, but it was really cool. It also wasn't as crowded. 

After that, we went back to La Spezia to shower then headed to manarola for the evening. 

We walked alongside a cliff that overlooks the sea and then walked into town to get something to eat. 

I had a mess of seafood and squid ink pasta. So delicious. 

The only thing about today that was a little off kilter was when we got back to La Spezia, some drunk British guys kept following us around. We went to a gelato shop owned by a sweet elderly couple. 

One of the British guys decided to try and impress us 

by showing us his scrotum and the others were pulling on our braids or 

making really strange comments. Luckily they left after Hailey 

yelled at them and told them they were a bunch of morons. 

Oy vey. 
It was an interesting end to a great weekend. 
We are all wanting to stay longer instead of heading back to Rome, but I was glad I got to come for a couple days at least. I was also glad I found some other girls who wanted to join me. 
Well... off the bed! Have to catch the train back to Roma Termini early in the morning! 

Off to the coast!

Today is a free day, so myself, Brittany, Hailey, and Katelyn decided we needed some sea and sun for the weekend. So we headed out of Roma to Cinque Terre, a national park consisting of 5 towns in the Liguria region of Italy. These little towns border the sea on the Italian Riviera and are only accessible by train. There are no cars really in any of the towns, and they are linked by trails that go along the coast. For the weekend we are staying at Hotel Firenze Continentale in La Spezia; tonight we went to Riomaggiore for dinner and to take some photos and wander around. The sea is beautiful... the water is so clear and is literally turquoise. I have never seen water that looks like that. Brittany and I immediately headed to the harbor so we could go put our sore feet in the water. It smelled salty and the water was cold but it felt amazing!

 We ate dinner at a restaurant that is perched on a cliff overlooking the sea; even though it was us four girls it was a very romantic spot with fantastic food, views, and service. 

I had lamb with spinach, it was so delicious. Brittany and I split a bottle of wine that was a blend of syrah and cabernet which was fantastic. We sopped our bread up with lots of olive oil, and each of us were licking our fingers clean after eating. I could just feel the stress melting away and also had a moment of just feeling absolutely content. 

Italy is an amazing country; not just for the typical reasons (food, wine, art) but because the pace is a little more relaxed. The people are generally nice, and the way they live is also something I could totally get on board with. 

Well... time for bed! Lots to do in the morning!