We got to the train station at 7 a.m. for a bus ride to Cinque Terre. I knew nothing of the place except that it was 5 (cinque) small local seaside towns and that one, "the road of love" was (ironically) closed. So we were planning on going to four towns, beginning in Manarola. After two hours we reached the mountain that we would drive up to get to Manarola. The bus started driving up narrow winding roads that opened occasionally to a view of high mountains full of lush green trees and vegetables as well as the light blue sea on our left. I was in awe. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so vast and natural - it was only occasionally that I saw any houses or villages or forms of manmade structures. Curving along the narrow road around the mountain was exactly what I expected Italy to look like when I pictured it. When we reached the top, we arrived at a small town filled with brightly painted buildings, all yellows and pinks and whites. This reminded me of Bermuda, where I'd been a few years ago. They were all the same size and cluttered along the side of the Mountain, stacked in a way that made it look like the houses grew from the sides of the Mountain in the same way the trees did. Some small shops were open and selling t-shirts, postcards etc. We walked down a small hill and reached the water. A small area of the ocean had rocks on three sides, and people were sunbathing on the rocks. From there, the ocean opened up. It was so blue. In Massachusetts, I am used to a darker, murkier blue. This was a clear, brilliant blue. Immediately my friends and I changed and jumped off the rocks to swim. It was warmer than New England, for sure, but also refreshing. After swimming we walked a narrow rock path up to a higher perch, where you could look out and see infinite blue. We climbed on the rocks and took many, many pictures. Then we walked down a tunnel in the town to the train station, where we took the train to our next town, Corniglia. This town, though not much different from the first, was busier and packed with more shops and buildings. It had a greater selection of places to eat, and this is where we stopped for lunch. Our tour guide recommended one place, a small cafe with outside eating. It was pricier, but it looked delicious and had great seafood dishes, so we sat here for lunch. I got salad and spaghetti. Our lunch took an hour and a half, but we spent it talking with the girls next to us, students from Kent. After lunch we ran to catch up with the group to start our hike. The beginning of the hike looked like we were climbing into a rainforest. It was a narrow rock path, all uphill, with trees lining either side. I'll admit, about two minutes into the hike I thought, bad idea. I was out of breath, it was 3 p.m. and about 90 degrees, and I was dripping. We reached a few peaks that opened up though, and that made it entirely worth it. About halfway through, the hike switched to being all downhill. The hike took about an hour in total. Finally, we reached the fourth place. It was more like the first, smaller and less crowded. We waited on the rocks looking out into the water for a ferry, which took us to our final destination, Monterosso. This was definitely my favourite part of the trip. The first thing I did was bargain (unintentionally!) for a sunhat by saying out loud, "oh shoot, I thought someone said it was only 5 euros." The guy immediately jumped to say, "OK! 5 euro!" rather than 10. I'm definitely going to do that from now on. Probably should have tried saying, "oh shoot, only heard 1 euro," but maybe that would have been pushing it? After, my friends and I went to the beach. It was different from any beach I've been to before- the entire beach was covered with reclining beach chairs and umbrellas, courtesy of the beach, which meant you really didn't need to bring anything. We picked a spot and Morgan and I swam while Catherine and Rachel went to get drinks, and then we switched. As we swam, Morgan and I floated and looked up at the Mountain. A part of the grass on the side was carved into, like it had been shaved, and I was told that was where they grew grapes. It was an amazing sensation, floating in the ocean and looking up at this magnificent mountain in front of me.
I walked barefoot and in only a bathing suit to a small cafe where they made strawberry daiquiris with fresh strawberries. The only unfortunate part about Italy so far is that they charge you to use the bathroom- 50 cents! So after that we reclined on chairs. I sat back with the hot rays beating down on me, the clear blue ocean to my left, the drink in my right hand, and listened to "Good Life" by One Republic. I looked up at the mountain in front of me, watched some seagulls soar, and felt - as ridiculous as this will sound - euphoric. I was wonderfully, intoxicatingly happy, the kind of happy where you smile for no reason and can't stop.
At 6 p.m. we piled onto a train to get back to the first town, where our bus waited for us. We spoke with the girls beside us on the train and got some great tips of places to go. When we reached the bus we were all exhausted but excited about what we'd seen. I felt a little mystified, actually, like I couldn't quite believe it was real. On the ride home I kept my eyes glued to the window. This was what I imagined when I imagined Italy- small, beautiful towns, plenty of wide fields, some old architecture sitting deserted in a meadow.
Today, the only thing exciting (so far) was a bike ride we took with a kid who works for Accademia di Firenze. He took us to some local spots where most tourists don't know to go, such as a small park on the other side of the river and a small beach where you can go to sunbath and get drinks but you can't swim. It was a fascinating experience to bike around Italy- there aren't many cars, so we biked in the middle of the street often, simply curving to the left when we saw a car ahead of us. We rang our bells when we wanted to move around people, and we covered a lot of area in a short amount of time. It was wonderful and made me feel like someone who lived in the city, biking around with statues on my left and churches on my right, small cafes behind us, buildings thousands of years old in front.
Tonight I have a dinner and then we are going to a club, so I will post about that tomorrow. For now, ciao :).
^not a bad way to spend a Friday out of class
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