This was a WIERD week for GIF.. we actually had class on Friday haha... what a concept I know! But that being said, it's hard to travel with only 1 full day so the majority of us stayed around Flo this weekend. It was totally day trip time. A ton of us decided to go to Cinque Terre, which proved to be just the right choice to make! Cinque Terre is BREATHTAKING. I am soo in love with it. It was such a purrrfect Italian/Indian Summer kind of day. The cities were just so special, they made waking up at 5 am worth it.
So... we left at 5 am... ouch.... hoped on a train to La Spezia... hoped on another train to Riomaggiore. There are 5 cities (aka CINQUE) that make up cinque terre and there is a hike between all 5 of them. Starting in Riomaggiore you hit the easiest part first. We didn't get to spend much time in Riomaggiore because we headed out right to the next city which was Manorola. The path between those two cities was adorable. It was the LOVERS LANE of the trail, complete with love lockets and adorable kissing statues. And it happened to be mostly flat... purfect for old married couples.
We realized that the trail was closed between the next two cities, so we hoped on a train, planning to just head over to the next city, but we actually just by passed that city (Corniglia), and headed straight to Vernazza. Vernazza was beautiful. It was nestled into a little corner that was just purfect. We took some water pics (my favorite... I get so artsy around water bahaha) and checked out an old, stone church. Vernazza was small, so it was time to head onto the hike...
The hike between Vernazza and the final city, Monterosso, is affectionately known as the Devils Hike. Man oh Man it was tough. You literally go up stone stair for days. You really don't even know if they will EVER end. BUTTT the view you get when you reach the top is amazing. There are so many beautiful views as you cascade the trail, through the vineyards and trees. It was truly something special. I mean, you want to die on some of those sets of stairs (and it doesn't help in 75 degree weather) but you're in for something special when you look over your shoulder into the MEDITERRANEAN sea. It is def. one of the most amazing things I have ever seen/experienced.
When we finally finished the hike and ended in Monterosso, we were greated by the Mediterranean Sea and so much pesto! Cinque Terre is the birth place of pesto and oh my god it was good. Plus you just hiked 4 miles... so satisfying. After lunch, we spent the afternoon swimming in the MEDITERRANEAN Sea. That is one thing to check off the bucket list. It was heaven. The sun was shining, it was a purrrfect 75 degrees, and to top it all off it was OCTOBER 9th. Sure beats the rain in Seattle. I spent the afternoon floating (literally floating... so much salt) in the Sea with some new good friends. My life doesn't suck.
SOO to summarize. Cinque freaking Terre is amazing.. and my life is amazing. CIAO!
Music Guide: "Water" by Brad Paisley
No comments:
Post a Comment