Cinque Terre

I'm alive! So it has been forever since I've written on here...that sounded like the beginning of every journal entry I've ever had, but I have good excuses. First, two weekends ago we went to Cinque Terre. I loved it! Definitely one of my favorites so far. I was bummed because I thought it was going to be too cold to go, but we got AMAZING weather-that's what you get for clean living. It was hot and sunny everyday and I got one last dip in the Mediterranean.

So Cinque Terre in the Northwest on that curve of Italy that goes over to France and it is made up of five cute little towns on the cliffs. Friday we rolled into the first town, Riomaggiore and took the walking path up to the next town. This path is called Via dell'Amore. I'm assuming it's romantic because of the intense graffiti? Not sure. Obviously we took this opportunity to tag the wall with ball point pens. Everything here is covered in graffiti and the usual phrase is: Ti Amo ????? By: so and so. Since we frequently make fun of this we obviously copied it. Guess you'll have to go to Lover's Lane to figure out who I love. So turns out it was not only sunny, but I was very warm and uncomfortable so Anna, Autumn, and I decided to take some stairs down to the water and hop in. I changed in some little cove under the stairs-I'm getting used to feeling homeless. We spent a lovely day on the rocks and in the Med....I love that ocean. A bunch of the other girls we were with went to a real swimming spot and they got stung by jellyfish...suckers. We spent the rest of the day walking around the first two towns. For dinner we had focaccia with pesto on it, Cinque Terre is known for it's pesto and let me tell you it was the best thing I've tasted here. This was where I ate dinner as the sun set.

Saturday we rode the train to the third town. We were with the group of girls who were stung by jellyfish the previous day. As we are taking pictures at a lookout this cat wanders up. The feline proceeded to sniff around Kimberly's bag and she mentions that she hates cats. Seconds later the cat begins peeing on her backpack. This was one of those moments in life where I could have died laughing but the victim didn't think it was funny...dang it. Then as we are walking down some stairs, Rachel makes a joke about what is going to happen to her because she avoided the jellyfish and the cat pee and as the words are coming out of her mouth she falls down the stairs and sprains her ankle. Again, I could have died laughing. So long story short, Anna, Autumn, and I ditched the bad luck group and took the hike from the 3rd to the 4th town...names are now hazy. It's hikes like these that make me enjoying hiking. From the 4th to the 5th town we took the boat, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. We always laugh at how all the Europeans are nearly or fully naked and we are lounging in our hot one pieces. So as 22 of us are sprawled out on the rocks/sand we hear a lady walking on the sidewalk above us say "Look! All of those girls are wearing one pieces!" Awesome.

I had to get my hands on some more pesto so Anna, Autumn, and I went on the hunt for some pasta. We were starving and everything decided to be closed. As Anna would say..."Dang Italian nap time." Just as I thought I would be eating gelato for lunch again we happened upon a miracle. A restaurant overlooking the water, English speaking and good looking staff, cheap pesto pasta, no sitting fee, and, brace yourself, ICE! I haven't seen ice in my glass for months. Dad, I thought of you. So that was a heavenly experience. I purchased a jar of pesto and if you're lucky I'll share a spoonful.The train ride home that night was definitely a high light. At this point Anna, Autumn, and I were on our own because the others decided to go home earlier...fools. We hopped onto a deserted train and immediately decided we had to take advantage of this. A dance party via ipod proceeded to take place. This was the first dance party I've had since I've been here, and it has been killing me considering that in BA 6 we danced at least 4 nights a week. It was good to be back in my element. I should also mention that due to something about a car and a BOOM! the girls that left before us got back to Siena only ten minutes before we did. So basically that weekend I avoided jellyfish, cat pee, sprained ankles, and late trains...I'm a lucky woman.

So the moral of the story is Cinque Terre is a must see...beautiful.

Fiasco of the Day: So this one is a frequent occurrence. Since they don't use AC we have the windows open at home all the time and instead of screens we have prison-like metal things. So the windows are wide open meaning flies are very common. Without fail at least 3 times a week during dinner, a fly makes itself known. I feel like normally when I see a fly it is simply ignored, and only the most annoying get the fly swatter. Well if Marco sees a fly, often even a small gnat, he is immediately out of his chair, tripping over chairs and people around the tiny kitchen to get that sucker. Weapon of choice: hands. The first time this happened Paola's head ended up getting smashed between his arms. During dinner I have seen the death of a least 5 flies and many others have survived. I love Marco.