View of the sunset from our balcony, doesn't get much better than this!
The next morning we woke up early to go on the hike that takes you across the 5 towns. We passed the Via Dell'Amore on the hike, or "The Love Walk". The walls were covered with couples' signatures and professions of love. Couples bring locks and hook them onto the ropes they had lining the rocks and then throw the keys into the ocean. It was incredible to see how any locks there were lining the path, really sweet even though I definitely don't have a lock to place there haha.
Some of the locks hanging from the rope
After walking for about an hour, my roommate Yvonne and I decided to split off from the group and lay on the rocky beach for a bit. The stones on the beach were unbelievable, all different colors and designs. We collected some to bring home as souvenirs, and I sent some home to mom and dad so they can see :). After relaxing on the beach, we kept hiking and shortly after ran into some local vendors. I bought a bracelet with turquoise stones and some really unique rings from one vendor. The second vendor was making bracelets from the local beach stones and was nice enough to show us how he did it.
The man who made jewelry out of local beach stones
After buying some souvenirs and presents for sis, we kept walking to the next town. We got to the fifth town and found an amazing restaurant up in the cliff with a perfect view of the ocean. Yvonne got linguine and clams and veal and I got delicious, authentic Italian spaghetti. I tried to use some of my new Italian words with the waiter, but it was a failure since he only spoke German, French and English. After lunch we walked back to meet up with our friends. For dinner we went to a restaurant in the center of the town. We ordered a bottle of house wine and it was amazing, this coming from someone who isn't really a huge fan of wine. After dinner we went to watch the sunset at a bar overlooking the ocean. We stayed out with our friends till late soaking up the incredible beauty of Cinque Terre.
The next morning we went back to the same beach we had discovered the day before, except this time we brought some friends to this hidden treasure. Since it was almost time to catch the train, we headed back towards the train station but before leaving I got homemade spaghetti pesto from a local restaurant. The train ride home went smoothly thank goodness, I met a couple traveling from Chicago and a woman from Canada on the train ride. She told me her favorite place she had visited was Ascici, so I may have to look into that for a future weekend. Cinque Terre was by far my favorite weekend so far, there was something so special and tranquil about the town, its hard not to smile when you're surrounded by the clear blue ocean and you can hear the waves crash against the beach stones.
View of Riomaggiore on the hiking trail
After returning to the villa, we began our Management theory and leadership practice course. It's fast paced and definitely requires a lot of work during the week, but the travel I have to look forward to on the weekends is quite the motivator :) Last weekend a few girls and I went to Basel, Switzerland, so next will be more about that trip! But for now, time to do a research project on Switzerland, ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment