We left Rome for Cinque Terre on Tuesday morning. We took a train from the Termini station to La Spezia, then another train to Riomaggiore.
Since we arrived later in the afternoon, we were all pretty ready for some food - so, we found a good deal on a big pizza that we could share and went down to the waterside to eat it. The pizza was great - and even better with the incredible view of a little marina surrounded by blue sea and cliffs.
After lunch, we swam around and joined many others in jumping off the cliffs. I won't go into detail, but let's just say I had a mental block and took entirely too long to jump off the cliff and had a rough landing... Ha. But we all ha a lot of fun and it was wonderfully refreshing to be in and surrounded by the water.
Afterward, we showered and headed back down for dinner. Since Cinque Terre is known for their pesto pasta, we all had to have some. We found a nice little place that had it to take away and went down to the water again to sit on the rocks. This was one of my favorite parts - I absolutely loved having a relaxing dinner with great food and friends, surrounded by moonlit waters gently crashing against the rocks. It was pretty fabulous. And, naturally, I finished the night off with some gelato and went to bed.
The next morning we woke up later than planned, but it was okay. We had decided to have a girls morning while the guys went on a hike through the cities. (If you didnt know, Cinque Terre literally means "five lands" and consists of 5 small cities along the western coast of Italy - all unique in character and so beautiful! Their names are Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Manarola, and Corniglia.) Heather, Sarah and I went to a pastry shop in Monterosso al Mare that Sarah went to several times when she was here last and had a very tasty breakfast. Then we headed to the beach and hung out there for a couple hours until we met up with the boys later that afternoon. I was in near heaven being able to swim around and soak in the sun. Unfortunately, I forgot that the malaria medicine I had been taking since I left for Africa makes my skin very sensitive to sunlight - sooo, I fried. If I wasn't in Cinque Terre I would have been miserable. I have acquired the new nickname of "Rudolph" and have since been asked many questions about how Santa and the elves are doing.
We met up with the guys and after swimming a bit more, we had a late lunch at a nice little restaurant by the beach. We decided to splurge a bit and get our first "good meal" of the trip. I had some yummy ravioli with ricotta and spinach... And gelato, of course.
We then headed back to Riomaggiore to shower, pack up and head to La Spezia to watch the Portugal vs Spain game and catch the 1am train back to Rome. We watched the game in a little plaza a few blocks from the train station with some locals and hung out there until the train.
We spent the night on the train and were surprised to find that many others had the same idea... Making for a crowded and not too comfortable night's sleep (or if you are Barton or Hutton... No sleep. And Bradyn found himself under some chairs and halfway in the hall).
This morning, after the night on the train, we made it to the airport for our noon(ish) flight to Greece, then a bus out to Athens. We finally arrived after a long day of traveling and this may be our favorite place (we keep saying that. I just think everything is great). Great hostel and we just had an incredible dinner for cheap - very traditional Greek meal of pork, pitta bread, tomatoes, potatoes, and tiziki. Then found some 1.5L water bottles for €0.23 and some huge scoops of gelato for only €2 (big deal. It was so much. Barton and I had to share with everyone in order to finish).. And despite a little scare with the Board of Nursing not being able to find my application, they received it and I can still be a nurse. Praise God. It's been a good day!
Even though we are speeding through Europe, I am amazed at how we still feel that we really have been able to experience the culture in each place we had gone to. Of course, I feel like I need to return to each of these places (and many other cities/countries). It's been so much fun and I am increasingly grateful for the friends I am with. 24/7 can be a lot for 7 friends to spend with each other, but we are having a great time and have made a lot of "memories" that I'll cherish forever. I'm really thankful for this opportunity and realize I need to start my real job so I can afford to come back (soon)!
More to come later.
I'll post pictures on another post because they won't send right now.
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