Friday, September 28, 2012

Falling in love with Cinque Terre

While my study abroad has truly just begun there is no way I can explain how much i loved visiting the small towns of Cinque Terre. The first weekend I came to Italy a group of students from my program and I spent Sunday hiking through each of the small towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. Each city is built into the rocks and its structure simulates the structure of the hills and cliffs it sits on. In this way it actually reminds me a great deal of how I invision Santorini to look. Yet the colors and architecture is classic italian.

So the reason I absolutely fell in love with the 5 lands of the Italian riviera is the simplicity of each of the cities. I love how they seem to pop out from the cliffs and yet are hidden at the same time. The actual surroundings are peaceful and combined with the beautiful weather made it a place of pure tranquility. It is the exact opposite of the busy streets of central Florence. The beaches held captivating and picturesque views that you can only imagine must be photoshopped for a brochure to sell to tourists. But that is exactly how beautiful and perfect it is. And the ocean itself is simply amazing. I was finally able to attain a life goal of stepping into another ocean other than the Pacific that day. The Mediterranean Sea is warm and extremely blue due to its lack of major pollution. However, it is also about 5 times saltier than the Pacific. So while it was exciting because it makes you extremely buoyant it also tastes extremely awful and stings your eyes. So I am officially warned for future visits.

The hike itself between the cities was beautiful and also extremely challenging. The first walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola takes you through Via Dell'Amore "Lovers Walk" and is definitely one of the most romantic walks i've ever taken. The views are spectacular, the air is refreshing, and each person leaves their mark along the walls of the passage ways, including myself. Then as a very special token many people leave locks along gates to seal their love forever. I of course wasn't there with someone I loved but the symbolism was so beautiful to see. The challenging part of the hiking came from hiking from Corniglia to Vernazza. The hike takes approximately an hour and a half and is full of very steep climbs on rough cobblestone as well as loose dirt. And since it was a very warm and sunny day thirst becomes a very big issue. It is amazing and I definitely advocate challenging yourself and taking this hike but next time I might relax and instead take the ferry or the train to the next town :).

I have to say that my favorite town was probably Corniglia. And i'm not sure why. It may be because that is the town I was able to explore for the longest time period. The cove to the beach involves hiking down and up again but is totally worth it. The food was fantastic including these delicious italian smoothies. And I saw the most adorable dogs that were just so relaxed and just enjoying the weather like everyone else. Monterosso al Mare was definitely where you find the most beach space however that is also why it is so crowded. While I was still able to set myself up with an area to lay out and enjoy some delicious gelato, I prefer the secludedness of Corniglia.

I absolutely fell in love with Cinque Terre that day. And can't wait to go visit again. So often when people are traveling they only focus on the major cities of a country. But Cinque Terre was such a unique experience and has so far been my favorite part of coming to Italy. It is these unique experiences that I was looking forward to the most <3

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