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7 hours of hiking and finally, the beach
With the first week of classes over, this weekend marked my first adventure outside Tuscany. But it all started in Florence at La Tavola, where I went to a cooking class! I learned how to make gnocchi, eggplant, and...tramisu!...and the chef said I should become a cook. The tiramisu was surprisingly easy to make, and sooo incredibly delicious. Also, really awesome, I ordered at a restaurant yesterday with a bunch of people and the waiter asked if I was Italian! My response: "...um no, do I look Italian?!" And he said, "...um no, but your accent is very authentic." We had a pretty indepth conversation, considering I've only been here 10 days, about studying here and what else I was doing. So apparently I can totally pass for a native speaker...woah!
After my cooking adventures, I headed off to Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. Cinque Terre ("Five Lands") is on the eastern coast of Italy, and is made up of five coastal towns that overlook the ocean from super high cliffs. We stayed at a hostel in the first town, Riomaggiore. You can either take a train between the five towns, or...you can hike. And hike we did! For SEVEN HOURS. It started out easy...too easy. The trail was paved, there were handrails. No problems. But then...you get past the second town and go on to Corniglia. The dreadful hike into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 stairs. But these are not your regular stairs...they're wayyy steep and, mind you, you have to climb them after hiking all uphill. And that's only the beggining. After Corniglia you go on to Vernazza and Montorossa. These were my favorite towns. We stopped for lunch under an explosion of giant colorful umbrellas (I ate octopus!) and watched sail boats and awkward men in tiny speedos play around in the water. But then we had to hike again. This was worse than that hike to Piazza di Michelangiolo (which now seems like a short stroll). And like that hike, I have never climbed up a ski mountain...but I imagine that this was much, much worse. And, like that other hike, it was hot. And it would randomly start pooring, but the rain was also hot. So...I was hot. Story of Italy: it's hot.
But we finally made it to Montorosso and laid on the beach and relaxed...for about 20 minutes...until it was time to go back...ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED. I thought I was tired before. But to do it all over again...my body hated me yesterday. It definitely didn't help that I got attacked by some monstrous beetle type bug. I have a bruise where it bit me...and it feels like I got a shot. I've decided that there is really nothing I can do to avoid the bugs here...they just really like me! So in the end, we finally made it back to our hostel and ate dinner by the water, and totally passed out. The weekend was amazing. I seriously think Cinque Terre tops my list as one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. But there's no way I am ready to hike those 16 miles uphill any time soon!
With the first week of classes over, this weekend marked my first adventure outside Tuscany. But it all started in Florence at La Tavola, where I went to a cooking class! I learned how to make gnocchi, eggplant, and...tramisu!...and the chef said I should become a cook. The tiramisu was surprisingly easy to make, and sooo incredibly delicious. Also, really awesome, I ordered at a restaurant yesterday with a bunch of people and the waiter asked if I was Italian! My response: "...um no, do I look Italian?!" And he said, "...um no, but your accent is very authentic." We had a pretty indepth conversation, considering I've only been here 10 days, about studying here and what else I was doing. So apparently I can totally pass for a native speaker...woah!
After my cooking adventures, I headed off to Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. Cinque Terre ("Five Lands") is on the eastern coast of Italy, and is made up of five coastal towns that overlook the ocean from super high cliffs. We stayed at a hostel in the first town, Riomaggiore. You can either take a train between the five towns, or...you can hike. And hike we did! For SEVEN HOURS. It started out easy...too easy. The trail was paved, there were handrails. No problems. But then...you get past the second town and go on to Corniglia. The dreadful hike into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 stairs. But these are not your regular stairs...they're wayyy steep and, mind you, you have to climb them after hiking all uphill. And that's only the beggining. After Corniglia you go on to Vernazza and Montorossa. These were my favorite towns. We stopped for lunch under an explosion of giant colorful umbrellas (I ate octopus!) and watched sail boats and awkward men in tiny speedos play around in the water. But then we had to hike again. This was worse than that hike to Piazza di Michelangiolo (which now seems like a short stroll). And like that hike, I have never climbed up a ski mountain...but I imagine that this was much, much worse. And, like that other hike, it was hot. And it would randomly start pooring, but the rain was also hot. So...I was hot. Story of Italy: it's hot. 
But we finally made it to Montorosso and laid on the beach and relaxed...for about 20 minutes...until it was time to go back...ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED. I thought I was tired before. But to do it all over again...my body hated me yesterday. It definitely didn't help that I got attacked by some monstrous beetle type bug. I have a bruise where it bit me...and it feels like I got a shot. I've decided that there is really nothing I can do to avoid the bugs here...they just really like me! So in the end, we finally made it back to our hostel and ate dinner by the water, and totally passed out. The weekend was amazing. I seriously think Cinque Terre tops my list as one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. But there's no way I am ready to hike those 16 miles uphill any time soon!
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