Cinque Terre

I know it’s been a while, but not much happens in Genova during the week. We wake up, grab lunch, go to class, cook dinner, read and write our journals for class, and go to bed. It’s very uneventful! Our daily routine really has come together, though. We go to the same little “Bar” (which is a café in Italy) and get these really cheap, but yummy sandwiches for lunch.  After class, we go to the grocery store right by our apartment and buy ingredients for dinner.

  

The weekends are a lot more exciting! Since we get out of class for the week on Thursday, we leave and go somewhere until Monday. The first weekend our entire class went to Florence, but for the last two weekends, we’re on our own. Caroline, Anne, Lily Beth, and I decided to see as much of Italy as we possibly can!

This weekend we went to Cinque Terre and Rome! Cinque Terre (Italian for 5 towns) is 5 small towns along the coast of the Mediterranean that are known for their gorgeous landscapes and hiking trails. We only hiked the trail between two of the cities, Manarola and Riomaggiore, called the “Lover’s Walk.” It was really cool because throughout the trail couples had written their names on the rocks and placed locks all over the place to “lock in” their love. I guess I’ll just have to bring my hot hubby back here once we’re married!

We also spent a lot of time in the town of Manarola. It was absolutely adorable. We all thought it was the picturesque Italian coastal town. I loved it and can’t wait to go back!

We caught the afternoon train to Rome after our long day of hiking. On the way there, we passed through the town of Carrara.  At first, I just noticed these big blocks of white rock! Then I realized where I was and realized this was Carrara Marble! These blocks literally went on for miles! There was also a lot of machinery and factories along side the railroad, too. It was really cool to see!

I’d say Rome is the New York City of Italy. It’s the biggest city we’ll visit on this trip, and it definitely felt like it. We were there two nights before we even saw any ancient ruins. I was under the impression that I’d be surrounded by ruins, but that wasn’t the case. When we first got there, we dropped our bags in our rooms and went to meet up with a friend of ours, Katie McManus. Katie is studying in Barcelona and her and her friends came to Rome for the weekend, as well. They already had plans to do a pub-crawl, so we joined them! It was pretty interesting! I think it would have been a lot more fun had we not been so exhausted from the day we had. We went back to the hotel and crashed to get some sleep for the next day to come!