Sleepless in Cinque Terre

What a way to spend a Saturday here in Italia. 

View from the top!

I find it truly remarkable how I can casually book a trip to a place as scenic, & beautiful as Cinque Terre one night, and be there the next morning in a few short hours. It is hard not to take advantage of the endless possible trips offered here (and to be quite honest, you're a dummy in my book if you don't). We booked through EuroAdventures for this particular...adventure. The initial fee pays for your transportation (coach bus), tickets, and tour guide. The only thing not included was food and the .50 cent euros to use the bathroom- which I find just ridiculous. They obviously didn't think about the people with the smallest bladders on earth when determining this stupid, stupid rule. Holler if you're a Johnston!
Anyway, we went with students from all different programs which was a great way to meet new people that we wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to.

^Kewl new people

Like I stated in my last post, Jess and I were up pretty late. I think we focused a little too much on Kenny Chesney, and not enough on sleep. I was also wired from reorganizing and folding Jess' clothes because I am a neat freak and quite possibly OCD. I ended up falling asleep by 3:30 which was just excellent for the 5:30 wake-up call! Waking up on two hours of sleep, and then reminding myself that I had a six hour hot & sunny hike ahead of me made me jump for joy. Seriously. And to emphasize how painful amazing it was to wake up this way, my eyes burned so much from such little sleep that I had to wait until we arrived in Cinque Terre to reluctantly put my contacts in. You go, Kels!

Want to be friends?

So, at 5:30 we all walked out of our rooms like zombies & forced food/espresso into our mouths. We then rolled ourselves out of the apartment, and dragged each other to the train station. Of course, no adventure is an adventure without getting a little lost, right?? Okay, good. Well we got lost. Not only did we get lost, we got lost with 10 minutes to spare. We, indeed, found ourselves standing in the middle of Piazza della Signoria with four possible directions to go, and no way of narrowing that down.
Luckily, I swooped in and came to the rescue with my map and impeccable sense of direction. I threw everyone on my back, and made it to the bus with 5 minutes to spare. Note: exaggeration is a good thing. But really, I did get us there. ;)

Spitting image of me, no?

We were introduced to our amazing tour guide, Chris, boarded the bus, and started on our way. After a good two hours of traveling, we arrived in Cinque Terre where we hopped on a train that took us to the first town on the mountain. From there, we started on a leisurely walk around & got some great initial pictures. 

^A great initial picture...

We continued onto the next town where we were greeted by 400 steep steps to climb. I took those steps like a champion and pulled a Rocky at the top.

Adrian!!!!

If those steps didn't get you sweaty and breathing heavily (cause they didn't for me, duh) the hike to the next town absolutely did.
After up and down hiking, we arrived in the next town. 

Got water? That bottle was the death of my bladder.

We took a quick 30 minutes break where we all indulged in the most authentic and delicious gelato, and rested our slowly numbing legs. The next hike was about an hour and a half. When we got into the town, we immediately sprinted to a pizzeria sitting on the water. Jess and I ordered a pesto pizza to share. One of the foods Cinque Terre is known for (aside from salty sardines) is their incredible pesto sauce.. and indeed, it was incredible. It didn't stand a chance... we inhaled that puppy in seconds. In an attempt to digest afterwards, we rested by the docks until we departed for the final leg.

Nothing is more perfect.

When we congregated as a group for the last and final treck, the amount of people seriously decreased. I'll admit, the beach looked a little more appetizing then the enormous mountain ahead. We pushed through, hiked for a few more treacherous hours, & finally arrived in the town of Monterosso. Right before we got into the town, we passed through several vineyards. At one point, we landed upon a little hut where a man was selling freshly squeezed lemonade and lemoncino. Cinque Terre is also known for their lemons, so trying their lemoncello is a must. Jess certainly tried it. She was a first-timer, and when he handed her a little shot to taste, she slammed that right back. She didn't know it was pure alcohol, and that it's meant to sip on. You live you learn seems to be the motto Jess lives by on this trip. Consequently, Jess now does not like lemoncello.

And this guys life motto?
When life hands you lemons, make limoncello.

When we got into the final town, we immediately put our bikinis on, grabbed a beer, and threw ourselves on the beach to catch the last few hours of the sun.
Now that I think about it, it's pretty hysterical how I get so focused & determined when hiking. Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to hike ahead of the group. My parents have a cute story from when I was about 4 years old. One weekend, they took my brothers and I hiking in the Adirondecks. I moved my little butt up that mountain so fast, and just as fast ran right back down once I saw a huge dog ahead of me. I leapt into my dads arms and cried, "I don't like big dogs, Daddy! I only like little pink ones..." You better believe I'm still on a hunt for the perfect pink dog.

That'll do

For a majority of the hikes in Cinque Terre I remained at a steady pace, eyes glued to the ground (God forbid I took a little spill, or better yet- flew off the mountain which would've made for a great story or a really sad death), and just... thought. I was constantly thinking about things, from the silliest things to the most serious things. By the end of the hike, my legs weren't the only things exhausted, my brain was, as well. I was, without a doubt, ready for a little shut-eye once we boarded the bus. I absolutely passed out the entire way home, accompanied by a little Super Troopers on the t.v. I followed that up with a 12-hour sleep that night. Lazy. Bums.
Oh... and then I went for a 4.5 mile run around the Arno River the next day. I think it's fair to say my legs and I are not on speaking terms at the moment. I'll keep you updated.


;) Kels


Next up, a tribute to my roommate Jess. This should be good.