Cinque Terre

My trip to Cinque Terre was phenomenal.

Cinque Terre is a part of the Italian coast bordering the Ligurian Sea, which is basically an extension of the Mediterranean Sea. There are 5 (cinque) villages perched along the coastline that are all connected by a hiking trail and a train line. our plan was to get in some good hiking and explore this little gem of a place.

We left Tuesday morning and took a 2 hour train ride through Pisa and on to La Spezia where we switched trains and rode a short way to Riomaggiore the first town of Cinque Terre. After grabbing a panini we found the trailhead and were greeted with this view:

It was so beautiful.

The first part of the hike is known as Via dell'Amore or the Pathway of Love. it was named this because the youth of these first two villages used this path as a meeting place to have romantic moments and declare their love through graffiti along the pathway. this is still the case and you can see lovers names spray painted along the rocks, inside the tunnel walkway and even carved into plant leaves along the way.

This first part of the hike was quite simple and it only took us about 15 minutes to reach Manarola. Here we wandered through the grape vineyards, found an old waterwheel, and ate some apples in front of a church built in the 1300's which happened to be right next to an old bell tower that used to double as a lookout for pirate invasions.

We continued our hike to the third town, Corniglia where we had reservations at a Youth Hostel. This hike was a little longer but fairly easy. It was the hottest part of the afternoon and I was carrying my pack so I was quite ready to get in the water once we reached the town. Corniglia is the only town not directly on the water though... you have to climb up almost 400 stairs to get up to the town, and just about as many back down to the marina. let's just say my legs are a lot stronger after this trip. We got checked into our hostel just fine, it was a wonderful place to stay, it was called Ostello Corniglia if you're ever looking for a place to stay. it was really clean and safe, quite easy to find, and there's plenty of restaurants within a minute or two of walking. and it was only 22 euro a night... which comparatively is pretty good.

We met a bunch of Australians who were also staying at the hostel and we all went to be marina together for a swim. the shore here is really rocky, there was a cement walkway out into the water people were sunning on but the rest was a rocky shore, which was less inviting to lounge on. The water was AMAZING! I've never seen water so clear and such a brilliant turquoise. The temperature was perfect, cool enough to be refreshing, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable. Later than night we went out to eat with Shannon and Felicity, some of our new Australian friends. We had dinner out on a deck overlooking the sea... it was so nice.

Next morning we got up and after I got a wonderful pastry from a local shop, we started our hike through the last two villages. this part of the trail is MUCH more intense than what we experienced the first day, but the view was that much better. the trail had lots of stairs, lots of ups and downs and narrow pathways with olive groves or steep drop offs or walls or the hillside. there were also more people on this part of the trail and so we spent a lot of time letting those going opposite us pass by so no one got knocked down the hillside. This hike was quite a workout, the last two towns are farther apart than the first 3, so it took us about an hour to get to Vernazza where we wandered for a little bit, but then pressed on for another hour or so to Monterosso.

Once we got to Monterosso we were exhausted. we grabbed lunch at a little place called 'DJ pizza' which was actually really wonderful. After we ate we wandered around the town and ended up overlooking the city at a beautiful little graveyard. the walkway up here was so pretty, ivy covered the walls, lizards scampered out of our path, lemon trees were growing in back yards and we could hear chickens squawking behind a few of the fences.

We were completely exhausted by this time so we took the train back to Corniglia. I decided to go for another swim and spent a good hour exploring our little harbor. I watched the sunset from an overlook point that evening. it was so peaceful and beautiful.

That night we went to dinner with Shannon, Felicity, and Tom. This was a dinner to be remembered: local white wine, pesto lasagna, stuffed mussels, salad, and chocolate mousse for desert. It was amazing... so delicious! I'd never had mussels before and these were phenomenal. in any case, dinner was a big hit with everyone and we had a grand time chatting about travels and Australian politics and the crime rates in Melbourne.

Next morning, our final day, I got another pastry before we hit the trail again. this time we has a specific destination just 20 min up the trail. on our way through town we spotted these crates of grapes, they were so beautiful! We headed up the trail following the signs to Guvano beach, the 'naturalist' beach along this part of the coast.

I headed up the trail following the signs to Guvano beach, the 'naturalist' beach along this part of the coast. This was the highlight of the whole trip for me, the beach was made of little black pebbles that were worn smooth by ages of tidal motion and rushing waves. the water was perfect, clear and brilliant. the pathway down to the beach was fairly treacherous, but I made it in one piece. It was so peaceful and beautiful there, I really loved it!

this is the path down to the beach (looking back up at it). terribly steep.

After the beach it was time to head home. The whole trip was wonderful, I'd highly recommend visiting this place, It's pretty touristy, so I would say it's probably best to go late or early in the season though, it was pretty hot and crowded even in mid September. Hopefully i'll get to go back again before things cool down too much, and I'll report back on how the crowds are then.

The villages were so interesting. there's such a history there and i couldn't help but wonder about life there before the train line was built there. how many lives began and played out in these beautiful pastel buildings teetering on the edge of the hillsides. watching the locals interact with each other brought out such a strong sense of community, it was beautiful.

This trip was perfect right before school started, it's such a mesmerizing place and being able to hike and swim and get lost in the beauty of the sea were wonderfully refreshing. It's what you'd call ideal.

Porta Romana

Tonight my job at the Florence Academy was solidified when Suzy gave me the schedule for my first pose. I'll be working for the next 6 weeks at Porta Romana where the 3rd year (most advanced) students study painting. I'm so happy to be working there! I've got one more week before we start, I'm so excited!

Settling in

This week has been grand.

Wednesday we attempted to find the free Ikea shuttle at the train station only to find out that it's currently not running. We got this information only after asking numerous people who all pointed us in different directions. We also learned that Ikea is pronounced Ee-kay-a here. we were met with extremely confused looks when pronouncing it eye-key-a. There would be a pause, quizzical look and then they'd say....."ee-kay-a?" In any case, by the time we found out about the shuttle we were exhausted and it was pouring rain so we came home for an afternoon of reading and studying the language.

Thursday was our successful Ikea day we rode bus 29 which took us directly to the store which... if you don't read the labels and prices on items... is exactly like the one in Salt Lake. We wandered the store and got some essentials: hangers, hot pads for the kitchen, some new silverware, blankets and sheets. interestingly enough, I've been looking for all these things since i've arrived and haven't been able to find them. it's amazing to me how few big corporations there are here. The streets are lined with specialty shops, cafes, and clothes and shoe stores. Gelato and pizza or panini can be found on almost every street, and I've found multiple shops that will restore antique furniture, but I had to take a bus across town to find hangers. There's a very real beauty to the variety found in the consumer world here. No Target, no Wal-mart... and while these stores can be quite convenient, I'm impressed by the way a community is so different with so many smaller shops. when business is slow, shop owners stand on the street, smoke, talk to friends... it's a completely different world. It's so beautiful.

I can be altruistic about small business all I want... but in the end, I still went to Ikea. Oh the terrible irony. In the end though this irony sparked another though. I stopped and got some snacks from the food center before I left the store because I happen to quite enjoy the hazelnut cookies and swedish milk chocolate and they are a grand Ikea tradition for me. I realized my comfort foods from home... were actually from Sweden. which got me thinking about how truly global retail and economic ventures are these days. This was even more solidified when I removed the tag from my blanket and saw: Designed by Ikea in Sweden. Made in India. on my receipt: Bought in Italy.... By an American. Consumer good sure do get around.

Thursday evening we walked up to the overlook above the city again... I forgot my camera, so no pictures, but it was phenomenal. the lights along the river were mirrored in the water and the buildings were illuminated and glowing. A man was playing guitar for tips and the air was cool enough to be pleasant, but not chilly. Tyler and I decided to get up the next morning and go running up to the same spot which was equally stunning in the sunrise and it was in the electric embers of the night.

I love running in the cool of the morning. watching the sky change colors, seeing the clouds reflected in the Arno river and seeing how empty the streets really can be if you're willing to wake up before the crowds. there's a calm in the air that has a motivating energy, and every time I push myself a bit faster I gasp and pull more of that motivation inside of me. I love it.

Running also means I'm settling in more. I know the streets now, I usually know roughly where I am in the city and I know how to get home. It feels good to settle in more and explore the city with more confidence.

Friday we finally decided to bite the bullet and waited an hour and a half in line to obtain our Friends of the Ufizzi pass. This pass, if you're under 26, means you pay 40 euro and have unlimited access to all the state run museums for a year. Not a bad deal considering it also allows you to skip lines and did I mention unlimited access... for the year? The even more impressive thing about them is you don't actually have to wait in line for an hour and a half to get one. I learned the hard way so hopefully you don't have to. You can walk right into a separate side of the ticket office (still Door #2, just the side without 200 people standing in line) and immediately sit on a nice little bench and fill out a form. We were told this once we reached the front of the line at the ticket office. bah. Once you complete the form and pay you can walk out with your pass that very same day. We decided to break the passes in right away and spent today wandering around Boboli Gardens and the Pitti Palace's 'Modern art' section... which is nothing like what you're thinking. Modern art at this museum are paintings and sculptures of Napoleon, marble sculptures of women and cherubs, still life, and enormous paintings of war scenes... among other things. It was really wonderful. The gardens were also amazing. Here are a few pictures:

Tomorrow we're planning to go to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David, and next week I have dreams of visiting Cinque Terre and the Uffizi before I start work. I'll post more pictures soon.

Mission 1: Get a job

On Monday I went to the Florence Academy (FAA), introduced myself, and told them I wanted to model for them. They then offered me a position starting the first day of school and asked if I could work the entire trimester and perhaps the whole school year. Needless to say I'm ecstatic. I've also contacted Angel Academy and they said they'd like to hire me as well. This is wonderful news! I was getting a bit anxious about finding work, but now that's taken care of and I'm glad for the stability it will (hopefully) bring.

After securing my job we got caught out in a tremendous thunderstorm. We hid under a little overhang and watched the storm blow through. Vendors wandered the streets trying to sell umbrellas and ponchos while it was still pouring, and switched back to their "regular" goods once the rain had dimmed to a sprinkle. It continued to rain on and off the rest of the afternoon. It was prefect for drinking tea and doing some reading and writing. This is the view out of the window in our apartment hallway:

A few days ago Tyler and I walked to the overlook point south of the city, here's a few of the photos:

We're working on getting museum passes. Once we do I'll update on the glorious art we're visiting.