We were supposed to have another full day in Cinque Terre, but Italy was unfortunately having a train strike so we had to catch an earlier train to Milan, where we were flying out from. Cinque Terre was my favorite spot on our trip, so it was sad to leave.
We explored Milan a little, but we were all pretty tired so we picked up groceries and made dinner ourselves. We flew back to Dublin the next day since we had to get back for St. Patrick's Day! More to come!
In the morning we took a train from Riomaggiore to the northernmost town of Monterosso al Mare, where we started a hike to Vernazza, and then Corniglia! In Monterosso, we had focaccia bread with pesto, which sounds pretty boring but it was definitely one of the best things I've ever eaten. I didn't even like pesto before this trip but I ended up loving it!
The hike was so pretty. There were parts with a lot of stairs, but also portions where we were walking right along the coast, and other parts where the trail dipped into the mainland. We stopped in Vernazza for lunch and gelato, then continued the hike to Corniglia. Usually you can hike between all five towns, but some of the trail was closed since we were there in the off-season.
We ended up taking the train to the last town we hadn't seen, Manarola, and just sitting near the shore and watching the sunset. We had dinner back at the hostel, and became friends with some of the other guests staying there. Such a great day! The picture is from our stop in Vernazza.
The next stop on our trip was Cinque Terre - a group of 5 coastal villages in the northern part of Italy. Our hostel was buried in the mountains in a place called Biassa, a little outside the 5 villages. Each town has amazing, colorful buildings built into the steep landscape. Once we dropped off our spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the first town, Riomaggiore. We had an amazing lunch, the calamari was the best! Then we walked along the shore and lounged on the rocks. The weather was probably in the 60s, which felt very warm to us!
Today we saw Michelangelo's statue of David, and we climbed to the top of the Duomo (really huge and colorful church in Florence) to see great views of the city! It was over 400 stairs, and a little cloudy out, but we were so glad we did it! Here is a picture of all of us at the top.
My friend Jessica from home had studied in Florence and had given us so many great restaurant suggestions, so we ate a classy dinner outside for our last night in Florence. We shared antipasto, salads, and eat had pasta dishes. So perfect!
Today our other friend Grace (blonde) joined us in Florence! We had a low-key day; basically just explored the city! We walked along the river Arno, explored the outdoor markets, and ate amazing pizza for dinner.
Here is a picture of us joking around with an art exhibition we found!
We still had the morning in Rome before heading to Florence, so we walked around in St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. The Basilica was huge, and so impressive. So much stonework and incredible statues! The Vatican museum was also cool, but there were so many tourists it was a little crazy.
My absolute favorite thing was the Sistine chapel, the famous chapel where Michelangelo painted beautiful frescoes all over the ceiling and walls. Sadly you can't take pictures in there, but pictures wouldn't even do it justice anyway. It's a true masterpiece; the painting above the alter alone has over 300 figures in it.
In the afternoon, we caught a train to Florence and made our way to the Airbnb we rented. Airbnb is a website that lets people rent out free space they have to travelers! We stayed in one offered by Spanish female students studying abroad in Florence. They were really nice and the location was great!
Today Hannah, Nicole, and I (Hannah is the brunette, Nicole is the redhead, for future notice) walked all over the city and hit basically all of the tourist sites! In the morning, we started at the Vatican and actually saw the pope speak! Even though it was in Italian, it was still a really cool experience!
We also got to see the Spanish Steps (we stopped for gelato and ate it on the steps in the sun), the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain (sadly it's under construction and not running).
We ate an awesome dinner at a place called Tony's in Trastevere. We each had heaping plates of pasta and then we shared desert. On the walk back home, we passed the Colosseum! It is all lit up at night.
Two weeks of break has started and two friends and I have hit Rome, Italy! Our hostel was called "The Yellow;" it was pretty easy to find, and we had a private room with our own bathroom - so nice! It is run by all young people too.
We got dinner and had a low key night. We met lots of other travelers, and chatted for a while with two guys - one from Mexico and another from the Netherlands. So cool to meet people from all over the world!
This weekend was pretty busy because I had a midterm on Monday to study for, three assignments due this coming week, and games for hockey on Saturday and Sunday!
We won on Saturday, but unfortunately on Sunday we drove all the way out to our game (an hour away) and it got canceled because of snow! It really only flurries in Dublin, but since we were more inland the snow was actually sticking!
The rules for the game of hockey (field hockey) are the same over here, but its funny how the girls have different lingo over here! Instead of calling penalties in the defense "corners," they primarily call them "shorts" for "short corners." Then the hit from the sideline of the field is a "long corner" when we call them "long hits." Also they never say "field," only "pitch!"
Training is their word for practice. And I've heard the phrase "gum shield" used for what we call a "mouth guard."
