Hannah's Trip to Italy
This spring I was fortunate enough to be able to study abroad in Italy!! A few days before the program started I met one of my friends in Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a series of five cites that one can hike to in a day. I stayed in the city of Vernazza. It was so beautiful. I loved the sea, the allies, the old people who meandered down the streets, and of course the FOOD!! My favorite food that i ate there was pesto pizza. It was so delicious.
I was looking through all my stuff on my computer and I found my journal entries from Vernazza. I tried emailing this to all my sisters but I could never get it to work!! So three months later here you go.

Day 1 Vernazza- Cinque Terre

Today we arrived in Vernazza. We took a train from Milan to Vernazza. The train station was incredible. It was so big and all the architecture was so detailed. I’ve never seen a place quite like it. Watching the italian countryside go by was breath taking. Italy is beautiful. The buildings are so old. It is amazing. The train ride was about 3 hours long. Before we got onto the train we took a taxi to the train station. Our driver was an old man who didn’t speak English. I was so shocked when he started driving. He sped through all the lanes and when he got stuck behind cars he made his own lanes. I have only seen driving like that in movies. At times I seriously thought oh boy this is the end! At one point he was stuck behind a bunch of cars so he swerved into the oncoming traffic lane! AHHHH. I have never driven so fast or so crazy in so much traffic yet it was the perfect European experiences. Both me and Melissa thought it was so worth it.

When we got to Vernazza first thing we did was find the people from who we rented our apartment from. This older lady who only spoke Italian brought us to our apartment. She was so cute. Just how I imagined what the people of italy would be like.

The city of Vernazza is full of houses that are super close together and very tall. The alleys of Vernazza remind me of the alleys one would find in Greece. They are so beautiful. I love how all the people hang their clothes outside when they dry them. It is so funny.

For Dinner we went to a small restaurant right by the marina. The ocean is so clear and blue here. I had pizza with pesto, cheese, and tomatoes. Mmm. The pizzas here are huge but they are very thin. Everybody always eats the whole thing. Mmmmm.

The rest of the day we spent exploring half of Vernazza. I took 73 pictures!! Oh brother. We went to the castello here in Vernazza. It is the tower on the edge of the cliffs. The view was indescribable. All of Italy that I have seen so far is absolutely beautiful.

Day 2- Vernazza and the rest of Cinque Terre

We started off today by hiking to the town of Corneglia which is south of Vernazza. It was stair after stair but completely worth it because the view was amazing during the hike. The hike to Corneglia took us about an hour and a half. Most of it was up hill. It was definatley a good hike to get me back in shape for hiking season. The entire hike I just kept thinking about how much Jesse would have loved it. It was right up her ally. And luckily for her almost everyone speaks English here. I knew that a lot of people would but I didn’t think that everyone that I met would have. The hike was along the mountains that border the sea. It was so beautiful. And so high. It amazes me how the cities are built on cliffs that drop into the sea. And since everything was built hills (really big ones) all the hills are terraced. Crops that I saw grown during our hike include grapes and mostly lemons. There were others but I am not good at identifying plants (reminds me the time in South Dakota when all the hiking crew made a bunch of goals to learn all the plants. Yeah right!)

When we got to Corneglia we bought sandwiches in a little shop. I ate a tomato sandwich with mozzarella cheese on focaccia. Mmm J We ate them down at the Marina in Corneglia. The ocean was so blue!! After that I bought my first gelato in italy. Amazing. My taste buds were singing. I got chocolate and mango. Delicious. We then left Corneglia and walked to the other two cities Manorola and Riomaggiore. When we were looking for the trail to Manorola from Corneglia I was hit on by my first Italian man. It was so weird. He was so forward. He came right up and asked us where we wanted to go. I said Manorola but he was like no no go to Monterossa. I was so flustered because I was trying to respond in Italian (which I was not successful) and Melissa had already walked away. It didn’t help that he was so close to me and he shaved his chest. Ewww I could see that it was spiky. It grossed me out so badly. Yuck. I guess I am experiencing the real italy. It was really funny.

The cities of Manorola and Riomaggiore were beautiful also. At Riomaggiore we snagged a boat that took us back to Vernazza. Bellissima. The whole day was filled with absolutely stunning sites. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Day 3- Last Day in Vernazza

Today we relaxed. All day we just took our time and rested. We went to the coast, sat on rocks and watched the waves roll in. It was so beautiful. It reminds me how much I love the ocean.

I love all the old women here. They open their shutters and shout conversations to each other. It is so cute. They are always together whether they are sitting on the side of the street or strolling around arm in arm. Vernazza is truly the most picturesque place I have ever been.

Day 4 Roma at last

Today we took a five hour train trip to Rome. I will admit my first impression of Rome is filth. I am excited to see the city but that is about it.