day 89 // florence // la spezia // monterosso // vernazza // monterosso // florence
Cinque Terre round two!! So I woke up super early (probably the earliest I've ever woken up on this whole trip) and went to Croissants so that we could catch cab and get to the train station by 6:40. Soon after we got there and checked in, all the other kids did the same and eventually we made our way to the 3 buses and headed off on the 2 hour ride to La Spezia. In La Spezia we got off the buses and gathered in the train station there because the Bus2Alps tour guides were going to buy our train tickets. Well just so happens that today there was a train strike (typical Italy) and there were no trains running. So we got back on the bus and decided to drive to Cinque Terre. The buses could only take us so far into Monterosso so we ended up having to walk down like 2 or 3 miles to actually get to the town. Heidi's friend, Kristina, who is studying in Spain came with on this trip, so the 3 of us went on our own for most of the day to avoid the struggles of being in a big group. Kristina is on spring break right now and was meeting a few of her friends in Cinque Terre and staying there tonight so she had all of her stuff for the next week with her, so first thing we did was find where she was staying so that she could drop off her stuff. The worker lady was so sweet and led us to this adorable little restaurant where we got some awesome seafood spaghetti and pesto pasta for lunch. I wanted to take them to Billy's (where my mom and Shelly went when we were here) but it is in a few towns over (Manarola) and since the trains weren't running we couldn't get there easily. But this place was certainly not settling. It was so good. And I had my first oysters! Still getting over the whole shell thing, but they sure are tasty. Then we walked around Monterosso, which was cool because I didn't really get the chance to do that last time. Then we took a ferry to Vernazza so that they could see some of the typical, beautiful "Cinque Terre" scenery. We hiked up a little bit so that we could get a good view. It was a pretty muggy day, but I loved it. If it was hot it would've been miserable. Then we got some gelato (naturally) and hiked up a different little tower area. Before we knew it it was time to take the ferry back to Monterosso to meet up with the group. I was kind of sad that because of the train strike we were behind schedule and it was hard to get a good feel of the towns. I'm so happy I was able to come with my mom and Shelly and see the other towns too, because Manarola is still by far my favorite and hands-down the most picturesque. Anywaaaays, we said goodbye to Kristina, then we walked back up to the buses. The sun had come out by then and it was literally the longest walk ever. It was probably the most athletic thing I've done since I've been here. It was ridiculous. But don't worry, we made it, and loaded our sweaty, tired bodies onto the buses to head back home. We slept the whole way home and good thing, cause we needed it. When we got back Heidi and I decided to go to a restaurant on our meal card right by our apartments called "Gusta Osteria" for dinner. We heard it was good and it is owned by the same people that own Gusta Pizza, so we've been wanting to try it for awhile. We got salads and chicken and sat and talked for hours before finally heading home. Heidi and I have the best conversations and I just love her. We talk about anything and everything, from silly surface chatter to deep, philosophical conversation. It's the best and I will definitely miss it.
Here are the pictures from today!! My GoPro died early on, so I only got a couple on that. I wish I would've gotten more because the ones I did take were awesome, but I learned my lesson to make sure it's fully charged next time!
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