Cinque Terre

Last weekend was the IES field trip to Cinque Terre. The program includes one free weekend trip. The choices were Venice, Amalfi Coast, and Cinque Terre. I chose 5Earths because I knew I would want some time out of the city and also I'm not actually interested in Venice so much as I know it is a cultural must. The trip was really spectacular and we had a really great group of people. I think it may actually be the most gorgeous place on the planet. I absolutely loved being outside all day and want to go back immediately, though I do love Rome and even if I'm only gone for a few hours, it's always nice to be back.


They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 7,274 US words or 5,000 Euro words (pretty lousy exchange rate these days): 

Our hike took us up in the terraced farms called terrazzi in the mountains since the low path by the ocean was out because of a landslide. I actually liked the mountain hike a lot better. We walked between the first three towns (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia) but stopped in an extra one (Volastra) along the way. Then we took the train to the 4th town (Vernazza) and sadly skipped the 5th (Monterosso al Mare), but that was OK with me because it was the only one I had been to before. 

Adam, Will, Maria, Jordan, and me in Vernazza. 

Here are some locks from Via del Amore in Riomaggiore. It is the first part of the walk and stretches between the first two towns. Couples are supposed to get some locks and write their names on them. They then lock them and toss the keys into the ocean that way they can never be unlocked. I am really curious to go swimming down there and see how many keys there are. 

A view from the hike. All the Cinque Terre towns were founded as farming villages, not fishing villages as I would have guessed. They have a special type of wine because the grapes grow very close to the ground. The terraces are also rather dangerous because the walking paths go right along the edge sometimes and there are not always fences and the fall would be about 10 feet. I actually almost fell off because I was posing for a photo of the view and my foot slipped off the edge. I started to fall but luckily because I had been posing I had my arm on the fence and my armpit caught it. I'm glad I didn't start the day off by breaking my leg. 

Here's the harbor in Lerici where we went Sunday Morning. We took a boat there from La Spezia (where we were staying) and walked around the castle there. Then we took a boat to Portovenere and spent the afternoon there. Portovenere, along with all of Liguria, is famous for its pesto. I bought 2 jars! I wanted to by an "I ♥ Pesto" shirt but they didn't have my size. I also got a really delicious Salsa di Noci. I had a free sample of it and before I even swallowed it I grabbed a jar to buy.