Stacie sells seashells by the seashore

         

     Cinque Terre.

5 magical towns along the Mediterranean coastline. My idea of perfection. I feel like my pictures and words don't even do it justice but enjoy and don't forget to add this to your bucket list pleaseee (and take me with you when you go)!

       This weekend getaway was just what I needed after another busy week. After getting on and off trains for a few hours, we finally saw something that made us squeal with excitement. Out of our window we saw the blue sparkling water of the Mediterranean Sea! It was like Christmas morning x 100000000! It was perfect to have a travel buddy that loves and misses the beach as much as I do, at that moment. Even though Stacie is from Salt Lake City, she doesn't handle cold weather very well (like me) hence her decision to go to BYU Hawaii. We were just meant to be. 

     We were so happy to smell the salty air and feel the ocean breeze for the first time in months...basically ready to shed some tears..but we didn't. It would've been a little awkward for people around us. It was unfortunate that the main hiking trail that goes from the first town, Riomaggiore, to the last town, Monterosso, was closed but we got over it in 0.5 seconds! Nothing could go wrong in this amazing place. We still adventured to all 5 towns, each with its own charm. After finding the cute lady that owned the hostel we were staying at in Monterosso, we dropped off our stuff in our room and got ready for dinner. We walked around town looking for a yummy place to eat (determined to get pesto and seafood) and found a nice place  on the cliff looking out into the ocean.  Stacie had a troffiette pesto pasta and I had fish ravioli with shrimp, zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes on top. My mouth is watering just writing that sentence! 

    The next day was amazing. Just a few things from our list...

Lay out on the beach/jetty 

Collect rocks and seaglass

eat gelato on the beach 

photoshoot

get massages from annoying asian ladies...

Yeah about that last activity..that didn't get crossed off our list (it never made it on the list to begin with haha). Two very persistent chicks kept walking around offering massages and one of them even climbed all the way to the end of the rocks where we were, AFTER we had already said no. It was a little hysterical.

Needless to say, our time in Cinque Terre ended too soon :( We were having major withdrawals when we got back to Siena but we've accepted the fact that we'll just have to come back in the future!

xoxo,

Rita

 

 

 

Lucca and Pisa

 
This trip has been full of successful adventures with my partner in crime, Stacie! Our latest was a day trip to the cute city of Lucca and then a stop in Pisa on the way home for a typical leaning tower photo. That doesn't make us tourists though!


Highlights: conquering the train system (and sneaking onto first class of course), eating yummy organic gelato and riding a tandem bike without crashing (ok we almost did but it was an old lady's fault)!

 

 

Trying to look classy in first class..they didn't catch me ;)

 

 

Single or tandem...was that even a question?
 

 

 

 

Lucca's Roman Walls

One shove away from falling about 40 ft.

 

Had to!



Buffy wanted to sit by us so his owner let him!
 

We all napped and then said our goodbyes :(


 



That's all for now!

 

 

xoxo,

 

Rita



 

"C" is for ...

    October is here. How? I have no idea! There must be something wrong with my planner. Time is flying by and the homework is piling up. Yes, we do have to study here. Bummer I know. Luckily, the last week of September was busy with places to go and things to see (books NOT required). Theme of the week?

"C"   

1. Contrada dinner
            If you read my post two weeks ago you have a little idea of what the palio is. Or maybe you're a James Bond 007 fan and you've seen the Quantum of Solace movie?? The first scene is filmed there and they show the horse race going on! If you have no idea what I'm talking about...get on google and type in Siena palio because it's really interesting and a VERY big deal around here. The director of our program lives in the boundaries of the Torre contrada (one of the teams) so we got an exclusive tour of their church and museum. The museum has a bunch of historic relics like costumes and the banners they've won in the past palio races and it is also where the officials have meetings. The best part was eating with people from the contrada! Each week they host a dinner and people volunteer to help cook/serve the food.  I wish we did that in my neighborhood!

2. Calcio game
           Cheering on the Siena soccer team was so much fun! We repped the black and white and attempted some Italian cheers but they mostly turned into laughter. One thing I thought was really funny was the snack bar. Instead of nachos, hot dogs and candy like in America, they had paninis, coffee and pastries...time to get a little classier?

3. Cheese Farm

                Just a bus ride away from Siena is the real countryside. See the pictures for a better idea of what I mean. Our group booked a little cheese tasting lunch at a Cheese farm that produces and  distributes peccorino (sheep) cheese all over Italy. The house had these cute tables set out for us and we were served some crunchy bread /crackers with spreads, gnocchi, fresh salad,  and 3 different aged cheeses: 2 weeks, 2 months and 9 months. And how could I forget the delicious "bar-like" dessert with ricotta cheese and chocolate! After our meal we went to the production center and learned about the whole process. I'm not really a cheese person but I loved everything about our little field trip!

 

 

 Future retirement home?

 

 

 

Free spirit

 Typical Reet

 

 

 

My roommate decided I needed to direct traffic

4. Contrada Festival: Cupids and more

            Another palio reference! Did you google it? I hope so or else this will be jibberish to you. The winner of the July palio race was the Contrada Dell'Onda (the wave) and they are STILL celebrating. I'm telling you..winning the palio is like winning a superbowl, the world cup, and maybe the lottery in one day. Emotions are wild and the parties don't stop (till I walk in...jk had to.) A bunch of us made our way over to town and went out looking for the party. Right when we saw the HUGE trojan horse replica we knew we had found it. We walked behind it into the alleys and found that they were transformed to go with the Trojan War theme.  Siena already makes you feel like you're living in a different  time period so this just tripped me out even more! The dancing cupids were definitely my favorite group that dressed up. Even pictures won't do this festival justice but trust me when I say it was an experience of a lifetime.

 And this is how the night ended...trying to politely turn down a date

with an Italian boy while all the girls watched and laughed...

glad I could entertain!

Clearly we don't do mellow weeks here in Siena. Go big or go home! ...or better yet Casa! ;)

xoxo,

Rita