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