Cinque Terre + Lucca

Last weekend I went with my study abroad program to Cinque Terre, along the eastern coast of the peninsula. Every semester we all pick from a couple different places, and then there are weekend trips. Last semester I visited Naples, the Amalfi coast and Pompei. But anyway.

There are five towns - cinque! - that make up the area. It's kind of a little inlet, bordered on each end by a promontory. The towns are absolutely beautiful, naturally. I think it's one of those classic pictures that comes up when you put 'italy' in google. See below:

This is the second town delle Cinque Terre - Manarola. There's really not much to it, but the views from afar are amazing! I think this is the best view I saw that day.

The five towns are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. There's a path between the first two that's really famous, called Lover's Lane. We walked down it and I wasn't particularly impressed, because to be honest, the whole place is pretty romantic. Why is just the path special? Lol. We walked that path, and then we 'hiked' between Manarola and Corniglia (my kind of hike, actually. quick and painless). Sadly, there was a rock slide about a week and a half ago, and we had to take a train between Corniglia and Vernazza. So a lot of our walking was cancelled, which I honestly don't think was a problem for anyone, haha. We did miss Corniglia as well, since it's about 300 steps up and then back down again from the train station, so the guide thought it would be better just to skip it. The first three towns seemed more like a novelty thing, a quick look before continuing (fine with me! They were cute) and the last two had a bit more to them.

The fourth town, Vernazza, was where we stopped to have lunch. By this time my friend Lauren and I had been debating how long it would take us to pass out, so it was quite welcome. We ended up going to a little restaurant with a bunch of people, and it was so much fun. Lol, for example, my friend Anthony sat at the head of the table, and there happened to be a reproduction of Leonardo's Last Supper behind him. So he pretended to be Jesus and we all mimicked the figures in the scene for a photo. It was funnier at the time, I promise! The food was fantastic, as Cinque Terre is famous for their sea food (again, this is an overall Italian thing, I feel, lol). After that we were late meeting the group, ran all the way across the town, where one of the advisors had stayed to help us find the group (we called ahead of time), and were promptly led (very quickly!) right back to the piazza in front of the restaurant, where the tour guide was currently explaining stuff (which I didn't listen to a word of, since a couple of us then stuck away and found gelato).

So I don't really have any pictures of Vernazza (too busy eating), but here's another one of Manarola! Pretty, huh?

Monterosso is the last town of the Cinque Terre (which the guide said means five villages, but ACTUALLY means five earths or five fields), and it's the only one with a swimmable (yep, used that word!) beach. I didn't really hang out at the beach like in Positano last semester; instead, Lauren and I went shopping for a shirt for her and for tea! Despite the lovely sun and beautiful sea, it was actually pretty chilly, especially where the wind was allowed to blow. So everywhere, lol. But we found our tea and then wandered around for a while before being herded back to the hotel and to dinner for the evening. But not before we watched a quick soccer match between some local kids and some people from our group. At first the Americans were winning, but after a few minutes of us yelling at them to be nice to the poor kids they took it down a notch. Then they got taken down another notch, because the kids starting destroying them. I really don't think they were doing it on purpose, either.

The next day before driving five hours back to Rome, we stopped in Lucca for a tour, some free time and lunch. Lucca is an old Roman town, much like Pisa. Actually, it's way better than Pisa. There are some gorgeous churches and beautiful towers, and the whole town is surrounded by an old Roman fortified wall. There's now a wide path with room for bikes atop the wall, plus an awesome view. The whole town was very small and cute, and was very 'Italian' without being overwhelming, as I suppose Rome can be sometimes. It's nice to visit little places like that and be reminded that, oh yeah, most Italians won't knock you over to get on the bus. Lol.

Lucca! + flowers

Roman fortress. Try and attack us now, crazy barbarians!

Barcelona

So I've noticed that my post titles have gotten lamer for every post...oh well. It 's a lot of stuff to come up with, you know! Anyway. Last weekend I went to Barcelona! This was one of those places I had wanted to see but kind of just felt, eh, and finally just thought, why not?? and booked a flight. Thank goodness I did, because Barcelona is beautiful! It definitely reminded me of Valencia (I mean, same country), but bigger and more interesting. I was by myself, and just spent the days wandering around the city. It's a lot like Rome in that there's a lot of really unique, beautiful architecture and interesting shops and people, but the streets are broader and more sunny. The weather was excellent, and I wore t-shirts the whole time. I think I may have even tanned a little on my arms! I wasn't really sure what to see when I went, but it turns out that the city has some really cool modern architecture. They're currently building a cathedral by a local architect, Gaudi, and it's absolutely amazing. See below, lol:

La Sagrada Familia

Like I said, the weather was gorgeous. I spent the whole day outside; and I actually had a frappuccino from Starbucks in celebration of spring! Also because it had been a really, really long time, lol. It was glorious. Friday night, at the end of the first day, I hung out with some people from the hostel. We all made our own dinners and ate together, and then tried to go out. It didn't really work, though, since none of us really knew where to go! We ended up having a drink at some bar at 2 am and then taking taxis (which was an ordeal because none of them would take 5 people and it took a while for us to accept that) home. It was pretty fun, though. Oh, so I think my favorite story took place while we were wandering around downtown. We were going down a side street and all of the sudden these Spaniards start yelling and coming up to us. I was a little ahead with my friend Edmund and I tried to glance back, but he kept telling me to hurry up and go! So there was this guy back there basically humping another guy who was with us, trying to get his wallet. It was absolutely hysterical! I mean, maybe not for him, though. Lol, that night I also saw a transvestite and what must have been a hooker. I mean, why else would she have been sitting on that bench like that, alone at 3 am? Oh, and I forgot to mention. I made my own dinner Friday and Saturday. Yay me!

So the next day I woke up and met up with a local girl I had actually met in Greece, on Corfu Island at the hostel. She had been working there and was the only person remotely near my age who spoke English, and we hung out and talked the whole 2 days. Her name is Lina, and she's adorable! I had mentioned to her back in January that I was thinking about visiting Barcelona in March, and luckily we were able to see each other! We had coffee in a calmer, less touristy area, which was very cute, and she gave me some tips on stuff to do. Later that day we met up a second time and went to a free museum featuring an exhibition on a modern Catalan artist. The exhibition, on Joaquim Mir, was fantastic, and it was really cool to see a different kind of art and learn about the Catalan culture. Apparently it's a local thing, and Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia. A lot of the locals speak both Spanish and Catalan, though no one speaks just Catalan. It's just an ongoing effort to keep the culture alive. It's great that there are still people who recognize that kind of thing, and how important it is to keep it going.

So between coffee and the museum, I spent the day wandering around again. I ended up sitting in a park reading for a good part of the afternoon. It was so peaceful; I kept thinking that maybe despite my complete lack of knowledge of the Spanish language and my love of Rome, I could live in Barcelona just to go to that park all the time!

The park! I don't know the name, lol...

The view from where I sat to do my reading! Gorgeous, isn't it? I was sitting there on a bench and all these people came by with their cute Spanish kids, lol. Plus a lot of Spanish tweens...kill me, lol.

I found this little path worn into an area near a church. It kind of felt like the jungle!! Okay, probably not. I think I shame all the jungle explorers by saying that. But I liked it!

There's a famous street market on Las Ramblas where they have souvenirs and random things for sale, and I spent some time each day walking there. They had some absolutely amazing human statues, like gargoyles and headless people, that really put all the mummies and Greek statues here in Rome to shame. They also had flower stalls (again with the flowers, lol) with really cute little mini bouquets and €1 cacti, and there were stalls selling pets! I saw turtles, bunnies, fish, birds, hamsters...it was AWESOME. Well, mostly, since I kept thinking about all the creepy people who can easily buy the animals and mistreat them, and then I was wondering about how the vendors treated the animals during the night. But anyway, lol, cute!!

Flower stall with mini flowers and...

cacti! I cannot imagine how crazy I would go over these if I lived in Barcelona...

Once again, I'm getting this posted right before I leave again, since we're going to Cinque Terre (with my study abroad program) tomorrow. It's basically the Italian equivalent of the French riviera, and is supposed to be breathtaking. But we'll see, especially with all the rain! Ahh, I want Barcelona weather!

Polonia

Ciao tutti, it's a few days late, but I thought I'd tell you all about Poland! I went this weekend somewhat on a whim; I had had a free weekend last month and found some affordable tickets and since they were way cheaper than those I was considering for France, I decided to just go for it! I hadn't really considered visiting Poland, simply hadn't thought of it, but I was really curious, especially since I'd never really heard anything about it. I had a flight Friday, March 6, into Warsaw, and another Sunday the 8th out of Katowice, about 1.5 hours from Krakow. I ended up booking a hostel in Krakow for both nights, and spent the afternoon Friday looking around Warsaw.

I originally considered spending the whole weekend in Warsaw and just skipping Krakow, but I then after doing a little research decided to focus on Krakow. It's apparently the place to see if you're going to Poland, and at the very least, I did spend a few hours in Warsaw. I'd heard about the damage it had sustained during World War II, and how the old town had been painstakingly rebuilt until it resembled almost perfectly it's prior condition. So I flew in last Friday at about 12.30 (I don't have classes Fridays) and took a bus to the train station and immediately got lost. If you've ever heard of the train station in Warsaw, apparently it was specially designed and built a few years ago, and everyone in Poland hailed its efficiency. Then they changed their minds when NO ONE could get around it. To explain a bit, it involves a veritable labyrinth of underground tunnels and two large buildings across from one another. One is a parking/shopping area (so nothing to do with transportation) and the other houses ticket lines and waiting areas. They are connected by the tunnels, which also have several other openings, and you access the train platforms through the tunnels. Now I get it! But honestly, I wandered around for the longest time trying to figure out what I was doing, lol. I finally bought a train ticket for Krakow that evening and then (painfully) found a bus stop for the center so I could see what all the fuss was about.

Well, then, while on the bus, I asked a girl who spoke decent English if I was on the right bus. She told me, no, you need a different one and you'll have to walk a long way from the end of the line. I started wondering if it was even worth seeing Warsaw, and if I should just go back to the ridiculous train station and wait. I rode the train to the end of the line and after wavering for a few moments, resolved to find the center if it was the last thing I did! I walked across the square towards where my guide book claimed the main road to be, found it, turned to my left, and there it was. Long way my butt.

The old town was really beautiful, and had amazing charm. The weather, though cold, was comfortable and extremely beautiful and clear. I walked around for a while and got yelled at by Polish guys (it's the same, really, everywhere you go. oi.). It was just really cool, kind of like a colorful old maze, and it was nice after a stressful week trying to get all my work done to have time to just wander and look.

My first view of old Warsaw (or Warszawa)

Square in the center of the old town

That evening, I took a train from Warsaw to Krakow, or Cracovia. I got in about 8, yet didn't make it to the hostel until almost 10 because of yet another labyrinthine train station. Everyone at the hostel was really friendly, but after everything that day I just went straight to bed. I generally just book a bunk in a dorm because it's cheaper, so I had several roommates, though none were there. The next morning, however, I was rudely awoken by a group of Spanish guys returning from their night out at 7 am. I tried rolling over and flailing about so they'd notice me and quiet down, but that lasted about 30 seconds. Finally they went to bed, but not before I managed to catch a glimpse of them in their tight European underwear. Lovely.

That morning I went out to explore, and just wandered around the city for a while. There are some absolutely gorgeous churches there, and the whole city is full of character, much like Krakow. One of my favorite parts was the Czartoryskich Museum (say that 3 times fast), which has Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, along with Rembrandt's Landscape with the Good Samaritan and a few really remarkable post-impressionist works. In the central square (the largest town square in Europe!) there is an old town hall building that holds an art gallery on the 2nd floor and at street level is an open air market. It was really adorable, and the goods were really unique compared to what I've seen elsewhere in Europe. For example, they had adorable carved wooden jewelry boxes and toys, and after going back to the square 3 times to look at everything, I finally caved and bought a little blue box. It's so cute! And has a little key! Lol.

That evening I had intended to go to a Mozart and Chopin (I never realized he was Polish!) concert at a church I'd visited, but I changed my mind when the weather took a turn for the worse. I also met a girl at the hostel, Lisa, and we hung out most of the evening. Honestly, hostels are really what makes traveling alone possible, I think. During sight-seeing and the actual traveling part, it can be pointless and even annoying having companions, but it's nice meeting people with different backgrounds. I've collected a lot of random emails, and this weekend in Barcelona (I know, it's exhausting! But I'm psyched! Gorgeous weather!!) I'm meeting up with a girl I met in Greece who lives there, Lina. But anyway, Lisa (who is Australian, and hilarious) and I ended up going down to the hostel's bar and hanging out with a couple others who didn't want to go outside. I also ran into the Spaniards from that morning, lol, who apologized, bought me a drink and collectively proceeded to flirt with me throughout the evening. They were absolutely hilarious, especially since they kept unconsciously lapsing back into Spanish so that it almost gave me a headache talking to them!

Sunday wasn't extremely interesting; I left early for Katowice and spent the afternoon doing homework and killing time before my flight out. I decided even before I left Krakow, though, that I'm absolutely going back someday. I mean, I say that about every place I visit, but it was just so different from everywhere else I've been! Cheaper, too. I'm actually thinking now about saving money for a while and then spending some time traveling in eastern Europe. I'm going to Prague next month over spring break, but there's so much else to see! Plus, I love how cheap it is. Perfect for me, lol.

Town square: on the ground through the arches is the market.
Also on the square were groups of stands selling flowers.
After all the rain and cold, I've been getting unnaturally
excited when I see flowers. Yay! Pretty!

Wawel Cathedral, part of Wawel Castle,
where the Polish monarchy ruled from.

St. Mary's Church on the town square,
and on the right...flower sellers!! Yay!

O Valencia

Hi!! I know it's again been quite a while, but in my defense, at first there wasn't anything to say (it would have been boring) and then I was really busy. So there. But it's now March! It's going so fast, and I'm both sad that my year is this far along and enjoying being in the city with so much experience, knowing my way around and such. It's still pretty rainy and cold, but yesterday we had an absolutely gorgeous day and my new roommate Caroline and I went to a beautiful park to study. I didn't make it out running yesterday and instead went today in the drizzle, which was actually nice, since I've not run since before Christmas, I think, lol.

Well, about a month ago the new students for the spring semester arrived, and everything's been pretty hectic since. Caroline was stuck in London for a few days with about 40 other students from our program when London had it's "epic" snow (like 2 inches, and they closed the airports), but finally arrived a day and a half late, and then we had a week of orientation followed by my second "welcome" trip to Assisi and Perugia. We then had a week of intensive Italian, followed by the first week of classes! My schedule's a little hectic, at least for me, as I have early class every morning. I'm going to have problems in the real world, lol. But I'm compensated, I feel, by having Fridays off, allowing me to travel more easily and to just have a longer break each week. I really enjoy it; I slept all day Friday and felt so relaxed Thursday night! It was kind of crazy last week because I had a lot of reading and was choosing classes to register for next semester at Mizzou (which, when your advisor doesn't want to be helpful, gets pretty frustrating), but it felt amazing Thursday evening to know I had an extra day to just relax.

So, last weekend I went to Valencia, Spain. This was kind of a random decision; in December when I got back from Sicily I was looking at plane tickets for the spring, thinking about where I wanted to go, and I found a cheap flight to Valencia. I don't really know anything about it (or about Spain in general), but I thought, why not? and booked it! It was kind of crazy, since I left Thursday evening after my first week of classes, but the city was absolutely beautiful and the weather was amazing. It was such a great getaway from the crazy (and cold and wet) city. I only did two days, arriving Thursday evening and leaving Saturday evening, but with its size I feel like that was perfect. Valencia was lovely, with flower vendors in the main square and beautiful old buildings. There are art museums everywhere and I was able to visit a few with discounts (student!) or even free. In the main cathedral there is the only recognized (albeit tentatively) actual Holy Grail. The church is amazing and huge, and I've really developed a great respect for Spanish art. Valencia is very old, as well, having been a Roman settlement, so there's a lot of history concerning Europe's development that I'd never heard about. And it was cheap (bonus!), especially where the hostel and transportation were concerned. When I was tired of wandering around the sites, as well, I went and hung out in a park. There's one that stretches, king of like a river, all through the city. And it's beautifully well-kept, and there are museums and recreational areas built within it. After my visit, I'm twice as excited to go to Barcelona in two weeks! (after Poland, next weekend. But hopefully I'll just write about that next week)

Vendors in the main square, Plaza del Ayuntamiento

The cathedral of Valencia

The Holy Grail!! It looks fancy, but the base and handles were added later. I'm still not sure, though.

One of the museums in the park (far image) and an indoor garden. I don't really know what's up with the futuristic architecture, but it is pretty cool. There are several structures, built together, and they're actually pretty mind-blowing. These buildings, of course, were the exception. I haven't seen anything like this anywhere before.

Oh, the title of this entry is from a song by the Decemberists. It's kind of part of the reason I decided to go, lol. Good song!