ITALY Part II: Cinque Terre

If you haven't heard of Cinque Terre (pronounced Chinqua-Terreee), I'm sure you've seen photos of it at the very least. It is composed of five colorful little villages perched on the rugged Italian coastline, surrounded by vineyards and terraced olive groves, and it's where Carlee and I spent our Easter Sunday and Monday. In order, the towns are: 1. Monterosso al Mare 2. Vernazza 3. Corniglia 4. Manarola, and 5. Riomaggiore. 

Due to lodging being crowded (and expensive) for Easter, though, Carlee and I did not stay in one of those five towns. Instead, we chose to sleep at a campsite three miles' walk outside of Devia Marina, which is roughly 20 minutes by train from the first village. And yes, we stayed in a tent. And no, there was no electricity, no heating, no lights of any sort, and certainly no wifi in this tent. It was a tent (albeit with a wood-beam structure and a door that sort of locked). We arrived at our tent Saturday night, cold and frustrated by the three-mile walk to the campsite in the dark, and we just burst out laughing at the situation. Roughing it, we were. 

Weather for Sunday and Monday promised rain and lightning showers, but something must have switched in our favor, because Easter Sunday turned out to be warm and sunny with brilliant blue skies. Carlee and I seized the day, arriving by train in Monterosso by 9:30am to start hiking. The great appeal of Cinque Terre is the ability to hike to and from all the villages, and we were determined to hit all five towns. Of course, there is a train that you can take between the villages as well, the rides lasting only four to six minutes from one station to another, but Carlee and I were both craving a good hike, and that is exactly what we got. 

In Monterosso, we ate a quick breakfast and bought some snacks (apples and granola bars) before following the steady stream of fellow hikers out of the town and up into the terraced cliffs. Between Monterosso and Vernazza, the Blue trail took us about two hours to hike. It was relatively easy besides the fifteen minutes in the beginning of just climbing up stone stairs, and the views were completely worth it. "Never give up elevation!" became our catchphrase of the day, especially while climbing up. 

We reached Vernazza a little before noon, and immediately searched for some lunch. We found this tiny little panini place called the Lunch Box where we could create our own paninis, and it was literally the best place ever. I had a special buttery corn bread sandwich toasted with fresh mozzerella, prosciutto ham, and mushrooms. Carlee and I followed this delicious meal by ordering fruit smoothies from the Lunch Box, and I was again very impressed by the food. We loved the little take-out restaurant so much that we ate there again on Monday (and the friendly chef  gave us huge slabs of delicious Easter chocolate for free). 

Setting off from Vernazza, we took the Blue trail once more--ignoring the sign that warned that the trail was closed--and headed off towards Corniglia. There were lots of other hikers on the trail, though, so it wasn't worrying. This trail took just under two hours to complete, but the views of Corniglia as we approached were absolutely stunning. 

In Corniglia, we took a break and ate our apples by the ocean before heading off to the next trail. From Corniglia to Manarola, however, the Blue trail was closed, so we were forced to take the high trail, which meant heading up trail 7a (40 minutes straight uphill) then cross over to trail 6, then down 6d to Manarola. The first part was absolutely exhausting--it felt like we never stopped going up. By the time the trail leveled out (after 40 minutes of grueling climb) Carlee and I were both winded and sweating. We sat down on a rock to take a break. Then, a woman and her husband walk passed--but the woman was wearing a dress, sandals, and was six or seven months pregnant! And she didn't even look winded--it looked as if the trail was just another walk in the park for her! Carlee and I turned to each other after she passed and just exclaimed "We are so weak compared to her!" 

It was actually a blessing in disguise to be up on the higher trail. Not only did we get more of a workout, but the views were also phenomenal. We passed vineyards and olive groves and lemon trees, all terraced on the cliffs below us. The trail tightly hugged a level of terracing, but it still felt as if we would fall right into the ocean hundreds of feet below us if we somehow wandered off the trail--it was that steep! It was amazing to be up there. 

By the time we finally reached Manarola, though (another two hours or so of hiking between Corniglia and Manarola), our legs were shaking. We are both in relatively good shape, but going down stairs for 40 minutes--especially following more than 5 hours of hiking--just killed us. We were happy to sit in Manarola for a while, eating Nutella crepes, before taking the train to the Riomaggiore, the final town. Apparently the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore is the shortest--only a half hour's hike--but we just couldn't motivate ourselves to do it. It was really weird to arrive in the next village after only four minutes on a train.

It was in Riomaggiore that we ate Easter dinner by the sea. I had a very traditional Easter meal: homemade gnocchi with pesto. Carlee had pasta with clams. Then, after a quick stroll around the final town of Cinque Terre, we grabbed the train back to Devia Marina, walked three more miles in the darkness to our campsite, and immediately fell asleep. 

Monday featured intermittent rain, so it was a good thing that we did the hike on Sunday. Carlee and I took the train back to Monterosso, the first town, and hung out there for a while. We took the ferry to Vernazza and ate at the Lunch Box, as I mentioned before, but ordered the fresh fruit with yogurt instead of the smoothie--absolutely delicious! As we walked around Vernazza, though, it started pouring, so we caught the train back to Monterosso and ordered tea in a cafe that sat right on the beach, watching as the rain beat against the turquoise ocean.

Our Monday in Cinque Terre was cut a little short, though, as we had to get to the train station by 3pm to catch the last train to Florence. You can probably guess what destination will be featured next! 

ITALY Part I: Lake Como

Italy is apparently the place to go for Easter vacation, and for the first time ever I had trouble booking a train, as all the trains I wanted were full. I eventually booked one of the last seats on a really late train the day before it left (procrastination at its best) and by Friday afternoon, I was off! 

The first destination of my Italy adventure was a quick overnight at the beautiful Lake Como in northern Italy. My train sped past snow-capped Swiss mountains and then slithered down the side of the lake until it reached Como, the largest lake town in the region. One of my best friends from home--Carlee, who is studying abroad in Florence for the semester--met me at the train station, and the two of us walked around the quiet little town for a while before heading to the hostel to drop off my bags and check in. Honestly, Friday night was nothing too exciting, as we just ate dinner, grabbed gelato, and after a quick stroll around the lake, we headed to bed. 

Saturday dawned, bright and... pouring. Obviously, the rain didn't stop us, as we took the funicular up the mountain immediately after breakfast. We spent most of the day alternating between sitting in cafes drinking tea at the top of the hillside overlooking the lake and exploring during the breaks between the rain. It was quite beautiful even with all the drizzles and sodden clouds, and I could have spent another week or two in the Lake Como region. Como--the town itself--isn't even meant to be one of the prettiest places on the lake! And there are supposed to be all these huge grand villas that you can visit, and boat rides, and hiking.... I'll go back one day, I'm sure. Lake Como really shouldn't be a one-day visit. 

There isn't too much else to say about Como, really. I was there for less than 24 hours, as Carlee and I caught the 3 o'clock train to Cinque Terre that afternoon. Luckily the weather was much more cooperative in Cinque Terre! I know this was a really short post, but I hope you liked the pictures!

South of France III: Aix-en-Provence

I know it's been a while, but I'm back from my Easter Break! I spent an absolutely lovely week in Italy with one of my best friends from high school, but more on that later! Now to finish off my weekend in the South of France...

Aix-en-Provence was the final stop on our whirlwind weekend. We arrived just before nightfall and checked into the hotel. Malou actually left to have dinner with an old friend, so Kat and I wandered outside at about 8pm to find dinner. However, we found a huge celebration instead. Just feet from our hotel door was the main square of Aix, and it was packed with people! Suddenly, I see a giant blown-up dragon floating above the crowd, which made Kat and I even more curious. When we get to the heart of the crowd, we see that the celebration happened to be Aix's Carnival, and we just joined in. Passing people saw us newcomers and started throwing fistfuls of confetti at us, which just made me laugh. 

I think Aix's Carnival was  by far the best of the three that I've seen. It was really strange though--especially with the giant floating creatures (which included an enormous whale, three evil-looking fish that might've been piranhas, a purple octopus, and a green creature that we guessed was a lobster). But everyone in the crowd was having fun, and confetti was thrown in all directions at strangers, and it was such a beautiful night. 

After the crowds dispersed at the end of Carnival, the streets were blanketed in a colorful sheet of confetti, and we saw children scooping it off the road to throw at others. Kat and I quickly followed their example and soon engaged in a furious confetti-war for a while before calling a truce and searching for dinner along the main street. 

Sunday in Aix-en-Provence was much more tame. Malou took us all around the city, and we wandered for a while. Since it was a Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, because France just shuts down on Sundays. However, the open air market was still there in the morning, and we passed numerous mom-and-pop stalls of honey, lavender, olives, fruits and vegetables just off the vine, fresh cheeses, and fish packed in ice. We talked with some of the vendors, and I actually heard the Provence accent! What I loved most about the market was that people come here to do their grocery shopping like it's a casual thing, but we don't really have markets like this where I come from. 

After the markets, we ate lunch outside, where I tried Pastis (the light-green-colored anise-flavored liquor that is really strong)... far from my favorite alcohol. Afterwards, we went to a little park for a while--nothing too exciting--before leaving for the train station. I think Aix was the prettiest of the four towns/cities that we visited, but there wasn't too much to visit or do there besides the luck we had with Carnival on Saturday night. 

So that wraps up my weekend to the South of France! Next post will be about my Easter break in Italy. 

South of France Part II: It's a Small World

On Saturday I town-hopped three times, jumping from Avignon in the morning to Arles, then on to Marseille (Malou dragging her rumbling wheelie suitcase everywhere, which drove Kat absolutely insane) and finally ending in Aix en Provence. It was odd to look back on Saturday night and think "I was in Avignon only this morning..."

Arles is a pretty small town, but apparently it is the city where Vincent van Gogh was his most productive; he produced over 300 paintings and illustrations during his year in Arles, although none remain in the town. It is also known for the roman amphitheater that still remains as the spotlight attraction. Of course, the three of us toured the amphitheater and took a heck of a lot of photos there, which I absolutely loved. It is still used occasionally; we saw posters everywhere detailing the yearly bull wrangling in the arena during Easter weekend. 

After a good hour in the amphitheater, I followed Kat and Malou to the ancient roman theater only a few steps away, but the three of us became a little sidetracked in a local stall selling clothing. A few minutes after realizing the prices were too expensive, we wandered off again, but I lagged slightly behind the other two. As I started to catch up, I happened to glance back to the arena...

...and in a large tour group of students, I recognized Julianne. I stopped dead-still in the street in disbelief and yelled half to myself, "Julianne? It's Julianne!!" 

She didn't look up at my cry, but it was definitely her. All I could think is that she's meant to be in Dijon -- a city hours away -- and that I had somehow mistaken someone else for her, but I yelled out anyway to my two oblivious companions, "KAT! Where are you going, JULIANNE is over there!!" Kat turned around, confused, and then after a few seconds her eyes lit up in shock and she ran over to the unaware Julianne. I turned back around and found Christian running up out of nowhere to me to give me a hug, and then we joined Kat and Julianne, who were both hugging and tearing up. The four of us -- reunited so suddenly and unexpectedly in the tiny town of Arles -- started hugging and shouting and blabbering on in excited surprise. We hadn't seen each other since our trip to Ireland back in October, and it had been too long. 

It turns out that their university in Dijon was hosting a class trip to Arles and Avignon that weekend, the same weekend as our trip to Provence. One of their fellow students left their group to take pictures of the four of us in front of the arena -- all four of us reunited -- and I heard someone else murmur jealously, "I want to meet my friends by surprise somewhere in Europe!" The four of us talked excitedly for a while until Malou and their professor pulled us our separate ways. I didn't take any pictures of the meeting, sadly, but Kat took this candid gem right before the four of us parted.

I was deliriously happy at unexpectedly meeting Christian and Julianne: it was certainly the highlight of my weekend, half due to the fact that I was so shocked that it actually occurred! I'm so happy it did, but to think that if I hadn't noticed Julianne in that glance, or if Malou, Kat, and I had ignored the clothes shop and headed straight to the roman theater -- we never would have crossed paths in Arles! The "what if" questions are endless, but it all worked out in our favor. What a small world! I'm still amazed....

Soon after the meeting, Malou took Kat and I to the roman theater for a few minutes before we bought lunch and hopped on our train to Marseille. 

Now, Marseille gets a bad rep (dirty, lots of drug deals and violence) but from what I saw in my four-hour visit of the city, it was pretty nice! Of course, I really only saw the port area, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods... Anyway, the three of us arrived in Marseille and were welcomed by huge crowds -- apparently, it was Marseille's Carnival celebration (which included a lot of paper streamers raining down on the people). We walked around the port for a bit -- soaking in all the Carnival celebrations -- before heading to the huge new Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations that lies at the mouth of the harbor.

Well, the museum was probably really cool, but we didn't see too much of it. Instead, I dragged Malou and Kat up to the rooftop(s) of the museum, which featured colorful gardens of flowers overlooking the port, the shimmering Mediterranean Sea, and the city itself. Since the museum is actually three giant buildings with sky sidewalks connecting all the rooftop gardens, I had a great time hopping from roof to roof with camera in hand, admiring the views and the sea breezes. I know I say this for nearly everything, but it was truly absolutely lovely. 

After about an hour on the rooftop gardens, we had ten minutes to explore one of the museum's galleries (at least entrance was free for students!) before heading back through Marseille's streets and up to the train station. Honestly, it wasn't enough time in Marseille in my opinion, but I'm glad I got to see it all the same. The fourth and final stop of the day was in Aix en Provence, but I'll leave that for another day. 

South of France Part I: Avignon

Surprisingly, it only takes five hours to get from Strasbourg to the south of France by train. This means than Kat, Malou, and I arrived in Avignon by just a few minutes after noon on Friday. We checked into our lovely hotel, ate lunch, and then set off to explore Avignon. 

Immediately it was clear that we were no longer in Alsace. The south of France features more tortured trees with twisted trunks thanks to the mistrals (strong, cold winds) that plague the area. Luckily, the mistrals stayed far away during our visit. The towns are made of pale cream-colored stone that are a far cry from the timber wood facades and colors of Alsatian residencies, but are much more "French." Three minutes into our walk down the main street of Avignon, Kat mentioned that this town was exactly the picture she had in her mind of France before arrival, and I agreed. 

Our first stop was at the Pont d'Avignon (the Avignon Bridge). Malou spouted out a lot of history that I've already forgotten, but what I did retain was that it was half-destroyed to stop the King's army from entering the city, and that there is a famous children's song featuring the bridge. Malou insisted on singing it (and tried to make us sing it as well). It goes:

Sur le pont d'Avignon

L'on y danse, l'on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

L'on y danse tous en rond 

                        

Apparently everyone dances in circles on the Avignon Bridge (that's basically what the song is saying). Malou was the only person who I saw dancing--bowing and curtsying--but when she started singing, a few passing French tourists joined in to Kat and my's further amused embarrassment.

After the bridge, the three of us moved on to the Palais des Papes (the Palace of Popes), an impressively large fortress-palace that oversaw the elections of six popes in the 1300s. It fell into disuse after the papacy moved to Rome, and over time it has been a prison, military barracks, stables, and the site of a counter-revoutionary massacre in 1791. We toured through the largely empty palace (it's been sacked a few times) and while it was beautiful, I found it to be a little boring. As you can imagine, all the frescos were religious--and partly destroyed--and the rooms were pretty bare... 

We found a way onto the roof of the palace, though, and I really enjoyed looking at all the tiny gargoyles chipped into the rock. The view from the top of the palace was also quite breathtaking. 

By the time we finished touring the popes' palace, it was pretty late. The three of us grabbed some ice cream, then headed to the hotel for a quick rest before going to dinner. 

Dinner was amazing. Malou managed to find a restaurant (Vin sur Vin) that was holding a special three-course wine tasting night, and they had three spots left. Even though it was a little over budget (30 euro per person), it was a fantastic deal because the dinner was absolutely first class. Anyways, Holy Cross paid for it (as they paid for our trains and hotels, which is why we stayed in classy 3-star hotel rooms and not hostels). I felt a little awkward at first because I hadn't really brought fancy clothes and the rest of the wine tasting's clientele were older couples who were dressed up (and French, of course). Malou, however, has no qualms about talking to anybody, so the three of us were soon chatting away with the group of women sitting next to us. 

Vin sur Vin had brought in a very enthusiastic wine expert to explain all of his selections and talk about the arid region that they came from. We started off with a white that I found to be super dry and not especially to my taste but of which I ended up having two and a half glasses. The appetizer was this three-layer zucchini-tomato-sour cream thing that was absolutely delicious and quite refreshing. The main course brought cod steamed in a plastic bag with a light cream sauce, asparagus, lemon, and zucchini... I don't really like fish, but this was the best I've ever eaten, and I would have willingly ordered more. This was accompanied by a rose wine that I really disliked, unfortunately. Desert was a jar of fresh strawberries in a creamy mouse that had pastis (a licorice-flavored liqueur that is very typical of the south of France) mixed in, paired with a red wine that I didn't even try, but which Kat said tasted like fire. 

After day #1 in the south of France, I learned three things: that Avignon is a town of theaters and theater festivals, that the song entitled "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" really gets stuck in your head, and that even after eight months in France I am still the person who enjoys the food much more than the wine at any and all wine tastings.