Third day in Italy and I am sleepy! We had to wake up and meet the prof at 7:30 to catch an 8 am train. We took a 2 hour train ride the Cinque Terre (pronounced Chin-kweh Tehr-reh) which are 5 towns along the Mediterranean Sea. We hiked from one area to another and then took a train to another area (because there was a mudslide blocking the path!) And hiked some more.
I'm not really sure how many of the towns we actually were in but the hiking was gorgeous... but kind of scary!!! The path was really narrow and rocky and if you slipped, you could have easily fallen and DIED!!! haha but really, I'm not exaggerating. There were these huge, plunging drops down sheer rock cliffs. One of the areas we went through was a bridge that must have been meant for lovers. There were tons of names on the walls, written in graffiti-style, and a statue of 2 people kissing. There were also locks attached to the railing but I dunno why?
We walked through these little towns that look like movie sets (Adam, you were so right... It doesn't seem real!) There was so much to see but not enough time to see it all! I had to keep looking down as I walked so I didn't trip or twist an ankle. I think I could have stayed there and stared at the Sea all day. Pictures don't capture how beautiful the the scene is.
Sometime during the hike, me and Behard got into a long talk about Iranian Jewry which was really interesting. He is from Iran but studying at UMD but not Jewish. He went to a discussion about Iranian Jewry though so he was teaching me things. He was also teaching me some Italian... or was trying to! I don't pick it up very quickly but I am trying! Other than Ash and Kel (2 of my best friends and my roommates here in Italy and at UMD, for those who don't know), Behard is one of the only people I've really had a decent discussion with so far but I look forward to getting to know all the girls better soon.
Anyway, back to the hiking trip.. One of the towns had 382 steps to climb to get to it!!! We did it all and it was fun!!! There were houses spread out along the steps though... can you imagine carrying groceries up or down that many steps?! I am going to come home with awesome legs ;-)
We walked through these beautiful little fishing towns where people had their boats parked on the street outside of their houses like we park cars (In the main cities, there are tons of motorbikes, mopeds, and itty bitty little cars).
The professor was walking at the back of the group so we didn't see her for a very long time and were just kind of on our own. It was a little bit scary but a lot of fun. I really love hiking and wish I got to do more of it! I think we have at least one more hiking trip planned. Who wants to hike when I get back home?? (By the way, people can comment on my blog... I think? Someone try it out! Or if people want to say hi and how jealous they are, feel free to send me a facebook message or email :-P)
There are Santas all over the place here which is really funny. They are all climbing into windows and up balconies. In Italy, there is also another character who brings gifts to children. Her name is Beerfina and she looks like a witch and flies on a broom and brings sweets.
In the final town, Verranzano (or something like that), most of the group got there awhile before the prof. We walked around and got gelato and shopped some! It was so unreal... these tiny little streets with houses and shops stacked on top of each other and squished in next to each other, all brightly painted against a beautiful blue sky... Still feels like a dream!!!
After that, we finally all met up again and got a quick late lunch. Then we caught the train back to Genoa.
I loved those little towns! They were so beautiful and lived up to my expectations of Italy (well, this area of Italy at least.) They fit my idea of what the Riveria was supposed to look like. Genoa doesn't really fit my image of Italy but we haven't seen much yet. The main street, Venti Septembre, is named after the date that Italy became unified. That is where our hotel is and it is kind of a weird street. There are cables zig-zagging across the sky that run the buses, the traffic is crazy, there are TONS of people all in a hurry, and HUGE neon lights and signs. But then there are also streets dating back to the Medieval and Roman eras with gorgeous architecture and piazzas and fountains and things that are out on the street here but would be tucked away in a museum back home. It is a funky mix but I am sure in a day or two, once I get used to it, I will fall more in love with it. I already love the food and the language! There is so much to see and not enough time to see it!
A few general things about Italian: everyone has dogs and they take them everywhere and they go to the bathroom anywhere; tons of people where real fur here.. PETA would be all over them in the states!; they listen to a lot of American music (Katy Perry plays everywhere!); and those moped drivers are crazy!
Tomorrow we start class! Wish me luck!
That's it for today... Ciao! :-D
PS - GO RAVENS! :-) (living with Ash and Kel makes me more interested than usual lol)
PPS - I write my blogs in notepad and then later post them on to the actual blog so thats why a bunch might show up at the same time. Paying for Internet sucks! But now that classes started, we get free Internet sometime so more to come...
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