24 April 2012
Yes. I've been to Paradise.
Think of a postcard or a desktop background of a beach or some type of paradise – I was just there. I’m not even kidding you when I say that. The Cinque Terre in Italy is one of, if not the most beautiful place in the entire world. It is on the west coast of Italy, and composed of five little villages that are connected by trains and hiking paths. We stayed in the first city – Monterosso – in a four star hotel that is on the edge of a cliff looking out to the ocean. So beautiful.
We got there on Thursday night at around 9PM, so it was already dark by the time we got there. But included in our room was free transportation to and from the train station, so that was pretty nice. We got to the hotel and although it was pitch black, we could still hear the ocean and were SO happy and excited to see it! We got some food at the hotel then headed up to our room so we could wake up and get out around the town.
When we woke up and headed out, the view was absolutely incredible. I knew it was going to be pretty but I really did not know it was going to be this amazing. You are literally staring out into the ocean with cliffs jetting out .. which you are on one of those cliffs too. We walked down into Monterosso and looked around the place for a bit. We thought it was going to rain later, so we wanted to start hiking early. We got on a train to the last city, Riomaggiore, where we were going to start. Riomaggiore was so cute! We walked around for a bit then got on the trail which was full of love locks and amazing views. We walked through the gorgeous path that was paved out, to Manarola, the next village. This was one of my favorite villages. We walked around and went into the shops, then got some deeeeelicious gelato! It was so so so so good .. and cheap! The gelato here is less than 2 euros, which is so amazing but pretty dangerous seeing how much we love it. After eating, we went up on a little trail where you can see the entire village of Manarola from a cliff. Absolutely. Gorgeous. I can’t even say enough words to describe this place; it is beautiful.
Our hotel up in the mountain!
Monterosso!
Riomaggiore!
Manarola!
All hail Italy
We found out the trails to the next two cities, Corniglia and Vernazza, were closed, so we had to take a train. There wasn’t much in Corniglia, so we skipped it and went to Vernazza. This is the village that most pictures are shown if you google “Cinque Terre.” It was so pretty and so amazing to be there, but there was a flood throughout this place in October 2011, and Vernazza (along with Monterosso) was hit the worst. There was some construction going on on the beach, and some of the buildings looked so run down and beat from the flood. It was so sad to see, but for only 5-6 months passing, they are doing pretty great. Everything was open for the most part and the place was buzzing with tourists. We got some pizza at a cute restaurant where we ate outside right by the ocean. For my first pizza in Italy, it was amazing!
After the pizza, we had to get some more gelato, and it was even better this time. We were able to hike from this village to the next one, which was the last one and the one we were staying at, Monterosso.
Pizza .. by the ocean .. in Italy .. no big deal?
Vernazza!
Saying we weren’t prepared for this hike is a complete understatement. For one thing, I didn’t have any shoes, so I was hiking in flats. But we just did not think about hiking and packing things that we needed .. but did alright with what we had.
The hike took about two hours to complete, and it was along the cliffs with way too many stairs to climb. Once we got through climbing the stairs, they just made us walk down a hundred more just to reclimb a million again. It was crazy. But the views throughout this hike were incredible, so it was completely worth it. Not to mention when we were a little over halfway done with the hike, we were greeted by an old Italian man who sells lemonade along the trail. We bought some and took a little break (we took a lot of ‘little breaks’).
After this, we thought we were almost done, but we still had about 30 more minutes. The path took us straight to our hotel though so it was pretty nice. And with how unreal this place is, I would recommend anyone and everyone do those hikes – you won’t see the entire place if you don’t. It is SO worth it.
After we got home, we went up to the room to rest for a little but but headed out for some dinner. Of course I ate pizza again, and Heather got some ravioli. So. Good. Before we headed up we decided why not, and got some gelato for dessert. It’s too good in Italy – how can you control yourself and not stuff your faces with Italian food and gelato? It’s impossible.
Today we woke up and walked around Monterosso for some souvenirs and things. I got this amazing paining/thing that hangs on your wall that was made by a local who owns a little shop. I HAD to get it. While we were buying it, he showed us a little video he made of the floods, so we were able to see what where we were walking around looked like at the time. It was heartbreaking to watch but made me so happy to see how fast they were able to reconstruct their town together. There is still a lot of work to do, but they are doing really great for such a short time passing.
Now we are currently sitting in a train station in La Spezia, about to head down to Rome. Ready to do some shopping, eating, and touring! The train is four hours and I’m pretty tired so I’m excited to sleep a bit too. After Rome, we head to Naples, then it’s back to London before Scotland with ISA. I can’t believe we’ve already been to three places on this trip we’ve planned since February. It’s going by SO fast. And when I get back to London after this, I have three more weeks left. What? Where did the past four months go? I really don’t get it and am having a really hard time coming to terms with it … soooo I think I’m just going to stay.
Interlaken!
The next stop on our trip was Interlaken, Switzerland! I have wanted to go here for a while now – after seeing so many friends there, it looked absolutely amazing to me. After too many train rides and 8 hours later, we made it there .. AMAZED at the fact that we were literally inside of the mountains. It was incredible.
Interlaken is a tiny town situated in a valley between two gorgeous lakes. The town has no stoplights, which I absolutely loved. People also smiled at us when we passed on the streets, which I haven’t had happen to me in a very long time – I loved it. We walked a little ways to find our hostel, Balmers Herbage. This hostel had some great reviews and it was on the list for one of the top hostels around …. False.
We got there and checked into our room, which was the size of my closet with 3 bunks crammed in. The bathrooms were in the hallways along with the showers – and these showers, in order for them to work, you have to hold the button down the whole time or else it will shut off .. just like the lights. Yep, I finished my shower in the dark. Oh and we were kicked out of the hostel from 10:30-4PM because apparently it takes five hours to clean a room. And this is all coming from someone who loves hostels. Honestly I would prefer to stay in them over a hotel.
Anyways, the hostel was undoubtedly the worst that we’ve stayed in, but it was manageable. We dropped our stuff off and went walking through the town. The place is so cute. It is very rural, but with the typical Swiss stereotypical buildings you would think of. There are some shopping areas but it is SO expensive! We didn’t buy much at all because of the prices .. it was worse than London! What we did splurge on though was some Swiss chocolate. Absolutely. Amazing. They had so many different kinds so Heather and I bought some little truffles that had caramel or coffee or chocolate … it was probably some of the best chocolate I have ever had. The day was almost over, so we headed back to the hostel to hang out.
The next day we were planning on going up the mountains and I REALLY wanted to go paragliding, but it was rainy and cloudy and that weather never mixes well with mountains or doing things up in the sky. So unfortunately, we spent the day on the ground. We went walking to find the lakes though, and we got a pretty incredible view through them of the mountains and everything. I absolutely loved Switzerland – I wish the weather would have cooperated more, but for what we had it was great.
That night the Balmer’s bar was open so we decided to check it out. We were invited over to some French guys table .. and you know the Frenchies .. super creepy. Some Swiss army boys were there too running around the bar, and a group of American’s who were all really nice. They went cliff jumping earlier in the day and say it was the scariest and greatest things they have ever done and recommended we do it. I also met an Australian who is a sky diving instructor in Interlaken. He talked to me all about sky diving and how I need to do it, and told me if I decided to the next day that I could go with him. He was so convincing and cool, so I was completely prepared to wake up and go – and after he talked to Heather a bit, he kind of convinced her too, which is VERY hard to do.
So we wanted to wake up the next morning and get to it, but unfortunately we didn’t wake up as early as we wanted and by the time we got out, it was already cloudy again. But I’ve decided that before we leave we are doing something of the sorts. Especially now that Heather told me she’s ‘secretly’ always wanted to do something extreme like that. As the bar was closing and we were ready to head upstairs, of course the Frenchies came back and tried to tell us they ‘lost their hotel key’ and had to stay in our room … ? Annoying.
The water really is THAT blue
DELICIOUS
Prettiest money I've ever seen
So today we woke up and got on the train to the Cinque Terre in Italy! We are so so excited because A) it’s a beach and Heather has been crying about her beach withdrawal and B) we splurged on a hotel right on one of the cliffs looking out to the ocean, so we are real excited about that! The pictures look gorgeous, so hopefully the weather will work out for us this time!
Kopfsteinpflaster
The only German word I learned. It means Cobblestone. What?
After my parents left Heather and I were gone the next day to Munich, Germany! This was the start of our spring break .. which is actually summer .. but whatever. We are going to Munich, then over to Switzerland, then down and throughout Italy for about a week. Currently I am sitting on a train through the mountains to Interlaken.
Germany was absolutely incredible! We didn’t really know what we were going to do or why we were going there, but figured we should probably see Germany sometime. It was amazing. We got there in the afternoon and checked into our hostel, which was complete with a little indoor garden/relaxing area and a bar. Pretty cool. We dropped our stuff off in the room and headed out to check out the city. Walking around, it kind of reminded me a lot of Prague, which is not a bad thing because I loved Prague. There is a city center with a huge church that looks just like the one in Pragues Old Town Square. Lots of shopping too! We went walking and then found the Haufbrauhaus, which we’ve always heard you have to visit! It didn’t take more than 5 minutes to be there to have someone come up to us. This boy came up to us speaking slow and loud English saying “I AM FROM AMERICA” … he had to have felt pretty dumb when we told him we were too .. anyways he invited us over to his table for a beer and of course we’ll take a free drink any day. Apparently he was some professional snowboarder or trying to be professional snowboard .. and we got into one of his videos to promote some stuff to get him sponsored. Hahah it was prettttty weird. But we got some free drinks which you can never complain about .. and these drinks were HUGE. The glasses are bigger than my head, and I’m not exaggerating. It was one of the coolest things, I loved it! A young couple sat down at the table with us and they started talking to Heather and I while we were sitting with everyone. They are both in the air force, she’s stationed in Germany and he just got back from Afghanistan which is just ureal .. he’s also living in Oklahoma City (where Heather lives) which is crazy! For some reason we always tend to run into people who live where we do .. it’s great. They were both SO nice though – probably sein ome of my favorite people I have met since I’ve been in Europe. The four of us hung out for a few hours, chatting with other people, taking pictures, etc. etc. We met an enormous group of Italians who were going out so we started walking around with them for a while, then realized we weren’t going anywhere and Heather and I ran off to get back to our hostel. We stopped at the bar at our hostel for a quick drink and talked with the few people who were there, but the bar was closing soon so we weren’t there long. We met some more great people though from Canada, Cali, Australia, etc.
The next morning we woke up later than we wanted, but clearly we needed sleep so it was alright. We went back to Haufbrauhaus to get our brothers some souvenirs, and then got on the train to go to Dachau, the first concentration camp that was built. We walked through the main area, the sleeping quarters, the churches, memorial, and crematorium. It was crazy to be there, especially after learning so much about it. The place was so big and just felt empty. It was weird. But everything was so interesting and I’m so glad that we were able to see that. I’ve always wanted to visit a concentration camp but never though I’d actually get the chance.
After the camp we went back to our hostel and stopped into the bar. We met a couple guys who had just finished med school and law school … CRAZY smart! We all went out to another beer hall near our hostel for a couple drinks, but ended up back at the hostel bar. Heather and I wandered off and talked to a couple of friends we met from the night before and even met some that are living in London too! The bar closed not too long after we got there again so we went into the little garden area and just all hung out until they kicked us out. But everyone was so funny and so nice and it was just a completely perfect trip. I loved Munich SO much more than I thought I would! Definitely one of my favorite trips so far.
So now we are on our train to Interaken, Switzerland, and the view of the mountains and villages are just incredible. I have been wanting to visit this place for a long time so I’m very excited! I’m thinking about going paragliding tomorrow too, but we’ll see!
After my parents left Heather and I were gone the next day to Munich, Germany! This was the start of our spring break .. which is actually summer .. but whatever. We are going to Munich, then over to Switzerland, then down and throughout Italy for about a week. Currently I am sitting on a train through the mountains to Interlaken.
Germany was absolutely incredible! We didn’t really know what we were going to do or why we were going there, but figured we should probably see Germany sometime. It was amazing. We got there in the afternoon and checked into our hostel, which was complete with a little indoor garden/relaxing area and a bar. Pretty cool. We dropped our stuff off in the room and headed out to check out the city. Walking around, it kind of reminded me a lot of Prague, which is not a bad thing because I loved Prague. There is a city center with a huge church that looks just like the one in Pragues Old Town Square. Lots of shopping too! We went walking and then found the Haufbrauhaus, which we’ve always heard you have to visit! It didn’t take more than 5 minutes to be there to have someone come up to us. This boy came up to us speaking slow and loud English saying “I AM FROM AMERICA” … he had to have felt pretty dumb when we told him we were too .. anyways he invited us over to his table for a beer and of course we’ll take a free drink any day. Apparently he was some professional snowboarder or trying to be professional snowboard .. and we got into one of his videos to promote some stuff to get him sponsored. Hahah it was prettttty weird. But we got some free drinks which you can never complain about .. and these drinks were HUGE. The glasses are bigger than my head, and I’m not exaggerating. It was one of the coolest things, I loved it! A young couple sat down at the table with us and they started talking to Heather and I while we were sitting with everyone. They are both in the air force, she’s stationed in Germany and he just got back from Afghanistan which is just ureal .. he’s also living in Oklahoma City (where Heather lives) which is crazy! For some reason we always tend to run into people who live where we do .. it’s great. They were both SO nice though – probably sein ome of my favorite people I have met since I’ve been in Europe. The four of us hung out for a few hours, chatting with other people, taking pictures, etc. etc. We met an enormous group of Italians who were going out so we started walking around with them for a while, then realized we weren’t going anywhere and Heather and I ran off to get back to our hostel. We stopped at the bar at our hostel for a quick drink and talked with the few people who were there, but the bar was closing soon so we weren’t there long. We met some more great people though from Canada, Cali, Australia, etc.
Hofbrauhaus!
My future ADORABLE Germany baby
The next morning we woke up later than we wanted, but clearly we needed sleep so it was alright. We went back to Haufbrauhaus to get our brothers some souvenirs, and then got on the train to go to Dachau, the first concentration camp that was built. We walked through the main area, the sleeping quarters, the churches, memorial, and crematorium. It was crazy to be there, especially after learning so much about it. The place was so big and just felt empty. It was weird. But everything was so interesting and I’m so glad that we were able to see that. I’ve always wanted to visit a concentration camp but never though I’d actually get the chance.
After the camp we went back to our hostel and stopped into the bar. We met a couple guys who had just finished med school and law school … CRAZY smart! We all went out to another beer hall near our hostel for a couple drinks, but ended up back at the hostel bar. Heather and I wandered off and talked to a couple of friends we met from the night before and even met some that are living in London too! The bar closed not too long after we got there again so we went into the little garden area and just all hung out until they kicked us out. But everyone was so funny and so nice and it was just a completely perfect trip. I loved Munich SO much more than I thought I would! Definitely one of my favorite trips so far.
So now we are on our train to Interaken, Switzerland, and the view of the mountains and villages are just incredible. I have been wanting to visit this place for a long time so I’m very excited! I’m thinking about going paragliding tomorrow too, but we’ll see!
18 April 2012
Parents Weeeek!
After finishing my final paper for school, I found some time to finally update about the rest of my parents visit. We were all pretty tired after Liverpool so when we got back to London we just relaxed for the day .. especially since the next day we were waking up to go to Paris! I’ve already been to Paris, and although it is a gorgeous city, it wasn’t my favorite place. My mom really wanted to see it though so it was good, and everyone should see the Eiffel Tower at least once in their life! So we spent about a day and a half there walking around – we went to the Louvre, which oddly enough was closed the one day we had to go. So we decided to go into Notre Dame instead, which was so nice! The church is beautiful and the inside was just full of stained glass, old architecture, etc. etc. It was gorgeous. We ate some delllicious food throughout the day too, of course … then went to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle! Paris may not be my favorite place, but I could watch that every night and never get bored with it.
So we had an early train back home to London the next day so we woke up, got some paintings and then got back in the afternoon. I went back to my flat and did some things with Heather while my parents went sightseeing at Westminster Abbey and around there. Thursday they went to Wimbledon and I .. um .. slept. But that night we went to see LES MIS! Which is my favorite favorite favorite show … clearly .. I think I’ve mentioned seeing that show in every post. We had amaaazing front row seats, the show was great and I still love it – and am probably going to see it when I get back to London in May – more than once – of course.
Friday I went to an art exhibition for a paper I had to write – it was a collection of different works that all related to homelessness and such. It was put on by the Crisis charity that works towards victims of homelessness, so it was very neat to see! After I got back from there I went to my parents hotel for a bit before we went to Primark. We bought soooo much stuff but my mom loved the place! We got Heather after and went out to dinner and then on the London Eye! It’s something Heather and I have always wanted to do; I mean we see it outside of our flat when we walk to the tube every day – it’s basically asking us to come on. The view was incredible and I just still can’t get over the fact that I am here. I honestly feel like London is home to me now, I’ve become so accustomed to the place. I never want to leave!! Six weeks left. ONLY SIX WEEKS LEFT :'(
So we had an early train back home to London the next day so we woke up, got some paintings and then got back in the afternoon. I went back to my flat and did some things with Heather while my parents went sightseeing at Westminster Abbey and around there. Thursday they went to Wimbledon and I .. um .. slept. But that night we went to see LES MIS! Which is my favorite favorite favorite show … clearly .. I think I’ve mentioned seeing that show in every post. We had amaaazing front row seats, the show was great and I still love it – and am probably going to see it when I get back to London in May – more than once – of course.
Friday I went to an art exhibition for a paper I had to write – it was a collection of different works that all related to homelessness and such. It was put on by the Crisis charity that works towards victims of homelessness, so it was very neat to see! After I got back from there I went to my parents hotel for a bit before we went to Primark. We bought soooo much stuff but my mom loved the place! We got Heather after and went out to dinner and then on the London Eye! It’s something Heather and I have always wanted to do; I mean we see it outside of our flat when we walk to the tube every day – it’s basically asking us to come on. The view was incredible and I just still can’t get over the fact that I am here. I honestly feel like London is home to me now, I’ve become so accustomed to the place. I never want to leave!! Six weeks left. ONLY SIX WEEKS LEFT :'(
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)