.adventure.

7.8.09

Oh, what an AMAZING DAY it has been!!! I would easily say that it was the most incredible, exciting, and fulfilling day that we have had! Words cannot describe the experience that Allie and I had today. When contemplating what we would do on our free day, we considered visiting Pisa, where it was only about an hour and a half away. However, when talking to a woman from Texas, she strongly encouraged us to visit Cinque Terra. She described it to be absolutely incredible, and definitely worth our time, and boy, can I tell you, IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about the beauty that we experienced as we stepped off the train: blue, blue water crashing against the cliffs that surrounded us with beautiful, colorful buildings upon the hill. We knew right then that we had made the right choice to spend our day there. It was just as the woman described it. Cinque Terra consisted of five towns that lined the coast. They have developed a trail along the Cliffside that lead from town to town. In the beginning it began as a simple, paved trail that allowed us to just enjoy the breeze and the beautiful views. After we reached the third town, our walk turned into the hike that we had expected. It was incredible! I have never seen anything like it before. I loved it so much! I honestly don’t know if I have seen such blue water before and the views were incredible. We wanted to take the time to go to the beach before heading back to Florence so we took a train from the fourth town to the last town where the beach was located. The overall walk/hike ended up being 6 kilometers (approx. 4 miles). I felt that it was so refreshing enjoyable even though we exerted so much energy to hike the mountainside. There was one point where we were able to look back and see the distance we had come from the beginning to get to the peak of the mountain.I wish I could describe everything that we saw, it was just absolutely breathtaking. I loved to see the buildings upon the hillside. It seemed as if they were literally a part of the mountain. As we passed through each town we saw some cute women stick their heads out their shuttered windows as they hung their laundry (which made me so happy the first time I saw laundry outside. It is a part of what I imagined when I knew we were coming to Italy). It almost felt as if we had stepped back in time, they all live such simple lives here.

As we hiked, we passed grape vineyards, and cute little homes, women sitting on their porches enjoying the views. If I lived there I would want to do the same. As we hiked, I felt so peaceful and enriched. Hiking is a good opportunity to think and recognize life goals and aspirations. Where it was just Allie and I, we were able to talk and enjoy being with one another. I just felt so happy.

The buildings in all of Italy are all so colorful. Allie and I, as we hiked, discussed the fact that when we see things that we see color combinations. The buildings at Cinque Terra seemed to be especially colorful: orange, yellow, red, green, all different shades. The flowers and green hillside only enhanced the beauty of the surroundings.

The beach, fun, we didn’t swim but we waded along the shore and picked up beautiful colorful pebbles. We had so much fun!! It helps that I was with my dear friend. I am so grateful for her. We decided that when we are famous, rich designers that we’d like to come back with our husbands. It’ll happen, you just wait and see! Today was such a FABULOUS day!!!
If any of you ever make your way to Florence, DO NOT MISS Cinque Terra. It is indescribable!! Absolutely wonderful!! Good Day.