Cinque Terre, or The Never-Ending Hike
Time is really starting to run away from me here - so much still to see and do before I leave!
This past Thursday actually brought about a brief break in the weather; good because the city was truly an oven, but very unfortunate because I was scheduled to go on a hike in the Apuan Alps the next day. Since it was still raining Friday morning, the hiking didn't pan out, so instead I spent the day at the Galleria degli Uffizi. That place has an amazing collection of art; it's pretty much the place to go for a comprehensive look at how art developed through the middle ages. When I say I spent all day there I seriously mean that I spent about four and a half hours lost in artwork... and I definitely plan on going back.
One of my roommates and I went to hear vespers up at San Miniato, this beautiful cathedral on a hill near the Piazzale Michelangelo that most tourists don't bother with since it's such a hike from the city center. That was beautiful, but the mood was completely broken when a bitter Italian woman unfairly berated us for blasphemously treating it as a performance rather than a religious experience (obviously not my intention). She turned a deaf ear to my protests that I was, in fact, Catholic and left me feeling rather stunned that someone could be so hurtful and unwelcoming (and in the sanctuary itself, no less). Luckily I then met up with some other girls to wander around Florence's vintage market and then experience the yumminess of The Cat and the Fox (unlimited foccaccia, yes please!).
Saturday morning a big group of us were up and at the train station early. We arrived in Cinque Terre mid-morning and immediately felt refreshed by the beautiful ocean views and charming colorful buildings. All of us slowly hiked to the fourth town, and with the last - and toughest - hike ahead everyone but me and Michelle decided to splash around there for a bit. Good thing the two of us went ahead without consulting a map or anything... What was supposed to be an hour and a half hike right along the coast turned into a grueling four hour trek along the mountain ridges themselves. We had misgivings but the few people we met along the way kept pointing us forward, so eventually we found ourselves hundreds and hundreds of meters above town 4 (Vernazza) and still miles from Monterosso. Although we thought we were possibly going to lose our minds, we couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Finally we came to a hotel where we were told that Monterosso was 1.5 km away. All lies: since we were starting to struggle (with my goosebumps and freezing cold hands in spite of hiking in 90 degree weather for eight hours, I'm pretty sure I was experiencing the onset of heatstroke) we flagged down a taxi shortly thereafter and it took the driver a good five minutes to drive us all the way down into town. That completely made our day, though, because we got out and started to pull out a few bills as he shook his head, told us ciao and drove away. According to Jenny (who has been travelling around for the past few months) we 'must have really been in a bad place' because taxi drivers just don't do that.
Michelle and I have decided that our hike was 'character building'. Definitely. The next day the whole group went on to Pisa, except for Cristy and I. We weren't ready to tear ourselves away from Cinque Terre, so we found a beach around the corner from our apartment and spent a few hours there. The place was hidden from view and felt very isolated. Swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging around on the pebble beach was wonderful, and perhaps my favorite part about it was that not until the last few minutes we were there did I hear anything other than Italian from the surrounding people.
Last night after class, Grace (a friend from class) and I headed to Art Bar for apperitivi during happy hour. Some other friends joined us - this will be happening on a regular basis - and then Grace and I went to Piazza della Signoria for a free Phillip Glass concert. To hear Phillip Glass is pretty terrific in and of itself, but outside in one of Florence's most famous plazas? For free? Needless to say I really enjoyed myself.
This past Thursday actually brought about a brief break in the weather; good because the city was truly an oven, but very unfortunate because I was scheduled to go on a hike in the Apuan Alps the next day. Since it was still raining Friday morning, the hiking didn't pan out, so instead I spent the day at the Galleria degli Uffizi. That place has an amazing collection of art; it's pretty much the place to go for a comprehensive look at how art developed through the middle ages. When I say I spent all day there I seriously mean that I spent about four and a half hours lost in artwork... and I definitely plan on going back.
One of my roommates and I went to hear vespers up at San Miniato, this beautiful cathedral on a hill near the Piazzale Michelangelo that most tourists don't bother with since it's such a hike from the city center. That was beautiful, but the mood was completely broken when a bitter Italian woman unfairly berated us for blasphemously treating it as a performance rather than a religious experience (obviously not my intention). She turned a deaf ear to my protests that I was, in fact, Catholic and left me feeling rather stunned that someone could be so hurtful and unwelcoming (and in the sanctuary itself, no less). Luckily I then met up with some other girls to wander around Florence's vintage market and then experience the yumminess of The Cat and the Fox (unlimited foccaccia, yes please!).
Saturday morning a big group of us were up and at the train station early. We arrived in Cinque Terre mid-morning and immediately felt refreshed by the beautiful ocean views and charming colorful buildings. All of us slowly hiked to the fourth town, and with the last - and toughest - hike ahead everyone but me and Michelle decided to splash around there for a bit. Good thing the two of us went ahead without consulting a map or anything... What was supposed to be an hour and a half hike right along the coast turned into a grueling four hour trek along the mountain ridges themselves. We had misgivings but the few people we met along the way kept pointing us forward, so eventually we found ourselves hundreds and hundreds of meters above town 4 (Vernazza) and still miles from Monterosso. Although we thought we were possibly going to lose our minds, we couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Finally we came to a hotel where we were told that Monterosso was 1.5 km away. All lies: since we were starting to struggle (with my goosebumps and freezing cold hands in spite of hiking in 90 degree weather for eight hours, I'm pretty sure I was experiencing the onset of heatstroke) we flagged down a taxi shortly thereafter and it took the driver a good five minutes to drive us all the way down into town. That completely made our day, though, because we got out and started to pull out a few bills as he shook his head, told us ciao and drove away. According to Jenny (who has been travelling around for the past few months) we 'must have really been in a bad place' because taxi drivers just don't do that.
Michelle and I have decided that our hike was 'character building'. Definitely. The next day the whole group went on to Pisa, except for Cristy and I. We weren't ready to tear ourselves away from Cinque Terre, so we found a beach around the corner from our apartment and spent a few hours there. The place was hidden from view and felt very isolated. Swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging around on the pebble beach was wonderful, and perhaps my favorite part about it was that not until the last few minutes we were there did I hear anything other than Italian from the surrounding people.
Last night after class, Grace (a friend from class) and I headed to Art Bar for apperitivi during happy hour. Some other friends joined us - this will be happening on a regular basis - and then Grace and I went to Piazza della Signoria for a free Phillip Glass concert. To hear Phillip Glass is pretty terrific in and of itself, but outside in one of Florence's most famous plazas? For free? Needless to say I really enjoyed myself.
posted by Kendall Singleton | 2:43 AM
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