Cinque Terre - Part 1.

Hey lovers.

This has to be my second most favorite trip. (The first is Ireland, which will come later.)

When we arrived, we stepped down from the train station onto a sunny scene. You'd walk to the other side of the street and find yourself overlooking a beach full of smooth rocks that spilled out into the sea. And the sea... Monterosso, where we landed, is the beach town that sits on the edge of the Ligurian Sea (which then sits next to the Mediterranean Sea). Monterosso is one of the five towns of Cinque Terre, which is a part of the Liguria region. (Tuscany being Florence's region.)

I have never seen water like this in my life. Just consider the beach I go to every year- Ocean City is hardly something to call beautiful after all that I've seen on this 3.5 month adventure. The water was crystal clear, and I desperately wanted to go swimming- but it was far too cold so I just got in up to my shoulders. I couldn't help myself, even with how cold it was.



My feet!! I could see them straight to the bottom! And I swear I could have gone further and still seen my feet. Speaking of my feet... the only downside (which isn't even that much of a downside) is that the beach is composed of rocks, albeit smooth rocks. It was kinda painful to walk on because the rocks weren't baby rocks. I'm gonna say I like sand better for beaches. But I suppose the rocks have something to do with the water being so clear too- there's no tiny debris to get mixed up with.



Walking further along the beach toward the other towns (which end 8 miles away), you run into this huge... rock. I climbed it the next day, pictures of which will come in the next post. I can't lay still and tan, so I had to get up and explore. I'm not a tanning kind of person haha. It makes me lazy and sleepy and I love running around (if I can't get in the water).

But here you can spot Kat and Haven at the top.

I loved this little corner. I felt like I was in a cave. And again, the water was so clear, it was like I was in the movies I love watching about action and adventure, excursions and exploration.


And for some of the best gelato I've had thus far... They gave us Pooh Bear crackers!

The sun was starting to head to its bed on the west, so we decided to explore a bit before dinner. The whole group- me, Johnna, Kat, Haven, Kat, Lauren, Devyn, and Sarah- all went up to the top of the town and further back to climb through the woods for a little outdoor lovin'. I missed running around greens... I can't wait to go running through Loch Raven and Gunpowder when I get back home. Equipped with the proper bug repellent of course.




And then for dinner...

LOVED the umbrellas. The restaurant was on a deck right next to the water.


I wasn't particularly impressed with the food... we also ordered something really simple (and cheap) because we were all poor and none of us really liked seafood anyway. And by us, I meant Kat, Haven, Johnna and I. I don't know why we didn't just go find somewhere else to eat haha.

After dinner, we split from the others and went to go get some more snacks (as dinner was hardly filling) and boxed wine to get all over on the beach. :)

Ways to stay warm?


The towel Johnna got me :)

Another way to stay warm?

Monterosso at night

Illuminated rock

After a couple of hours of cookies, snacking, and wine, it just got too cold and we had finished off the wine so it was time to sleep. We'd be waking up rather early to catch breakfast and do some more exploring!

+Love+