Cinque Terre

Sorry for this somewhat-delayed blog post. I've been enjoying the last three days with my family while they're here to visit for the week.

This post will probably be forever long because I took LOTS of pictures on my weekend trip, but I hope you like them:)

So 22 girls in our group decided to take a trip to Cinque Terra, which is actually an Italian National park on the northwestern coast just out of La Spezia. It’s made up of five coastal villages that are mostly accessible by train and hiking trails.

We left EARLY Friday and took about a 4 hour train ride to La Spezia and then another 20 minute train into the first town of Riomaggiore
Our group took up an entire cabin in the train... we got some funny looks.

We started the day off on the “Walk of Love,” which Cinque Terra is famous for. It’s a path along the coast between Riomaggiore and Manarola that has incredible views of the four other villages, but gets its name mostly from the enormous concrete wall covered in “love graffiti.” So of course, we all had to leave our mark.
My new addition to the wall... the heart near the top

at the harbor in Manarola

After spending some time in Manarola, we started on the hike to the third city of Corneglia. We found an awesome little lookout spot down some old steps near the water. The view was so amazing that we ended up just laying there for like an hour. We couldn’t get enough of it!

laying on the rocks... had to document it

The hike between Manarola and Corneglia

In the third town of Corneglia I found my found my new favorite gelato flavor… which is definitely saying something because I rarely ever pick favorites. It’s called “Miele” and is made from local honey. Pure bliss! Sad thing is, they only sell it in Corneglia. So if you ever happen to be in Cinque Terra, I definitely recommend trying it.

View of Corneglia

View from Corneglia

We headed back to Riomaggiore for dinner and to wait for the bus to take us to the hostel. I found another new favorite of mine: Foccacia bread with pears and gorgonzola cheese. The Cinque terra area is famous for its Foccacia as well as its pesto.. and I definitely see why! While waiting for the bus we found a great spot on the beach to watch the sunset.

We all stayed in a hostel about 20 minute out of Riomaggiore. It was my first experience in a hostel...let's just say I would prefer a hotel room, but it was fun because all of us were there together.

our lovely bunk beds... complete with sanitized sheets. (we hope)really? who does that?

On Saturday morning we woke up early to start our hike between Cornelia and the next village of Vernazza. It took about 90 minutes and had some pretty steep climbs but amazing views.

Overlooking Vernazza

We took the train to the last village, Monterosso, because we heard the hike was pretty intense. We had gnocci with pesto for lunch and then changed into our swimsuits to hang out at the beach for a while before catching the train back to Siena.

Pretty ironic that I was at the beach... and it was snowing in Utah. ha!

Ciao Amiche!

I'll be in Cinque Terra for the weekend. More pics to follow!
xoxo

Pizza!

We had quite the interesting combo of food this week for cooking: Spinach Souffle with a carrot sauce, pizza and mint panna cotta with chocolate. I wouldn't normally pair the three together, but they actually turned out really good.

Who would have thought to put corn, mushrooms and ham on a pizza? Not me, but I liked it!

A day in the life...

A few snapshots of what I see every day:

And last but not least, my school. Definitely not your typical university but we love it nonetheless

This quote describes my life:

Credits go to Emily for finding this in her magazine

Buonconvento and Monte Olivieto

Last Friday we got to take a "fieldtrip" out to the Tuscan country side to see Buonconvento,an old city from the middle ages, as well as a Monte Olivieto, a monastery out in the Italian forest. We took a tour of the monastery and then all got to eat lunch together at the restaurant there. On the bus ride, we got to take the scenic way home, so we had amazing views of the tuscan countryside.

Street in Buonconvento

Yay for Italian jeans- we all got the same pair

Monte Olivieto Monastary

My favorite part of lunch... fizzy water! One of the things I'll probably miss most about Europe!

View from the bus on the way home

Florence round 3... the Pitti Palace

We have a list of required places to visit in Florence. My favorite of the day was definitely the Pitti Palace- just down the street from Ponte Vecchio. We only really had time to see the gardens, but they were so beautiful! And they had a fantastic view of Tuscany.
I could have stayed there for hours.

Cooking Class week 4... Vegetarian Night!

Probably one of my favorite weeks so far. I was in love with every course!

Stuffed tomatoes with ricotta, capers, olives and bread crumbs

Crepes with a stuffing of peppers, pumpkin, zucchini and ricotta

Eggplant Parmesan (sorry the picture is dark)

Apple cake with wildberry jam and chocolate sauce. Apparently our chef invented this recipe.