Pesto, Pesto and more Pesto

Vernazza

Monterosso al mare

Now onto the first weekend in June... I went to Cinque Terre, Italy with Alexa and Maria.  We rented a small apartment with the perfect location in the town called Monterosso.  The five towns are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.  In October this part of Italy experienced extreme flooding and mudslides and 2 of the towns were still recovering from the damages.  We could see houses where half of it was gone and literally the house had just been left with coats and bags hanging by the door.  Also due to damage on the hiking trails between each city, the only trails that were open were from Monterosso to Vernazza and from Manarola to Riomaggiore.  The others were still unsafe to go on.  The hike from Monterosso to Vernazza is quite strenuous and mountainous but with that being said I couldn't have felt more at home.  I quickly found myself wishing that Millie was there and we were just taking one of our normal hikes outdoors.  But I really enjoyed myself and the time I spent here with the other girls.

Manarola

 

Riomaggiore

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Lover's Walk.  It is a lot shorter than the other and is characterized with spray paintings from lovers and locks left from lovers that come and throw the key in the ocean.  The towns were all amazing but my top two favorites were Riomaggiore and Manarola.  Manarola had an amazing restaurant selection and was very beautiful at night.  Even though we couldn't hike to all the cities they still had trains and buses that go frequently to each city so we were able to see all of them.  This region is also famous for it's wine and pesto.  The pesto I had here was the most amazing pesto I have ever tasted... EVER.  To give you an idea between the three of us for the weekend we had: pesto lasagna, pesto ravioli, pesto gnocchi, pesto with trofie noodles and just plain pesto!  I felt like I was floating in pesto by the time I left but it was worth it.  We were also told before we went that the seafood was really good so I splurged a little and got some swordfish and it was delicious.  And what Italy trip isn't complete with some gelatto?  No trip.  So I indulged in Nutella gelatto, coconut gelatto, raspberry gelatto.... it just keeps coming.  Needless to say I can't live in Italy because I would weigh a million pounds.

In Monterosso

Typical... on the Lover's Walk

with my lovers

Lover's walk

in Manarola

in front of Cinque Terre map

If you ever get the chance to go to Italy make sure that this is a stop on your list because it is well worth it, even if you aren't into hiking.  The cities literally hang off cliffs overlooking the water and are all painted very bright and fun colors. It was hard for me to choose which photos to add so make sure you got to the picasa timeline and look at all of them.  A little negative part of our trip was our flight home... womp womp.  It was delayed and I almost missed the soccer game between legends of Real Madrid vs. legends of Manchester United... but I didn't.  Melissa and I met there and even though I was little stressed and rushed it was a great way to end my weekend.  If you can't tell... I'm in love with Europe, especially Madrid.

At Santiago Bernabeu

Since the first weekend of June I have literally been indulging in everything I can in Madrid.  Mom don't kill me but wahhhh I want to come back for another year!!  I couldn't be more in love with Madrid right now.  Today was the first day that one of my friends left for good and it was definitely hard... I miss you Nicki (in my Spanish English accent)  I leave on Wednesday to do a lot more traveling and then I will be home soon.  Who is excited??  Even though I hate to be leaving I'm already making a list of all my favorite things and what I have to do as soon as I arrive!!! See y'all soon!!!