Climb Every Mountain

Wednesday, October 6th
----------------------
Wednesday began earlier than we all would have liked, with our alarms all buzzing at 4:45 a.m. and waking us up to the pitch black sky outside.  Despite the ungodly hour, we were all excited as we were headed to Cinque Terre for the day, a group of five small villages nestled right along the Amalfi Coast.  We had been dying to go to this classic Mediterranean locale ever since we saw pictures from a friend's trip abroad last year, and we could not wait to see it ourselves!  After we all struggled to get out of bed and get ready, we were out the door by 5:40 a.m.  and on our way to the train station, which was only about a five minute walk from our B&B.  We walked into the empty train station to buy our tickets and board our 6:10 train for La Spezia, the closest main station to the coast.  After two and a half hours we arrived at the station at 8:45, where we saw that the next train for the actual villages of Cinque Terre did not leave until 10...oops.  Starving, we decided to walk down into the town and find somewhere for breakfast.  We stumbled upon a small cafe in a quaint piazza and enjoyed fresh pastries and delicious lattes...at that point we were in serious need of some caffeine.  By the time we had made our way back to the station, our train was waiting to whisk us off.

Cinque Terre!

After a quick 15 minute ride, we arrived in Monterosso, the first of the five villages.  We couldn't believe our eyes when we stepped off the train; it was absolute paradise, with palm trees and quaint cafes, and the deep blue Mediterranean stretching out in front of us.  We literally felt like we were on a luxury vacation, it was so gorgeous.  After walking around the town a bit, we were ready for lunch by 10:45, but decided to explore a bit more since at every place we asked about lunch they gave us a perplexed look and told us "too early."  Lauren had done a bit of research beforehand and learned that we could walk between the villages, so we decided we would try visiting another one.  We began our journey along a path carved right into the mountainside; it seemed like the perfect little adventure before lunch.  Little did we know, the distance between these villages was a lot farther than anyone had told us.  When all was said and done, we hiked for two and a half hours, scaling mountains along (extremely) narrow paths, through mud puddles, and over countless waterfalls and rivers.  And all in flip flops...well except for Lauren, she was the only one proudly sporting the tourist look, and we were all jealous of her by about a half hour in.  I think it was a miracle that none of us wiped out on the moist ground, but we all made it to Vernazza in one piece....barely.

We made it!!

By the time we made our way into the adorable village we were all exhausted and starving, so we sat down at the first beachside cafe we could find to order lunch.  Pesto happens to be a Cinque Terre specialty, so naturally we all had to have it with pasta - it was probably one of the best meals we ended up having in Italy.  After lunch we had our very first Italian gelato (the first of a number you don't want to know), and enjoyed it while walking along the beach.  By the time we were done with our meal, it was time to catch a train back to Florence.

Dinner at Francescovini

When we returned to our B&B, we were all unbelievably tired, but quick showers and a change of clothes and we were ready for our night out!  We first walked to the Duomo, the amazing church that lies in the heart of Florence!  After marveling at the massive building and taking plenty of pictures, we made our way to the Santa Croce Piazza, where we met Pam and Brittany for dinner!  It was so great to see them again, especially in their "home" city!  We all had dinner at Francescovini, their favorite restaurant in Florence.  We enjoyed everything from bruschetta to amazing cheesecake and, best of all, some free homemade limoncello!  It was the perfect Italian meal, and we got to share lots of laughs and update each other on all our adventures!  After dinner, Pam led us to her favorite gelato spot, Vivoli.  They had the most delicious hazelnut gelato, and we are all now obsessed.  We then got to see Brittany and Pam's apartment, which of course they have made so adorable and homey.  By the time we had gotten the full tour and met their roommates, it was past midnight, aka SECRET BAKERY time!!  If you ever go to Florence, you must must must find this place.  It opens at midnight and is pretty much a bakery that makes all the goods for the cafes opening the next morning, but you can go and knock on a door and get things literally right out of the oven.  We all got nutella doughnuts, which were probably some of the best things I have ever had.  Totally worth the trouble of trying to find it!!
After our yummy snacks, we decided to call it a night since we wanted to make the most of our day in the actual city of Florence.  We said goodnight to Pam and Britt, and headed back to our cozy B&B, where we could not wait to get into our beds.  Needless to say, I think we all slept amazingly well that night!
    xo Carolyn