Cinque Terre

Saturday Lauren, Michael and I went to Cinque Terre. We spent the night in La Spezia at a hotel and then took a bus to the train station in the morning which brings you to the first town of the five in Cinque Terre. Getting off the train was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen in my entire life. The towns are built upon gigantic cliffs that overlook the coast. I immediatly thought that I couldnt believe how anyone could travel to Italy and not see Chinque Terre - it was gorgeous. Ontop of the mountains between the towns were acres upon acres of vineyards and grasslands covered with trees. Through the entire set of five towns is a coastal pathway in which you can walk, or should I say hike, from town to town. Another option is that you can take the train from town to town. However, had the girls and I not hiked the first four towns, the experience would have been COMPLETELY different. The hike is essential. We started out not having a clue what we were getting ourselves into. Three girls in flip flops, jeans skirts and bikini tops. Everyone else was wearing hiking gear, sneakers and some even had walking sticks. I really didn't know if the three of us would make it. I knew how much I was used to exercising at home - but I had no clue about the girls. However, the two of them really impressed me. We took breaks when needed, but other than that, we really powered through. By the end of the hike, if you stopped - your legs would spasm, so we spent the last hour simply staring at the ground where we were stepping and trecking through the mountains. The view the entire time was heavenly and it truly got us through knowing that everything ahead of us was going to be even more beautiful. When we got to the end, the three of us connected in celebration that we had completed the vigorous hike! We sat down and had margaritas and enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach. The experience would have been no where as near as incredible without having hiked through the mountains for 5 hours. Sure, I can sit on a beach anytime and get a tan. But to do something like we did gave us all such a sense of accomplishment that we had really gone out and seen the world!