Thursday, August 20, 2009
Home Sweet Home
I made it back home safe and sound. It's nice to be back and see my family and friends, but I'm already itching to go back for another adventure. I'm not sure when that will be, but you can be sure that when it happens, you'll be able to read all about it right here, on this very same blog. Lucky you!
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is a collection of 5 small villages all a total of 9km apart. From south to north the villages are: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. They are all beautiful and filled with homes built into the cliffs lining the seaside. There were some pretty breath-taking views and some of the clearest water I've ever seen. There is a hiking trail connecting the villages (which I hiked!) or you can take a train between them.
Riomaggiore: I stayed in this village, it felt like one of the bigger ones, but I'm not really sure. It had a nice collection of restaurants and the beach wasn't too crowded. My hostel was also only 1 staircase away from the water, so that was a definitely plus as well. It offered a great spot to sit and hang out with the people I met in my hostel at night.
Manarola: Probably my second favorite village. It was one of the smaller ones, but filled with shops and restaurants. I walked here to have dinner and watch the sunset my first night in the area.
Corniglia: This is the village that I explored the least. It is the only one not on the water and almost everything is further uphill than the train station. I blame my laziness for me never discovering what Corniglia has to offer.
Vernazza: My favorite village. The perfect size and home to the best gelato shop and bakery I found of the region. It felt more unique than the other villages with a large boat dock and what looked like the remains of a fortress.
Monterosso: My least favorite village, and also the only village with sandy beaches (the other beaches just have rocks). It feels like pure tourism here...I'll pass.
I met a lot of people that had been to Cinque Terre, some as many as 40 years ago. I don't konw much of the story behind it, but it was a great place. It's small enough to feel like a house and you run into the same people over and over again, which makes it really easy to meet people. Check out some photos:
Riomaggiore: I stayed in this village, it felt like one of the bigger ones, but I'm not really sure. It had a nice collection of restaurants and the beach wasn't too crowded. My hostel was also only 1 staircase away from the water, so that was a definitely plus as well. It offered a great spot to sit and hang out with the people I met in my hostel at night.
Manarola: Probably my second favorite village. It was one of the smaller ones, but filled with shops and restaurants. I walked here to have dinner and watch the sunset my first night in the area.
Corniglia: This is the village that I explored the least. It is the only one not on the water and almost everything is further uphill than the train station. I blame my laziness for me never discovering what Corniglia has to offer.
Vernazza: My favorite village. The perfect size and home to the best gelato shop and bakery I found of the region. It felt more unique than the other villages with a large boat dock and what looked like the remains of a fortress.
Monterosso: My least favorite village, and also the only village with sandy beaches (the other beaches just have rocks). It feels like pure tourism here...I'll pass.
I met a lot of people that had been to Cinque Terre, some as many as 40 years ago. I don't konw much of the story behind it, but it was a great place. It's small enough to feel like a house and you run into the same people over and over again, which makes it really easy to meet people. Check out some photos:
 |
| Cinque Terre |
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
On the road again...Venice!
Well, I made it back from Italy safe and sound. I keep telling myself that it's good that I'm home, I missed my family and friends and now I get to see them, so it's good. But I miss Italy, the scenery, the food, the vacation-ish lifestyle. It was definitely a good summer.
After leaving the Seppi's I went to Venice and Cinque Terre, below you'll find a brief recap of each destination and some photos. Enjoy!
Venice: Amazing. I love me a city by the water and well, it doesn't get more on the water than Venice. When I first arrived, I was shocked by all of the tourists; I realized I was pretty isolated from that portion of Italy as I was staying with a family and saw Rome with a local. The city itself was beautiful. I can't imagine living there though...parts of it seemed very surreal...like have a house without a porch, just a boat dock leading to your front door. I met some great people in my hostel and celebrated my birthday with some sambuca and an uncrowded night stroll on the Rialto Bridge.
While I was in Venice, I got to attend one of the world's largest art festivals, the Beinnale. I also took a short trip to Murano, the glass blowing island (very disappointing because you don't really get to see a creative glass blowing demonstration, just some guys making fruit, and catering to tourists. ) And also to Burano, the lace making island (where you don't actually see lace being made, but row after row of every color of house).
Check out some pictures:
After leaving the Seppi's I went to Venice and Cinque Terre, below you'll find a brief recap of each destination and some photos. Enjoy!
Venice: Amazing. I love me a city by the water and well, it doesn't get more on the water than Venice. When I first arrived, I was shocked by all of the tourists; I realized I was pretty isolated from that portion of Italy as I was staying with a family and saw Rome with a local. The city itself was beautiful. I can't imagine living there though...parts of it seemed very surreal...like have a house without a porch, just a boat dock leading to your front door. I met some great people in my hostel and celebrated my birthday with some sambuca and an uncrowded night stroll on the Rialto Bridge.
While I was in Venice, I got to attend one of the world's largest art festivals, the Beinnale. I also took a short trip to Murano, the glass blowing island (very disappointing because you don't really get to see a creative glass blowing demonstration, just some guys making fruit, and catering to tourists. ) And also to Burano, the lace making island (where you don't actually see lace being made, but row after row of every color of house).
Check out some pictures:
 |
| Venice |
Monday, August 10, 2009
And so begins the next adventure
Today was my last day of teaching, my last day in Terlano, and my last day in this beautiful region of Italy. I have about a week left before my plane heads back to the States so I thought I would check out some of the other beautiful, amazing places Italy has to offer.
But before I go on about the details of what's to come, I think it would be apt to reflect a bit on what a large majority of my summer has be focused on. Teaching English to a 13 year old boy was great. We played a lot of games. There were more games of speed than I can count, among other card games, various writing games, and a whole lot of "20 questions" and "Would you rather...". We watched an entire season of the Simpsons, in English, along with several other movies. It takes a lot of variety to keep a boy who's 13 interested in learning all summer long. Don't get me wrong, there were days where I couldn't do anything to make him sit still and listen, but overall I think it went very well.
And I couldn't have asked for more from the entire Seppi family. They were great hosts.
Next, I'm off to Venice for a few days and then Cinque Terre for a few. I'm thrilled to have the chance to see these pictaresque cities are just a beautiful in person. I'm not going to be using my laptop for the next week, but I'll be sure to post pictures and stories as soon as I can, so sit tight.
One other very exciting piece of news: I recently got nominated for the Peace Corp!!! Basically what that means is that they found a place for me to go and a job for me to do, but can't tell me too many details because nobody's quite sure when I'll be invited to go do some great things. But its the next step in a potential next adventure. I'm not sure about the timeline for anything, but I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date. Exciting, right?!
Ciao!
But before I go on about the details of what's to come, I think it would be apt to reflect a bit on what a large majority of my summer has be focused on. Teaching English to a 13 year old boy was great. We played a lot of games. There were more games of speed than I can count, among other card games, various writing games, and a whole lot of "20 questions" and "Would you rather...". We watched an entire season of the Simpsons, in English, along with several other movies. It takes a lot of variety to keep a boy who's 13 interested in learning all summer long. Don't get me wrong, there were days where I couldn't do anything to make him sit still and listen, but overall I think it went very well.
And I couldn't have asked for more from the entire Seppi family. They were great hosts.
Next, I'm off to Venice for a few days and then Cinque Terre for a few. I'm thrilled to have the chance to see these pictaresque cities are just a beautiful in person. I'm not going to be using my laptop for the next week, but I'll be sure to post pictures and stories as soon as I can, so sit tight.
One other very exciting piece of news: I recently got nominated for the Peace Corp!!! Basically what that means is that they found a place for me to go and a job for me to do, but can't tell me too many details because nobody's quite sure when I'll be invited to go do some great things. But its the next step in a potential next adventure. I'm not sure about the timeline for anything, but I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date. Exciting, right?!
Ciao!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Rovereto, Italy -- Day trip!
Today was my final day off from teaching. With only 3 days left in this region of Italy, I thought I should make the most of it. After browsing through my guide book, I found a tiny town that was begging to be explored.
Ok, well it wasn't quite that dramatic, but give me a break.
Rovereto is a tiny town an hour train ride south of Bolzano. The main reason I went was for the Modern Art Museum. I'm a sucker for some good modern art and let me tell you, today I wasn't disappointed.
The museum itself was a bit small, but the arcitechture of the building was great. Check out this shot of the dome 'ceiling' over the main enterance. The rest of the enterance was done in a dark stone with a simple fountain in the middle.
And here are a couple pictures of the town:
I hope everything is going great back home!
Laura
Ok, well it wasn't quite that dramatic, but give me a break.
Rovereto is a tiny town an hour train ride south of Bolzano. The main reason I went was for the Modern Art Museum. I'm a sucker for some good modern art and let me tell you, today I wasn't disappointed.
The museum itself was a bit small, but the arcitechture of the building was great. Check out this shot of the dome 'ceiling' over the main enterance. The rest of the enterance was done in a dark stone with a simple fountain in the middle.
And here are a couple pictures of the town:
I hope everything is going great back home!Laura
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Mountain Cabin
Hi Everyone,
A couple days ago, Paul and I went up to his family's tiny (read: one room plus loft and outhouse) mountain cabin just outside of Corvara, Italy. The cabin was surrounded by mountains...and not just any mountains, but some of the most beautiful peaks in the world, the Dolomites. You can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomites.
There are pictures again, that you can see to try to grasp what I'm talking about. But I didn't take too many on this over night adventure.
On the drive up Thursday, the weather was gorgeous with clear blue skies. Every time I looked out my window the views just seemed to be better than the last. I have never seen anything like that before.
After driving for about an hour Thursday night, we parked the car and hiked for about 30 minutes up to the cabin (see photos). A storm was rolling in behind us, which only made the scenery more dramatic. Looking forward we saw blue skies and welcoming mountains, and behind we saw gray clouds that made for a pretty, but slightly unnerving sunset.
Friday, the weather left a lot to be desired; it was incredibly foggy. We took a funicular up a peak over 2000m high and you could barely see 10m past your hand from the top. During the hike down, the first half or so was through tunnels that were formed during WWI. It was pitch black without a flashlight, but one of the coolest experiences ever. The second half was done outside. On the way down, we passed a couple groups of people who were rock climbing their way up to the top from the bottom. So cool.
Check out the pictures!
I have about a week and a half of teaching left and then I'm off to Venice and Cinque Terre! My time here are flown by; it definitely does not feel like I've been out of the US for almost a month already.
Until next time, stay safe and have fun!
A couple days ago, Paul and I went up to his family's tiny (read: one room plus loft and outhouse) mountain cabin just outside of Corvara, Italy. The cabin was surrounded by mountains...and not just any mountains, but some of the most beautiful peaks in the world, the Dolomites. You can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomites.
There are pictures again, that you can see to try to grasp what I'm talking about. But I didn't take too many on this over night adventure.
On the drive up Thursday, the weather was gorgeous with clear blue skies. Every time I looked out my window the views just seemed to be better than the last. I have never seen anything like that before.
After driving for about an hour Thursday night, we parked the car and hiked for about 30 minutes up to the cabin (see photos). A storm was rolling in behind us, which only made the scenery more dramatic. Looking forward we saw blue skies and welcoming mountains, and behind we saw gray clouds that made for a pretty, but slightly unnerving sunset.
Friday, the weather left a lot to be desired; it was incredibly foggy. We took a funicular up a peak over 2000m high and you could barely see 10m past your hand from the top. During the hike down, the first half or so was through tunnels that were formed during WWI. It was pitch black without a flashlight, but one of the coolest experiences ever. The second half was done outside. On the way down, we passed a couple groups of people who were rock climbing their way up to the top from the bottom. So cool.
Check out the pictures!
 |
| Mountain Cabin |
I have about a week and a half of teaching left and then I'm off to Venice and Cinque Terre! My time here are flown by; it definitely does not feel like I've been out of the US for almost a month already.
Until next time, stay safe and have fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)