Sunday + {Day Twenty: Monterosso + Vernazza}

We slept in this morning, then swung by the focaccia place for breakfast. I had a delightful cheese + tomato + mushroom slice plus freshly squeezed orange juice. Then Gooligan and I split off from the rest of the group because both of us wanted to hike to the next village over. We paid our 6 euro per person dues for access to the National Park (which includes the trails).

The hike between Monterosso and Vernazza is about ninety minutes but it is a tough hike. Lots of it is steep uphill with these deep stone steps. But the views alone are completely worth it. Cinque Terre has some of the most beautiful scenery ever.

A lot of people on our way laughed or pointed out Gooligan’s shoes—comfortable yet sturdy leather flats—which was more than a little insulting. Considering we ran into people who were wearing flip-flops, Gooligan’s shoe choice was fairly practical. Anyway, we made it all the way to Vernazza with no accidents.

By the time we arrived, we were ravenous. We stopped off to get an incredible fresh juice drink (lemon + orange + peach), then headed to the train station. We had agreed to meet Sarah and Shannon at the train station in the next town, a difficult feat when we don’t have any cellphones. (Well, Shannon has hers, but since none of the rest of us has a phone, it doesn’t help for in-group communication.)

Anyway, it turned out that their train was delayed by a considerable amount of time. A little silly considering that the towns are about three minutes apart on the train. But luckily they arrived about ten minutes before Gooligan and I had agreed to go our separate ways from them if we couldn’t connect.

After we met up we had a delicious lunch (more pasta) and then asked our waiter for a recommendation for the best gelato in town. We followed his advice and it was delicious. It was also Sarah’s first gelato ever! I got coconut and chocolate chip.

Then we went down to the harbor in Vernazza and bought tickets for the ferry back to Monterosso (3.50 euro each). The ferry was quick—about ten minutes—and it was so cool to see the village from another perspective, since we had already seen it from ground level and up in the mountains.

We walked around Monterosso, exploring all the cute artisan gift shops, and picked up a few souvenirs. One of the best artists we talked to was a woman from California who moved to Monterosso nine years ago for study abroad. She made these amazing necklaces. Gooligan got one for her birthday (which is in ten days!). It has tiny charms on it: a spoon, a fish, a set of Libra scales, a little picture of Cinque Terre, etc. and is absolutely gorgeous. Plus the woman was so amazing and helpful and encouraged us to look at everything. (We had a bad experience in another shop where the shopkeeper was grouchy and passive aggressively drove us out, which is a lesson for anyone in retail: never judge a customer by what they look like: both Gooligan and her sister ended up buying necklaces from the really amazing woman and both Shannon and I bought prints from her.)

Then we walked back our Airbnb, stopping for about an hour to frolic in the water. The water was wonderful—fairly warm—and the beach was nice, but a little rocky. One of the waves surprised us and soaked the bottoms of my jeans. Then Gooligan and I climbed up on this huge rock before we had to get back home to change for dinner.

We wanted to go to this specific restaurant for dinner, but it was either closed or had shut down, so we went to the one next door which was fantastic. We ran into a few Americans from the south that were really great and told us the food was amazing. I ordered homemade black-and-white pasta with mussels. Probably the best food I have eaten all trip, hands down.

After dinner we headed back home sleepily and, after doing some paperwork for grad school, we went to bed for another fairly bad night of sleep.

Saturday + {Summertime}

After we got back from the Color Run, life has been non-stop. Well, I guess, technically, life has been non-stop ever since Moving Day. We spent a week sharing a twin mattress on the floor of our otherwise furniture-less apartment, intermixing our last few days of work with cleaning marathons, utilities-disconnecting, errands, last-minute socializing, and copious amounts of television watching in the wee hours of the evening when we were too exhausted to look at another cleaning rag.

Then, as soon as our apartment inspection was over, we got in the car and drove straight down to Portland to meet up with Maddie & co. for the Color Run.

Which was a blast. We were coughing up color for days, but it was well worth it. I've never had so much fun running. There were so many people and everyone was in such high spirits; even though we only ran for about two-thirds of the actual race, it was amazing. I felt strong, energetic, and felt like I pushed myself.

As you might have noticed, amidst all this chaos, I stopped updating this blog for awhile. So what have I been doing?

Well, during our week in-between getting back from Portland and flying to Scotland on Monday, I've been finishing our itinerary and enjoying the last few days of Seattle summer. When we get back, it'll almost be the end of October, and fall will definitely be here with winter on its way.

On Thursday, I went for a bike ride to a park about five miles away. It was an absolutely gorgeous day; the park is beautiful, too, and I had it almost all to myself. Well, myself, a sack lunch, and Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Then yesterday, Alex, Gooligan, and I went hiking in St Edwards State Park. 

Moving away from Bellingham is tough, in part, because of all the stunning nature that is so readily available to you. We used to be able to literally walk out our door, cross the street, and disappear into the woods. Or hop in the car, drive five minutes, and arrive at a gorgeous lake or park.

But the last few days has been an important reminder that we still live in a beautiful place: we just need to invest a little time into (re)discovering it. Whether it's hopping on our bikes to go for a ride, or going for a walk or a run in the winding streets nearby, or driving somewhere for a slightly bigger adventure, we're still blessed to live in an incredibly nature-rich area.