le Cinque Terre

1:28 AM Elizabeth 3 Comments

We spent a wonderful weekend visiting le Cinque Terre, five cities along the Italian Riviera bordering the Ligurian sea.

My favorite thing about this trip was the time we spent together and the many conversations we had (which often drifted back to food every 20 minutes or so, as one kind group member pointed out).

We swam at a pebble beach in Monterosso al mare and when we had gotten our fill of the sea (literally; we all swallowed some salt water), we set out on the stair-ridden hike to Vernazza, the next city.

These dragonflies were the prettiest colors I've ever seen! We saw them as we were hiking, and I loved seeing such unexpected beauty in an already beautiful place.

Vernazza (our hiking destination)

I am proud to call these lovelies my friends. They are great.

a panoramic view from our apartment balcony in Corniglia

Margaret and I both took countless photographs of the changing panorama outside, as the changing daylight rendered periodic and slightly different views. It also worked out perfectly that we were hiking buddies, as we often stopped to take photos and consistently admired how very blue, in fact, the water was, even though thirty seconds prior it had been just as blue.

The pink sunlight from the setting sun and just after dark were especially beautiful times of day.

Pesto genovese comes from the region Liguria, so it was an absolute must to eat pesto while we were in Liguria. Every time that I think Italian food can't get any better, I eat it in the region it originally came from; this pesto was incredible (and the pizza was also absolutely perfect).

Layne is another student from our group who arrived last week, but I feel as though i've known her for much longer, as we quickly bonded over a shared love of Coldplay, Jane Eyre, chocolate, and Italy (among other things). Layne served a mission for our church in central Italy, and we loved listening to some of her stories about her experiences here while we sat on the rocks surrounding the bay in Riomaggiore.

Manarola (in the distance)

Our two days in the Cinque Terre felt like many more than that, in the best sense. When we sat talking for hours, our sense of the passage of time disappeared and we savored the moment. Eating dinner outside on our balcony, talking, and breathing the sea air took me back to many summer nights spent with family friends at their beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and the plastic chairs, the good conversation, and the cool sea breeze in Corniglia marked another favorite trip of mine.

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