We were never off track!

Week two went by almost as fast as the first one. We finished up our week of intensive Italian on Tuesday and started regular classes Wednesday. From the two days of classes I’ve had so far I think I am really going to enjoy this semester. As some of you may know I am a history major and am getting a few of my last requirements out of the way. I know it’s early, but so far I think my class on the Roman Empire will be one of my favorites. For my class on Contemporary Italy we not only get to learn about Italy from unification in the later part of the 1800s, I also have the possibility of getting an Italian family. If I get picked for this alternative track I will be assigned a family that I get to hang out with once a week or so for about 6-8 weeks to really learn about life in Italy today. I think it would be a really neat experience, but I just have to wait and see. I am also really excited about my history of food and culture class…on the first day I already learned that spaghetti, something most consider typically Italian is actually not at all. Noodles originated in China whereas tomatoes are from North America, the Italians just happened to put the two together. The only class I’m nervous about is Archeology, it seems interesting but I still haven’t decided if I like it yet. Most important I can’t wait for all my field trips…those were always my favorite part of classes when I was younger.
Of course I am here to study but everyone knows one of the perks of studying abroad is traveling! In my last post I left you hanging about where I was headed this past weekend so I hope you are excited…..drum roll please! This past Friday I headed to Cinque Terri with four other girls. It is actually made up of five towns that are all connected along the west coast. It is absolutely beautiful but getting there was quite the adventure!! We had originally planned on leaving early Saturday morning but Thursday afternoon we found out there was going to be a train strike in Florence and that no trains would be running though that area Saturday. So after a brief panic we booked an extra night at the hostel we were staying at and jumped on the train after getting our permission to stay documentation Friday morning.
Now I had a whole class on using the trains in Italian so I thought we were all set. Here is Chealsea and i ready to go!

We bought our tickets and got on the train, and then another, and then another, and then the wrong one, and then the wrong one again, and then we got kick off, and then we were on the right one and then got off only to figure out it was the right one as it pulled out the station. Needless to say our supposed 5 hour train ride lasted about 8 but we DID make it! By the time we made it in we were pretty tired so we had a nice bite to eat, walked around a little and headed to bed. It was a good decision to say the least as we were determined to complete the famous 5 hour hike of the five towns Saturday. The hike was long, really long but absolutely worth it! I could not even begin to describe how beautiful the hike is and since a picture is worth a thousand words you can just have a look for yourself. Sorry there is not more, italian internet is rather slow with uploading!Thats just one of the towns and some of the coastline!
You might be able to tell that it was a little rainy when we left at 10:30 but by the time we made it to Monterosso, the last town around 4 the sun was out and we enjoyed some much needed and deserved beach time. The actual sandy part of the beach isn’t very big, and so when the tide came in we enjoyed the rest of the town and a really good dinner. We decided taking the train back to Riomaggiore, where we were staying, was the best idea at only 2 Euro. We also thought that after the day before we had finally figured out the trains, we were wrong! Needless to say we got on a train that flew past our stop, thankfully it did stop in La Speiza which is the town right after the five towns of Cinque Terri. We hopped off there and managed to get on the RIGHT train back to Riomaggiore. We saw that sign so many times it is permanently ingrained in my brain. By the time we made it back to our hostel we showered and went out down to the water for just a little bit. There are not beaches in any of the five towns except Monterosso but there still are beautiful places to sit and just lookout over the Mediterranean. We were gonna go to bed early but when we went back to our little apartment we somehow managed to break the key in the door! Thankfully we were able to reach the owners who landed up having to climb through the window to let us in we all went to sleep! By the time Sunday morning rolled around we were all well rested and ready to head home. I had my 3rd hot chocolate of the weekend…they are incredible, and we spent the rest of the morning down on the water. We did manage to make it all the way home without getting on the wrong train! All in all it was a good week and a great weekend.

Here are some things I learned:
* Ask for a train itinerary…the cities printed on your ticket mean nothing.
* Always bring a raincoat/ jacket….Italian weather is tempermental
* Do not break your room keys in the door, it causes unplanned evening activities
* Italian hot cocoa is heaven in a cup

Hope your week was as great as mine…any guesses where I’m headed next?