The most beautiful place in Italy award goes to: Le Cinque Terre. For a place in the guide books, the Cinque Terre was blissfully rustic. At its best reminiscent of a quaint old undiscovered string of village tucked into the folds of hills, at its worst, a bustling riviera retreat. We headed over on a bus with about 50 others IES students to La Spiaggia where we hopped on a boat and were dropped off in the middle of the terre.
The entire IES crew commenced the "hike" on the beautiful trail along the water through the "rain". Seriously, not to be condescending, but the impression some of the girls was that they were risking their lives on some dangerous trek through the wilderness was a little hilarious. We, Gina, Jake, Emily and I quickly outpaced most of the group and got to enjoy the trail without the gaggle.
Really- could it be more beautiful?! The drizzle intensified the colors of the landscape.
Being from Oregon, the drizzle didn't bother me one bit! Thankfully it had the unforeseen effect of dissuading most of the sillier IESers that Cinque Terre was not the place to be for the weekend. HA!!!
We woke up the next morning and looked out our window to see brilliant, warm sun lighting up the vineyard covered hills. This was literally the view from our room. When this is what 16 euros a night gets you, does it get any better?
After a leisurely morning we hit the free trails that traversed straight up into the hills abutting the ocean and villages. We quickly learned (the hard way) to allot at least some of our attention from the incredible views in order keep at least one eye on the trail markers. Considering our biggest detour took us through a lemon grove studded with peeling blue doors in rubbled door-frames.
We hiked up the hills and with each steps distanced ourselves from the swarms of beach-goers and trinket buyers. The burning in our muscles (thanks to Jake's long-legged breakneck pace) was rewarded by amazing, untainted views.
And incredible flora and fauna that we decided looked like a hybrid of Hawaii, Oregon and Colorado.
Those among us that feel at home in nature contentedly soaked in our surroundings in a state of near bliss. My wonderful friend Gina, who had never been been on even a little hike outside, pointed out something sadly rare for Italy, an absence of man-made noise. Emily and I broke out into huge grins while Gina made a face and proclaimed it to be "creepy and weird." 
After our incredible hike, we finished off the day with a sunset picnic in an incredible little piazza near our room. We headed back to our house and played cards on the balcony while watching the stars emerge.
After another lazy morning, we hit the trails again, this time opting to go halfway up the hills. Instead of climbing across the ridges, we wound our way through vineyards and olive groves to arrive at one of the towns.
We hopped back on the train and headed to Monterosso- the end town and spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun on the beach.
The break from city life was absolutely a perfect weekend. The mix of breathtaking views, fresh air, and insanely good company was unbeatable. It's times like these that make me want to stay forever.
Ciao for now.
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