Amici e le Cinque Terre: il bellissimo luogo

After Jennifer and company left Florence last week to continue their Italian excursions, the Florentine routine resumed. Although hardly a routine, we frequented our familiar establishments and discovered some new ones as well.

Last Thursday, Accent arranged for the TCU group to go see Momix, a modern show that could be described as Cirque du Soliel meets Blue Man Group. The show actually started in the United States, but must be on a tour of Europe. We saw it at Teatro Verdi, a beautful old theatre near Santa Croce. We got to sit in a balcony for the performance! Every scene was amazing. There was no dialogue, but the incredible soundtrack said it all. The show moves through the four seasons in extremely unique ways. The performers were some of the most talented I've ever seen. I highly recommend Momix to anyone.

Saturday, we decided to go to the Inter Milan v. Fiorentina futbol game! What an experience! Inter is one of the top teams in the world and Florence hosted them right in our backyard. Fiorentina scored first within the first 15 minutes and held Inter for most of the game. In the second half, Inter snuck in two back-to-back goals. Fortunately, Fiorentina answered them right away to tie it back up at 2-2. The clock ran up at 90:00, so a short overtime ensued. At the end of overtime, neither team managed another goal, so the game ended in a tie. At least Fiorentina didn't lose to one of the best teams in the world! We also had some extra entertainment in the stand when a Milan fan haphazardly identified his affiliation amidst a sea of diehard Fiorentina supporters. We seriously feared for his wellbeing. It almost got real ugly. I suppose that is why they had hundreds of crowd-control personnel seperating the fans. And this was just a normal game! I can only imagine Johannesburg this summer.

The school week was pretty slow. That is, until I found out we had a quiz Thursday in my Italian class. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem. But, when Jennifer was in town, she let me know that she would be in Cinque Terre, a 2-hour train ride from Florence, for her 21st that week. Of course as a best friend, I had to go! I had planned on leaving Wednesday morning after class as to only miss my Thursday morning Italian class. Well, the quiz was worth 5% of my final grade--and it's date was non-negotiable. I really cannot complain about the effect on my grade, since it is technically in the syllabus. It just angered me that the ONE class I miss (of a 3 day/week 8am class), it would be worth 5%. Woe is me.

Cinque Terre: the most beautiful place on the planet!
I arrived Wednesday afternoon before Jennifer. The train station was literally on the beach! So I soaked up the ambience, then headed for the hostel. I checked in at the top of the hill in Riomaggiore. The room, however, was at the bottom of the hill near the water's edge. It was a hidden little door down an alleyway/maze--only in Italy. I met some of the others staying in the 11-person room (one of the girls actually knew some TCU people!) and headed for the beach. After I finished reading, I went back to see if Jennifer had made it for her 21st and she had! We got ready for dinner and headed up the hill. To our surprise, there were only three restaurants in the whole town--luckily they were open (and the only things open!). We had some great seafood followed by some great mojitos (thanks, Rick Steves!). We finished the night with wine on the marina.

The next day, we woke up and hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza, the hardest trail of the five towns. We made it back to the hostel where we met some more roommates. Tom, a 23-year old kiwi from New Zealand. After spending 5-months in Fort Lauderdale and gaining his deck-hand experience for boating, he traveled through Western Europe. Cinque Terre was his last stop before meeting his port of call just south. He signed on as a deck hand for a 44-metre yacht, owned by a middle-eastern oil tycoon. The yacht isn't even completed yet. It has a crew of 9...for a six-person family! That must be nice! His contract is for 7 months--all exepenses paid. I'm slightly envious. And James, a 23-year old masters student in London who originates from Canada. The two of them joined us for some of our adventures on Friday and Saturday.

We spent all-day Saturday on the beach! It was PERFECT weather in a PERFECT place for relaxation. We picked up a picnic lunch at the local market: foccacia, pesto, mozzarella, salami, grapes, apples, and white wine. I know...rough life. It was great, though, to have those moments to relax with great friends (Spain was a great spring break, but one of those vacations that demands a vacation afterward).

Now it is Saturday and I am back in Florence with the weekend still ahead of me! Granted, I have alot of schoolwork to catch up on this weekend before a week of papers and presentations. We will leave for Amsterdam on Thursday!