Chirvari and Cinque Terra

My host in Chirvari was Daniel and he was refreshing company. He is also an American but he has been living and working in Italy for seven years. He is fluent in both English and Italian, but it was nice to be able to talk without a language barrier!

Wednesday, April 25^th, was a national holiday- . So after sleeping in, my host Daniel and I went to Portofino- a small port along the Italian Riviera. First we got an amazing lunch at a small local place. When we got near Portofino, we had to park and walk because they limit the amount of cars allowed to the area. But because of this, we were able to walk along the coast and a simple hike in the woods. We stopped for an espresso along the way at a café that was right on the water basically. Also, we stopped at a public beach and I was able to soak my feet in the water a bit! =) Once we got to Portofino, we hung out for a little- then decided to do some hiking trails. Daniel asked me if I was feeling adventurous- like that is a question! =P We were going to hike to the next small town, but there was not enough time to do so because we slept in too much! We still went hiking regardless; it was pretty tiring because it was for the most part uphill. We went to a beautiful lookout and relaxed before heading back.Once we got back to Portofino, we had a well deserved- but expensive beer while we waited for our bus to take us to the car! On the way back, Daniel took the scenic route on an old roman road! It was really curvy and went right along the coast

View from the destination of our hike!

Portofino from above =)

On Thursday, April 26^th, I went to Cinque Terra- a series of five small towns along the coast. Each town is really small and heavily relies on tourism. The first town was Montorosso. There was a public beach there, so I got a sandwich and had a picnic on the sand =) Manarola was my favorite town! It is perched on a little cliff right on the sea! =) It was so photogenic! Also walked on the Via Dell' Amore path (way of love)- by myself -.- hah! But no worries, I was beautiful and right along the coast. Also got to see the sunset on the water! It was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen!

Where I ate my lunch =P

Manarola from a far ♥

Manarola up close!

along the Via Dell' Amore path

'Love locks'

<3

Genova! =)

I arrived in Genova on Sunday April 22^nd.Genova was diffidently one of my favorite places so far. It was finally a place that I could see myself living. The city is filled with beautiful architecture and parks. Genoa (the Italian spelling) is nestled in between the sea and the mountains. It also has a large port- where there is a Pirate Ship! =D

The Neptune is a replica ship that was made for a movie, but is now a ‘museum’ that is docked in the harbor. 

I felt so at home ;) loved it!

 

Part of Genova is the best example of an entirely preserved Medieval Town in Europe. So many of the buildings are declared a ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO. Therefore, all of the buildings in the town have beautiful architecture

  I was planning to stay with two girl couch surfers in Genova, but both backed out on me. One did because of the train strike (took place on Sunday- regional trains weren’t running). Then another did because I did not let her know early enough when I was arriving- but I was uncertain because of the train strike. But it all worked out, because I ended up loving my accommodation! I stayed in a hostel priced hotel called ‘Alberto Argentina’ that was owned by an adorable Italian couple that barely spoke English. I had a room to myself, clean towels & sheets, and a large twin bed! It was so nice and clean- especially after my last host’s place!

My last night in Genova, I met up with my host that I was going to stay with at my next stop and we went to a Couch Surfing meeting! It was a lot of fun, it was a group of 10 surfers- all Italians/locals besides me. We started the night by getting dinner at ‘Eataly’- love the name! Then we headed to a small cute little bar called ‘Follow the White Rabbit’. Then another random bar at the end of the night. All of the surfers were awesome as usual.

I was talking to one for a bit- he said I was pretty cool and then mentioned that he thought that we would not get along. I thought it was a weird comment to someone you just met, so I called him out on it and said ‘Why, cause you thought I was a stupid, spoiled American girl?’ and he just looked at me surprised, then shook his head yes! Haha! Glad I’m breaking stereotypes ;)

Something silly to note, at the last bar we went to- I got to play with a dog! Because, in Europe, dogs are cool enough/allowed to come to the bar with you! The pup was a boxer mix, her and I played with the empty plastic cups littered in the streets =P 

Genova <3