Dear readers,
For my last travels in Italy, after Spring
Break, I went to Cinque Terre, Cagliari Sardegna, Catania Sicily, and several
smaller towns in Tuscany.
Cinque Terre was breathtaking. It is a
series of five small, colorful towns on the coast of Liguria on the northwest
coast of Italy. Cinque Terre is not something you really go to simply “see.”
You “do” Cinque Terre. And by that I mean you go to Cinque Terre to hike along
the coastline through all five of the towns.
When we went, the weather was not perfect;
it was maybe 60°F, cloudy, and incredibly humid. The cool air and lack of sun turned
out to be a boon when the normal trail was closed and we were required to hike
inland and straight up a mountain to get to the next town. The view was still
spectacular. The trails were unlike those in national parks in the US, where
you would have to make a serious effort to put yourself at risk of falling.
Rather, the trail was, for the most part, only wide enough for one person, cut
into the side of a veritable cliff with either terraced vineyards or a rocky
Mediterranean shoreline below you.
Cagliari, Sardegna also disappointed us
with cold, rainy, and windy weather for the most part, although “it NEVER rains
in Cagliari!” The beach was fantastic nevertheless, and we got to explore
several unique and exotic stores in the city, like MANGO and Nike.
Catania, Sicily was stunning. Mt. Etna
loomed in the distance, and even when you couldn’t see it, you had only to look
around at the buildings made out of grey lava stone to remember its eternal
presence in the city.
I then went to Castiglione di Pescaia on
the Tuscan coast for a day, which might have been the most perfect day of
beaching I have ever experienced. It was just hot enough for you to bake
nicely, but there was still a nice breeze. Enough to cool you off, but not
enough to blow sand into your face and iPod. The water was clear, calm, and
refreshingly cool. We were about a hundred steps from a strip of restaurants,
and a short walk to the bus stop. There was some serious relaxation going on
that day.
Going to Monteriggioni with two Italian
friends was another day of fun despite less-than-ideal weather. It was Italian
Labor Day. On the way, we stopped by a public park so that Pierluigi’s dog,
Toby, could stretch his legs. At this park (why on earth don’t they have these
in the US??) they had a playground-turned-public-gym. Instead of monkey bars
and tic-tac-toe, there were a number of individual exercise machines, like an
elliptical, a leg-press, these discs you stand on and twist back and forth,
working your obliques, and a number of other strange contraptions. It was
awesome. I don’t frequent gyms, but I would totally go to this place all of the
time. Did I mention there was also a zipline??
I finished my last exam this morning, and
now as I sit here trying to come to terms with the fact that I return home in a
little over two days, I am experiencing ALL OF THE FEELINGS.
I don’t have words to describe how happy
and thankful I am for the time I have had here in Siena, but I am sad that that
time is ending so soon.
I am happy for the friends I have made
here, but I am sad to be leaving them for a future in which there is no
certainty we will see each other again.
I am happy to be going home, to see my
friends and family, to eat a burrito from Chipotle and “real” ethnic food. I am
happy I will be going to the beach for the week I return, and that I have an exciting
internship lined up for the summer. I
can’t wait to blast music and sing out loud with the windows down and that
heavy Virginia air blowing in my face.
But I still can’t say I want to go home...
All I can say is that on the plane ride on
the way home, the tears are going to flow. At least it would lend a nice
symmetry to my time abroad.
Packing shall commence this afternoon,
concluding only at 6am on Sunday morning when I will begin my homeward travels.
Erin Friedlander
CET Siena Student Correspondent
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