cinque terre.

We (Bethany, Laura, Sarah, Ricki, Erin, Matt, Cari, and myself) began our Italian weekend with an overnight train to Cinque Terre, which arrived around 1030am. Cinque Terre is on the coast of the Italian Riviera, most noted for its beauty and steep cliffs that overlook the Mediterranean Sea. Translated as the "Five Lands," Cinque Terre is comprised of five villages. Since we only had a day here, we were able to see two of the villages: Vernazza and Riomaggiore. As you can see, this place is absolutely breath-taking. We spent the majority of the day walking on the beach and around the little towns, playing a game of human checkers (right next to the beach), and eating lunch at a local restaurant, where I ordered tuna salad, fruit salad, and authentic Bruschetta. The amount of time we had in Cinque Terre was perfect. I didn't feel like I was missing out because we didn't have time to hike to the other 3 villages. They are all similar, yet equally beautiful.  The only reason I have heard about Cinque Terre is from past Lipscomb students who have been on the Vienna program. I admire the lifestyle of those who live in these villages. The environment was incredibly peaceful and tranquil. For the most part, tourist season is over which made our experience that much more enjoyable. Around 4pm, we headed back to the station at Vernazza and took a train from Cinque Terre to Venice (an overnight train was not an option because the two cities are only 6 hours apart). We had a few transfer stops, before arriving in Venice around 11pm. I'm definitely getting used to trains as my preferred form of transportation. Let's hope my driving skills have not been completely shot. We took a shuttle bus from the Venice central train station to our hotel. The hotel supervisor greeted us warmly and debriefed us on particular sights to see during our time in Venice, which was helpful. Once in our rooms, we headed straight to bed!