Weekends were a time for me and few friends to pack up and travel a little bit of Europe. I would highly, highly, recommend planning weekend trips, this is where I created the most memories, encountered the most culture, and had the most fun. I know there is so many different things to see, places to visit, and things to do. I would suggest visiting places that you would think you enjoyed the most. Each weekend we found ourselves by some type of water (it was amazing). I think the most important tip I can give is to, PLAN. Plan out each and every detail. If you are like me and my friends we didn't have phone service unless we had Wifi. We didn't really consider how often we WOULDN'T have wifi (this was a struggle). No Wifi meant no texting, no internet, no GPS. Getting around is difficult so make sure you plan and research everything. Below are where I spent my four weekends!
Genova(Genoa)I arrived the weekend before the program started. Me and my friend landed in Milan and decided to take a 2 hour train to Genova. We choose this city in hopes of going to the beach (sadly this didn't happen). We left Omaha on Thursday around 11:00 am. We arrived in Milan at around 8:00 am. The time difference is 7 hours ahead, so technically we landed in Milan at 1:00 am U.S. time. Because it was morning in Milan we knew if we went to bed now our sleep schedule would never get on track. Therefore we stayed up until about 8 pm that Friday (it was really tough). But in that time we were able to walk around, find our hostel, and get a first look of Italy. It was a breathe taking sight. But let me be the first to tell you, jet lag is incredibly real. I felt like a zombie the entire weekend. I also had to walk A LOT, my feet were in an incredible amount of pain. But fortunately we were able to find a cute restaurant by our hostel. On Saturday we slept in and then we made our way into the middle of Genova to do a little of shopping. They have plenty of stores and we spent a good portion of the day shopping and walking around. There was a sea, and a pier, but we were too tired from our already 17 hours of travel we didn't feel like taking another 45 minute train. Genova was beautiful and I wished we had more time and energy to explore. But I am glad I got to do a little bit!
|
Cinque Terre- Monterosso/ MonarolaThis was my absolute favorite place I have ever been to. Cinque Terre literally means "Five Lands." It is composed of 5 beautiful cities. I wish I had had the opportunity to visit each one of them but we only had the weekend. The first day we went to Monterosso (this was my favorite). You hop out of the train, walk up the stairs and then you are greeted by beautiful trees covered in flowers, the beautiful sea, and wonderful shops, bars, and restaurants. The beach and sea were literally right there. It was a breathe taking view. You are instantly drawn to the sound of (American) country music coming from a little smoothie, and other drinks, shop. This shack was called Bar Colpi di Timone. This place is amazing they make any and all drinks with fresh fruit, so tasty, so refreshing, it's a must go to! Once we had a smoothie we walked down to the beach and laid out on a tapestry. After a while of relaxing we ran into the water and were greeted by refreshing, salty waves. Around 2:00 pm we finally decided to have lunch. We went to a little shack, called Il Bocconcino, with a long line (trust me it was way worth the wait). I would HIGHLY recommend the calamari and chips. After stuffing our faces we spent the rest of our day laying out and swimming and getting our smoothies. We packed up around 8:00 pm grabbed some dinner and went back to our hostel. The next morning we decided to head to Monarola so we could do some cliff jumping. When we arrived we were greeted by an overwhelming amount of tourists walking all over the place. Monarola unfortunately didn't have a beach either but when we walked down to the water we saw a huge cliff (well to me it was huge) and we knew we were in the right place. We put all of our stuff down and swam onto the cliff. Standing up on the highest point of the cliff was truly terrifying, looking down was even more terrifying. But from across the way were a bunch of tourist standing, with their cameras, and waiting for you to jump. So I stopped thinking about it and I jumped. The rush and adrenaline rush were amazing. This weekend made me feel so relaxed and adventurous. I knew at this point I had a lot more exploring to do in my lifetime.
|
Lake ComoLake Como was the absolute most beautiful lake I have ever seen. The lake is literally surrounded by mountains, beautiful colorful houses, and cute little shops. We arrived at the train station in Varenna and immediately hoped onto a Ferry Boat. I would highly suggest going on the Ferry Boats because it's a life changing experience actually being on the water of Lake Como. On this beautiful Sunday we didn't have very many plans we just wanted to explore and see what we could do. Unfortunately you can't do much but shop and eat unless you have reservations. So we spent this Sunday shopping, exploring, riding Ferry boats and eating. I were fortunate enough to spend my birthday here as well! This time we made reservations at Bellagio Water Sports to kayak for an hour and then we also made reservations to rent a boat for 2 hours. I promise you there is nothing better than being on the water at Lake Como. The best thing about this trip is it's only 45 minutes by train and it goes by super fast. It's a perfect opportunity for a day trip! It was here where I felt so peaceful and relaxed and joyful. This is a must see!
|