Cinque Terre: July 22-24

I suppose I should first mention that leaving Florence, we made a 1 night stop in Pisa. It was worth it, and I realized that there is plenty of shopping to be done there, and there is SOMETHING other than the leaning tower. But not enough to require more than one night.

So from here.. Cinque Terre! Cinque Terre is a chain of 5 Italian towns along the Ligurian coast, and it is beautiful. The area makes up a national park and is recognized and protected for its beauty, which also makes it a popular tourist destination.

Our experience: Exhaustion and anchovies.

We went into our 2 days in Cinque Terre knowing that we wanted to hike the trails between the towns. Due to damage from storms and heavy rain, 2 of the trails are currently closed. We got lucky in that we were able to book a hotel in Monterosso al Mare - the more populated and “touristy” of the towns with the largest beach area. The luck for us, was that it is also the Northern-most town and we could complete our hike by arriving back here.

So our hike began in Corniglia, where we could access the first open trail. Now I had even hiked between these towns previously, but I will say during this trip it was HOT. In our first week, every day the weather alerted us to “danger from extreme high temperatures” - so that was fun.

I’m sure we were sweating before we even got started. But climbing up and down stairs made into the ground, sometimes with rocks, sometimes with wood and sometimes just grooves in the dirt, and peeking in and out (mostly out) of shady spots was rough for sure. But the glimpses of the sea and the view of the towns in the distance as we strolled the hour and a half to our next stop in Vernazza…. incredible.

Before reaching Vernazza, we stopped in a little trail-side restaurant and picked up an extra bottle of water for good measure. I’m embarrassed to admit how much we were sweating. We needed it. And while enjoying the beauty in Vernazza (and cheering silently for the temporary rest) we refilled our shared bottle and ate a few oranges. But then we started back on the longest portion of the trail toward our final destination and hotel in Monterosso.

This is the toughest part of the hike among the towns of Cinque Terre. It’s the easier walks that are currently closed due to damage (of course.) I have to admit that I was struggling. And that water bottle we filled in Vernazza had to be rationed during the last 2 hours because of how quickly we were sucking it down, but how badly we needed it to last. This was a rough stretch, especially for the 95-100 degree heat, but also because this trail is not easy. There are a lot of ups and downs, and still the pathway and landscape are not even. So I’m tiptoeing at each downward step and hoping by some miracle we will turn the corner to see Monterosso in front of us an hour ahead of schedule. We did beat the schedule by about 10 minutes (!!!), and we greeted Monterosso with a lot of excitement, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at us because of the exhaustion, and a bottle of water and gatorade at our first opportunity. Immediately following were naps on the beach.

Through all the sweat and tears (just kidding, only sweat this time) the experience was worth the effort. The views of the colorful cliffside towns and the way the land drops off into the pure blue water is some unparalleled beauty.

 

Again, the Italian experience is so heavily impacted by food and our Cinque Terre time was dominated by anchovies. It sounds weird… kinda gross even, and I never would have guessed that I’d be writing about how much I couldn’t get enough of anchovies. But it’s true.

Anchovies are very popular in this area, a staple in the kitchen. And at our very first meal the waiter talked us right into ordering stuffed anchovies as an appetizer. This may have been the perfect way to ease into them; anything stuffed with cheese, breaded and fried can’t be too bad. But then the next day we ordered them atop focaccia bruschetta (one of my favorite things, no matter how unappetizing it looks) and in pasta.

This is another one of these “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it” food items. And I may not eat another anchovy until I’m back on the Italian coast, but I’m still vouching for it! Cause you know… “When in Rome…” or close enough :)

Stop 1 in Europe: Florence

Florence, Italy. We have both been to Florence before, and 2 things really stood out to us this time: 1. It was HOT. 2. It was crowded.

I (Kaysee) spent almost 6 weeks studying in Florence in 2010, and I never experienced heat like this. It was really hot, around 100 each day, but still one of my favorite cities and we had a great time. We even got to spend our time with one of my best friends and my roommate from the summer in Florence, Emily, and meet up with another study abroad pal.

Since we had both been to Florence before, we did not duplicate too many of the “major” tourist attractions. The Uffizi and Accademia are incredible, but we didn’t want to duplicate them when it meant fighting the huge number of tourists. But here were our highlights:

1. Climbing the Duomo 
Expecting a crowd, we tried to go early in the morning, but still waited in line for 2 hours for our turn to climb. However, as the Duomo is Florence’s icon, you can’t miss a trip. To enter the church itself is free, but the view from the top of the cupola up just over 460 stairs is SO worth the time and money. We were able to peer down at the center of the church from the circular walkway inside the dome, and had a beautiful view of the city, the river Arno, and the surrounding mountains. When is the view from the highest point in a city NOT worthwhile?
 

2. Piazzale Michaelangelo
This is a square across the river in Florence from most of the major attractions. It sits at the top of a hill and allows you to see the primary bridge Ponte Vecchio over the river, the Duomo, Santa Croce church, Palazzo Vecchio tower - it basically gives you the best view of the entire city. We went after dinner, bottle of wine in tow, and stayed to watch the sunset over the river. I’d recommend this over and over again - the view is magical!

3. Wine tasting in San Gimignano

San Gimignano was a new trip for both of us. We took a bus from Florence and arrived late morning for plenty of time to explore. The medieval, walled city is right in the heart of Tuscany and surrounded by vineyards and known for their wines. We climbed the highest tower Torre Grossa in town for a heck of a view, and then visited the wine museum for our first tasting, and stopped in local shops for round two (and some meat and cheese snacks!) San Gimignano produces Vernaccia wine - a delicious white that was so refreshing in 100 degree heat.

Of course we also visited the Ponte Vecchio bridge, listened to an orchestra concert in Piazza della Signoria, visited the Palazzo Vecchio museum and climbed it’s tower, and enjoyed all that the market Mercato Centrale and surrounding street stands have to offer.

The last thing that can’t be left out of any description of time in Italy is the food. Basically, you can’t go wrong. Wine is cheaper than a bottle of water and we had our fair share of local Chianti’s and Vernaccia (we even learned about wine ratings during our San Gimignano trip) but most often we’d order the restaurants’ house wines - which didn’t disappoint. Bruschetta is always a good appetizer choice (fresh tomatoes and olive oil!) and we loved ordering prosciutto and melon every chance we got. I’ve seen a few people stick up their noses at the sound of this - don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, I swear! For most of my life I didn’t even eat cantaloupe, and this combination is amazing. And of course, we had lots of pizza and pasta. Every type you can imagine is not only available, but is delicious. The typically thin crust pizza with fresh toppings usually included prosciutto and mushrooms for us. We also tried a few of the hundreds of pastas (gnocchi, spaghetti, cannelloni) with various sauces and meats. There are typical, regional food specialties throughout Italy, but in Florence we didn’t make any decisions around this, and still believe it just doesn’t get any better. We did top off a few meals with gelato - and if anyone is in Florence, I swear Grom is the best gelateria and should definitely be paid a visit.

For me, returning to Florence after studying abroad always felt like a distant dream… how cool to start off a totally new adventure in a familiar place?!

And We're Off

As we've decided to adventure and "wander" around the world together, we had to pick somewhere to start. For a few different reasons, including that we'd been talking about going for a while and we will have the opportunity to visit with several friends, Europe has become our first destination.

We've planned to spend 12 weeks covering at least 10 different countries, and can't wait to share with you what we see! We spent several hours packing backpacks for variation in climate and differences in activities, so that we have (we think) everything we need. And believe me, our bags are basically as full as they can get. Jimmy looks forward to tossing things out along the way, but Kaysee can't see herself doing the same, so one of us may come back with a lighter load than the other. Or, Kaysee will find a way to add to her bag (aka Jimmy's bag) and we will both come back the same :)

Any way, after one last stop a Chick-fil-A, we have left the country officially. 12 weeks is just shy of the 3 month maximum you can travel without a visa in the majority of Europe, so leaving without having return flights booked did raise a few questions at the airport gate. Jimmy somehow always manages these situations though, and we're off!

Here We Go

Wheeler wandering. A diagnosis that has plagued one of us for the last few years.



Here is our story. An introduction to who we are and how we got here: on a journey that will take us around the world together. We began dating in college almost 6 years ago, but battled the attempt to maintain a relationship while on very different paths following graduation (welcome to your 20's..)


Here is how it happened for each of us.


Jimmy - My post-graduation plans.  1) Travel 2) who cares what number 2 is when you can travel.  I had a small list of places I wanted to visit when I first graduated and I've been on the move now on and off for 4 plus years.  My list is longer now than when I started. 

I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel the world with no restrictions.  Along the way I've spent almost 5 months traveling the US in an RV with my best friends, summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, watched the sunrise on the beach in Barcelona after a 100,000 person party on the beach, seen the Great Wall of China, visited the Temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, seen the tallest building in the world in Dubai, and thought hundreds of time to myself, "Times like this are the reason you travel."

You know what isn't fun when you're traveling?  Having to leave your girlfriend at home and having her stay slightly mad/ envious of your trip for its entirety.  No way man.  I could always get by with a couple of weeks traveling, but after that, it just didn't work.  Solution to the problem?  Bring her with me.  It took just a little bit of convincing, but it seems that we have arrived at our destination. 


Kaysee - Following graduation, I went right to work. Technically, I was searching for a "real job" for quite a while, but working was always my plan, and I suffered through some temp roles and part-time retail in the meantime. I did find that "real" job eventually, at a large company that offered me as much as I could have expected as a recent graduate. I learned a lot, challenged myself, and even got to travel regularly to San Francisco's Bay area. But working 40 (or 50, maybe sometimes 60...) hour work weeks doesn't seem so great, no matter how you spin it, when your boyfriend is experiencing new adventures on another continent.

I did love traveling too. So I did what I could to join Jimmy's adventures while sticking to my career mindset and maintaining my Corporate America reality. But you realize when you leave your boyfriend in Thailand after spending your 16 days of saved vacation to join just part of his 6 week adventure, that there really is a lot more to be gained. Quite possibly, a few months abroad could be as valuable as those same months in the job you've now had for the last 3 years.

Ultimately, when your boyfriend says "let's go live out the adventures of our dreams" AND this just so happens to solve the only source (well, only important source :) ) of tension in your relationship... How could you say anything other than "ok?"

So, here we are. After a little convincing and a lot of planning, I am taking a break from the career path I'd known to this point, and we are experiencing a whole new world together.