Cinque Terre

As a way to celebrate completing our first week in Siena, us students decided to go on a day trip to Cinque Terre, and it was possibly the best decision we could have made. For those of you who don't know, Cinque Terre is five small, ancient cities on the coast of Tuscany. Even though the cities are highly populated by tourists, the colorful buildings, turquoise water, incredible pesto pasta, and overall friendly ambiance make Cinque Terre the ideal weekend getaway. I couldn't believe the place that was number one on my travel bucket list was only a three hour bus ride from Siena! It was too good to be true. Granted, it was an incredibly long day. We all woke up at 5:30am, caught the bus at the train station at 6:30am, arrived in Cinque Terre around 9:45am, left at 6:00pm, took two ferries rides and two train rides during the course of the day, and arrived back in Siena at 9:00pm. It was about a fifteen hour travel day, but so worth it. Plus, we had Sunday to relax, rest and recover. I can't think of a better way to have spent my first weekend in Italy, and can't wait for more adventures to come. Next stop (hopefully) is the beautiful island of Elba!