Last Saturday, I woke up at 5:30 am to leave for Riomaggiore,
which is one of the towns in Cinque Terre. I hustled through the streets of
Bologna to catch my 6:28 train at the station, where I met 9 other people from
my study abroad group. We arrived at our hostel around 10:30. Mamma Rossa, the
seventy-nine year old owner, greeted us at the door. The ten of us took a quick
walk around the town, and then we headed to the beach. We spent the day
enjoying both the sun and the refreshing salt water of the Mediterranean,
saving our energy for Sunday’s trek.
Cinque Terre is
composed of five main towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and
Monterosso al Mare. The first two are connected by the “Via dell’Amore”,
about a 20 minute walk. The pathway has not missed out on the popular tradition
of “love locks”: couples write their initials on a lock, chain it to the fence,
and throw the key into a body of water. The trail from Manarola to Corniglia
was blocked due to landslides, so we had to take the train. In Corniglia, we
stopped for pesto lasagna. After lunch, I had cinnamon and honey gelato…a perfect
snack for the hour-long hike to Vernazza. The sea beneath us, trees around us,
and friendly conversation distracted our minds from the heat. I decided to skip
the next hike though, so Grace and I took another train to the last town,
Monterosso. We relaxed on the beach with some other girls from the group. For
dinner, we had focaccia: pesto for me and ricotta (I think) for Grace. I think
it might have been the most delicious food I’ve had so far.
After dinner, the two of us hopped on the train to Pisa. For
anyone who hasn’t been…well, a day in Pisa is more than enough time. We went
directly to our hostel, where I went to bed. I had a full night’s sleep, so by
the time we checked out at 11 am, I was ready to face the rather unexciting
city. I took my obligatory picture with the tower (you know the one…pretending
to hold it up, pretending to push it over, pretending to lean against it…).
After a quick peek inside the duomo, we headed to the university area for
lunch. I decided that I prefer Unibo to UniPi (that’s the name I made up for
the University of Pisa…). Nevertheless, Grace and I rested in a park while I
ate a lemon and berry gelato. Pisa was filled with tourists, unlike Bologna,
and since it is a relatively small city, there’s not much to do for free. Despite
my rather lackluster experience, at least now I can say that I have been. Plus,
I had Paris on my mind…
When Grace and I landed at Paris-Beauvais, a sense of
extreme happiness overcame me. I saw Carole through the security doors, and I
knew that I had made the right decision. (I already had plans to visit Paris
again for Christmas, and part of me had felt that I should go somewhere new
during my week of vacation). The Dattins are my third family (after my own and
the Hamners). Their eldest daughter Orianne stayed with me for 6 weeks the
summer I graduated high school, and their eldest son Thibaut stayed with the
Hamners in Piedmont last summer. Phil and Jack Hamner, my surrogate brothers,
and I returned to France with Thibaut last July to stay with the Dattins and
travel around France. Basically, the Dattins are a really special part of my
life. Needless to say, I was excited to see them again.
Tuesday morning, Grace and I tried to get into Paris. There
was a slight incident with the trains: all service to our stop was halted for
two hours. I thought Carole had told me that she would be back for lunch, so we
decided to go back to the house. Miraculously, as we were walking along one of
the bigger streets in Carrières, Carole pulled up! It turns out she usually
doesn’t go back to the house for lunch on Tuesdays, but she had forgotten her
lunch at home. Nous avons eu de la chance! She took us to the next town, where
we caught the train into the city. I have been to Paris several times before, so
I am more or less familiar with where things are. We took the metro to the
Bastille and made our way to the Place de Vosges. We wandered through the
Marais, sharing a falafel sandwich from L’As du Falafel. From there, Grace and
I headed to the Rue de Rivoli. We stopped into the city hall to see an exhibit
about the “Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup”. During July 1942, French police arrested
thousands of Jews and kept them in the velodrome of Paris, where they awaited
deportation. It was not a proud moment for the French, and the exhibit
commemorated the 70th anniversary as a tribute. From there, Grace
and I walked to Notre Dame. Since there were so few tourists, we only waited 10
minutes to get inside! After, we stopped at Shakespeare and Company, followed
by the Louvre (we didn’t go inside) and the Tuileries. Then we headed to the
Eiffel Tower. To see so many things in one day seems like quite an accomplishment
to me!
The next day we saw Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, the Moulin
Rouge, Place Pigalle, Père Lachaise, and the Arc de Triomphe. We met up with
Cassidy, a friend from our Bologna program, at a Canadian bar in the student
area. Even though it had only been a few days since we left the others in
Cinque Terre, it was nice to see a familiar face. On our way back to the
Dattins’, Carole told us that the kids were finishing up a music lesson. She
dropped us off at Arthur’s school, and we caught the last 15 minutes of the
lesson. Thibaut made a point of telling us that it was the first time they had
played that piece. We also saw a hedgehog outside of the school building as we
were leaving!
Thursday, we went to Compiègne to visit Orianne. It was an
hour away by car, but Carole needed to go there anyway to bring Orianne a chair
for her adorable apartment. We went to a château that Napolean had used for
hunting on the weekends. After, we walked around the town and saw the
university. It was probably the ugliest building I’ve ever seen! (Don’t worry,
Orianne admits it as well.)
We had to say goodbye to everyone Thursday night since we
wouldn’t see them Friday morning before we left. Even though it was such a
short trip, I am so happy that I had the opportunity to see the Dattins again.
I am even more excited than I was to return for Christmas!
As my final hours of vacation are dwindling, I am becoming
anxious for classes to start tomorrow. I know that it’s nothing I can’t handle,
but the fear of the unknown is overwhelming. If anything, I will always have
Paris!
No comments:
Post a Comment