Italian Volcanoes...and Other European Travels: Prepare to Party...

So, I took a train to Rome, then to La Spezia, then to Levanto. In just reaching the area of Levanto, I was in awe of the beauty of the coastline! I was so excited to be arriving! In part, because it meant I was going to be with my friends, who speak English and understand me when I talk! (Unlike most Italians…) But I was also excited for the new scenery, to celebrate my birthday, and because this meeting marks the start of our month of free travel!

On arriving at the Levanto station, I wasn’t sure how to get back, and really didn’t feel like trying to figure it out with how heavy my bag was, so I took a cab to the hostel, It was very nice to not have to walk. Then, I called my teacher and Dennis came and helped me figure out room type stuff, as the reception was closed. While I was changing into shorts, most of the girls that were already in Levanto showed up, so I got to actually go to my room, drop my stuff off and claim my bed! Jess and Kay wanted to go to the post office to send packages home, and I still had a postcard to send, so I joined! It was a lot of fun wandering through the town for the first time with Jess, Kay, and Liz, especially after being on my own for so long! After that, we came back to the hostel for some internet time.

That first night (November 6^th), we ended up eating as a full group, minus a couple members that hadn’t arrived yet, some of whom joined late. Then, a bunch of us went out drinking, kind of as a celebration of my birthday, at least in my eyes, but pretty much just to go out. I had two small glasses of lemoncello, and I was drunk…apparently that stuff has a really high alcohol content…whatdaya know? But, I had Mallory who was my designated walker, so I didn’t fall or trip on the walk back to the hostel. I went to bed pretty happy, so it was a good night.

Cyan, DJ, and I out drinking!

The next day was the first day of one-on-one meetings with Dennis. I signed up for this day, so spent most of the day milling around, relaxing, other than my meeting, which went swimmingly, if I do say so myself! Around 1, Jess, Kay, Dennis, and I went to lunch at a little pizzeria nearby, which was super cheap with amazing quality! I was quite pleased! That day though, I started feeling more and more distant from the rest of the group as a whole. So, I started thinking that I must not have bonded with them as well as I had thought in Paris, or on the first night in Levanto. I talked to Mallory about it as we walked to the beach and strolled along it, and she comforted me, like a good friend, saying it was probably my imagination and people do like me and all of that. We had lots of fun walking the beach and looking at the rocks there, and collecting sea glass, before we returned to the hostel, where I borrowed someone’s iPad as my computer refused to connect to the internet after the first night, and registered for classes!

As I was registering, as we were supposed to be meeting at 5 and my registration was at 5, Dennis came and hollered for me, telling me to hurry along. So, as soon as I finished, I ran upstairs to join the group. After I sat down, Dennis called order, and said that they had a surprise for me…they got me a birthday cake, made me a second volcano birthday cake, and found me a rock on the beach that everyone signed! That’s why I was feeling so distant, they were all working on this surprise party! I was completely in shock! And I was thrilled! The bought cake was amazing, but we didn’t cut into the volcano cake that day. After finishing the first cake and the Christmas beers that Sean bought the group, we headed out to a winetasting before dinner. We had so much fun at our group dinner and the winetasting, or at least I did! That night was one of my best since I’ve been in Europe, it was amazing!

The Christmas Beer

Me and my two birthday cakes!

Sarah, Jess, and I eating the milfoil cake! (Cake of 1000 layers!)

So, in regards to that, I need to thank Sean again for the cakes, as apparently it was all his idea! So, Sean, if you’re reading this: thank you so much! You made my birthday week amazing!

The next day, Mallory, Liz and I went on the open and near part of the Cinque Terre hike. It was absolutely stunning. We hiked for most of the day, eating lunch on the hike. We also found these weird little “peach-berries” as we dubbed them, and we really wanted to try them, but they were red, so we decided to play it safe…until we saw someone else pick some and eat them, at which we rushed to a tree to try them too! They were pretty good. Mallory loved them, where Liz and I each had only one, she had like ten. So, naturally, we decided that if they were poisonous, and that lady had an immunity to them, or had no idea, Mal would be the first to die, giving Liz and I time to get to a hospital, if we even had enough to be affected. They weren’t poisonous, so it was all good.

Liz, Mallory, and I on an overlook at Cinque Terre! Gorgeous!!!

The "peach-berry"

Friday, November 8^th, was departure day. Everyone packed up and departed, which was pretty sad, at least for me. It was also exciting, of course, but I loved spending time with the group again, and was sad to see us split up. I had a couple chores to do before I took off though: I had to ship a package full of rocks back home and take care of my birthday rock. So, I went to the post office first. I sent it home via boat, and it was only 61 Euro, despite the fact that it was 10 kilograms! So glad to have that weight off my back!

Then, I needed to take care of my birthday rock. So, what do I mean by that? Well, in collecting the rock that the group signed for me for my birthday, they knew I couldn’t carry it through Europe, so they talked and said that I should sign it too, and then leave it on the beach in Levanto, thereby leaving our group’s mark in Levanto! So, I went to the beach, and found a place to put it, before saying my last goodbye to Levanto and catching a train to Venice!