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When I actually arrived to my hostel in Cinque Terra, it was two o'clock and nobody was there. So I was locked out for half an hour. Luckily, three Spaniards arrived shortly after me and waited with me. We went out and hiked for an hour and a half that night, nearly got fined 200 euros for not getting our one euro fifty train tickets stamped correctly, and watched the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

The following day was spend with a Californian (who had FiveFingers!) and a girl from Indiana. We did the hike all the way along the coast between the five cities. It was gorgeous and great to be in the outdoors after so much time in the city. I also ran into the two guys that had told me to hump the train to Geneva. Small world!

The second full day in Cinque Terra I spent trying to find a mountain bike (with no success), kayaking half a mile out into the sea to check out the entire coastal view (exhausting and worth every bit of it) and laying on the beach. Finally, a relaxing day.

I stopped in Pisa on my way to Firenze (Italian for Florence). There really is nothing in Pisa but the leaning tower, the duomo and the baptistry, but it was worth a 2 hour day trip. The leaning tower is very cool to actually see in person. And watching all the tourists take photos was hilarious, especially when the cops came ad shooed them off the grass.

And finally, Firenze. I only spent two days (three nights) in Firenze, but it is my favorite city so far. I'm not sure I can pinpoint why, though. There was so much to do. The city was clean and beautiful. Slow paced. The people within the city were wonderfully friendly. I just really, really enjoyed it.

The first night I was there, I didn't do much other than hang out at the hostel. The people there were very fun, and I was tired from a day of travel. When I arrived at the hostel, the host sat down with me and drew out a complete walking map complete with stops, so I spent the first day following the map and it made for good start to Florence. I ate dinner at the hostel and introduced myself to two Africans, one from Zimbabwe and one from South Africa, who I ended up going out with that night. We started the night with a power hour and finished with a 1.75 liter bottle of wine. There are some blank spots and I'm not sure how I got home, but it was a blast.

Day two was spent searching for a wallet for dad, seeing David (which was awe inspiring) and another little church that wasn't on the map. Funny enough, it was my second favorite church that I've seen, only to the cathedral in Toledo. I didn't drink that night because I had a train to catch in the morning, but the Africans and I went out again with a few others and had a ball again. My time in Firenze was just wonderful.

And that brings me to today. I woke up this morning, missed the 6:45 and 7:15 trains, then caught the 9:15 to Rome. I'm currently sitting in front of my hostel, The Yellow, chatting with a bunch of other hostelers and deciding upon how I'm going to traverse Rome.

Catch me on Skype so I can fill you in on everything that I didn't include. Ciao!