Cinque Terre, Gastronomic Tour of Florentia!

An Italian song came on my iPod so I'm forcing myself to listen to it. It's cheesy with a hint of eighties rock. I still don't understand half of the words. Sigh.
Yesterday was MAGICAL. Sabrina, Meredith, Olivia and I met up at Santa Maria Novella Train Statizone at 5:45 and boarded the 6:10 train to Monterosso, the fifth of the five small towns of Cinque Terre ("Five Villages"). While briskly walking through the station, I saw Alexi! He and friend Mackenzie were taking the same train to the same place! We all went together, and I'm so glad because everyone bonded and had such a great time.
Each town is picturesque...in fact, you've probably seen postcards of each of the towns (which reminds me, Micah, I forgot to get you one. Forgive me. Hopefully I'll get back there before I leave.). The buildings are tall and bright-colored, in a horseshoe around each harbor. The water is a beautiful emerald green/deep blue depending on your angle. It's crystal clear so you can see the huge rocks around you...the sand is a darker gray. I REALLY wanted to get in, but we had to hike and knew it wouldn't be as comfortable if my wet clothes were rubbing my skin the whole time.
The hike was, uh, a little more strenuous than I had anticipated. We started the ascent, and those mountains you see in my pictures? We climbed those. It was so steep, but there were a lot of old people and Italians wearing designer clothes talking on their cell phones while huffing and puffing up the mountain. There were TONS of Germans, too. And people from California? Who knows.
Which reminds me of the rude man I met on the train. One of the trails was closed because a bridge was out, so we had to take a train from Corniglia to the another city. We were all packed like sardines and a couple asked me where I was from. When I told them I was from Georgia, the man in his late fifties said, "Oh, that's too bad." I laughed while telling him that I liked Georgia and then asked where he was from. California. We talked a little about baseball and he informed me that the Braves may go to the playoffs. Whoop! Then, his wife asked me why I was there. I told her we were all studying in Florence. She then wanted to know what my major was. When I said, "English," the man scoffed and said, "Looks like you came to the right place." I brushed it off again. His wife was getting visibly upset. She tried to be kind to me because her husband had a chip on his shoulder for no reason. We got on the subject of taking cooking/winemaking courses, and I told them of my trip to Castle Volognano the day before and how we got to participate in the grape picking process. I suggested that if they were interested they should definitely look it up. I was proud of my cool story, but the man wasn't impressed. "If we wanted to do that, we could just drive up the coast..." Oh yeah, he's from California. That was the last straw. I nodded and soon after turned my back in the other direction. He was the first genuinely inconsiderate person I have met here, and -SHOCKER- he's an American. Way to perpetuate the stereotype.
That didn't ruin my time in Cinque Terre, no worries! Earlier, we stopped after the first hour and a half leg of the trip from Monterosso to Vernazza. Our legs were shaking at lunch and we had to sit on some steps to rest. We took some gorgeous pictures, I felt the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, Meredith accidentally fell into the water, I fished out her glasses. Making memories. We stopped at a pizza place and I had some DELICIOUS pesto pizza. Did you know that pesto originated in Cinque Terre? Thank you Sabrina Mason for that interesting fact. Focaccia was also created there, so we had to get some of that later. When we reluctantly decided to hit the trail again, we trudged. It was a little over an hour again...and completely uphill. YIKES! But the striking views of the little villages on mountains overlooking the Mediterranean Sea made it worth it. The whole trip cost me around 25 Euros. Yay!
The temperature the whole day was as perfect as it could have been. No rain, although the clouds began to hover as we got to the last two towns. It was probably in the sixties or seventies (F) the whole time, and we were shaded by tree branches. My endorphins were pumping and I danced around the tunnels on "Via Dell'Amore," the "lovers' lane" section; completely flat concrete flooring and rails with gorgeous views. The tunnels were filled with Juliet's house style graffiti of couples' names and funky artwork. Oh yeah, and PDA everywhere. Definitely a honeymoon option. And just as I typed that, "All By Myself" came on my iPod. NOT JOKING. Haha, well at least I can keep these things in the back of my head in the event of me getting married, if that is what God wills. For now, I'm learning so much and soaking in everything around me, so being single is truly a gift from God for where I am in life.
Being around men that are different from what I am used to at home, I am getting to make valid judgements of what I value for a future spouse. Okay, so here comes my philosophical rant. I was reading "Stowaway On Board," a book on women: a letter on abortion, women in history, the way women use their bodies, and the way women subjugate themselves. Here comes my confession. I would not necessarily say I am a feminist, but I believe that women are still not completely equal in society yet. "Feminism" has such an ugly connotation, especially in the South where cultural roles are so set, so I rather not put a title on my thoughts. Yes, I want to be a mother. Yes, I believe that as a female, I am naturally more nurturing, and I do desire to serve my husband and children one day, God willing. But, I also believe that my mind is just as capable as a man's, and that if I want to have a successful career, I can still do that and have a family. I can go to law school, I can argue or write with the best, and I can prove that I don't have to graduate with a "MRS degree" to be happy in life.
So what does that have to do with judging what will be necessary in a future husband? I've come to realize that a lot of "men" do not LISTEN to women. I have had to fight in relationships and in friendships to get a bit of air time - to have the male I am talking to value my opinion. Isn't that disgusting? I haven't even really realized this or understood how wrong this is until after the fact.
There are three male friends that stick out in my mind that consider women as equals. And that's about all. This is what makes a true man: does he consider the things others have to say of value? And not just of other men whom he must compete with?
I guess this is where the whole "You can judge how a man will treat you by how he treats his mother" argument comes in. How is he taught to view his mother - the main woman in his world? Does he respect her, listen to her, appreciate her mind as well as her sacrifices for him?
Saying all of this, I have decided that I will not subjugate my thoughts for a man's again. The submissiveness of the woman in marriage is different than man and woman viewing each other as equals. The man is the protector and head of the household, the final authority of the Bible states this. So I will marry someone I will respect enough that if our opinions differ, I will submit to his out of respect for him, knowing that God has placed him in that role.
You can think I'm crazy or too eccentric. I'm okay with that.
I'm young. But I'm learning. If there's something I've said that's a little "off," feel free to message me.
So, let's get lighthearted again!
Today, we went to the Palazzo Vecchio for Renaissance History class. The Medici were ridiculously egotistical. Example: The middle floor rooms have frescoed ceilings depicting the famous Medici family members. The floor above have frescoed ceilings of Ancient Greek and Roman gods corresponding to the family members. Kind of hilarious. It was a beautiful building, though! Da Vinci was supposed to do part of it, started experimenting with his art too much, and it fell apart. So, Vasari did a great deal of the artwork. It was gooorrrrggggeeeeeooouuuuuussss. Pictures on Facebook.
I didn't eat lunch today in preparation for our cooking class's gastronomic tour of Florence! Yayyyyyyy! We went to an organic gelateria and learned how to make sorbetta fragola and tasted some olive oil gelato! Crazy with such a interesting, delicious taste! Then we went to a truffle place and each had a tiny truffle paste and cheese sandwich. One of the best things I've ever put in my young mouth. Truffles are becoming one of my favorite things to eat. That's NOT good. Imma be broke soon. Our teacher ordered each of us a prosecco matched with the truffle panino. I had a rose.
The truffle place is RIGHT by my apartment (M&D - it's on Via de Tournabouni. We'll go there for a tartufo panino.). Then I went to the grocery store. I bought my first thing of meat from the butcher! Salami toscani that was on sale (but it SO GOOD!). I went home and made some food because I was NOT full at dinner time.
Now, I'm about to do some homework and study. Mercato Centrale in the morning! Fabulous.
G'night!