Dayyyy... I don't even know now.

 I could live in La Spezia. really though. Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn #2's last full day we finally got to go to Cinque Terre. And it didn't disappoint. The first town we went to was Monterosso. The farthest town from La Spezia and the most tourist of towns because it has the best public beach area. We needed to sit on that sand and people watch. Europeans are the most interesting to watch.

 I decided to face the fact.. that i made fun of these shoes for YEARS... and i swore i would never own a pair. But i caved in, and i have. not. regretted it. for one minute. 

Perfect for any outdoor thing you do. So I am now a constant salewoman of Chacos. 

(who am i? what happened to me?)

no regrets yo.

 American Tourists... we think they're from Jersey. a compilation of us creeping on them 

 These girls were dancing on the rocks, not sure how they didn't break themselves. 

 The Asian women on the beach all walk around offering massages. for a price of course. I'm not sure i'd let a stranger roaming the beach give me a massage. 

 Corniglia (the middle town) in the distance. So beautiful.

 really great statue, missing an arm, but I like it that way. 

 local.

 local #2

 In Monterosso on this day there was religious celebration where they cover the streets with flower pedals and colorful rocks. Really incredible.

 coolest tradition ever. 

 We ran into Martina, the sister that i'm staying with, and she took our photo with Monterosso in the background. Martina is a police woman for this town... basically the hottest police woman you'll ever see. no joke.

 Went to 2 more out of the 5 towns in Cinque Terre. But it started raining, so we didnt take many more pictures, we just needed to find shelter. 

 Puddle jumping needed to happen.

 this world is piccola ("small" in italiano)

While we waited in the last town of the day, we overheard someone say something about aggies. We looked at eachother wondering if there may be an Italian word that sounds like aggies, but then an American walked over and said "excuse me, do you go to Utah State" we of course said we did. 

We had ran into a professor from Utah State. Ended up being the coolest, most energetic teacher, ever. So hilarious, she is a Theater teacher, so you can imagine her spunk. 

long story short, we ended up talking to her for like an hour, and she is getting Kaitlyn into one of her classes in the fall. It was fantastic. She was also traveling with an Australian girl that is my age, they had just met at a 2 week Italian class in Tuscany. She was one the most impressive and amazing girls I had met. Definitely an instant friend. 

She just graduated from college too. Her and I both feel like we are about to face a pre-mid-life crisis. So instead of facing what to do with her life, she travels. Something I can strongly relate to. 

I wish I got a picture with her.

 The next day, my friends left for Rome, and I stayed here in La Spezia. 

I got a tour of almost all of La Spezia. With a personal tour guide:

Lorenzo, the brother of my exchange sister Catherina, drove me around to see some of the popular places La Spezia has to offer. He was very kind to take time out of his holiday week to do this. Lorenzo and I both have the same nickname. Lori.. so we often times both answer to people when they speak to us.

 He took me to an old castle church on Portevenere (a town next to La Spezia).. it was lovely. Check out that teal water. 

Decoration on the door. Chicken, si?

 eating my hair

 Next we went to another neighboring town and found a nice group of big rocks to sit on and watch the beautiful water, and absorbed some sun.

 All was well, until a huge wave soaked us. You can't really tell because his jeans are black, but they were completely wet. So funny! We had an old lady take a picture of both us soaked, but homegirl had to get in her purse to get her glasses then she 'took the photo' and handed it back, but she didn't click the right thing.

This is where we were sitting. the wave popped out of nowhere.

 Can this scene just permanently be engraved in my mind? 

 please and thank you to modern technology of photography.

 Later we went to a cafe type place for drinks.. in Italy it is normal to have a beverage before dinner. Lorenzo just ordered this for me, because I couldn't read the menu. It was delicious.

I'm having the best time with this family.

 Culture. 

Language barrier. 

(which creates many laugh attacks, because i've said some stupid things in Italian on accident) 

Pasta.

Bread.

and lots of it.

Adoro Italy