Cinque Terre è Bellissimo

Here's what you need to know about Cinque Terre (or at least what I knew before I went there):

• It's freaking gorgeous.
• Cinque Terre is a collection of five fishing villages that have since become adorable beach towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
• All five villages are connected by trains and by hiking trails. Cars are all but outlawed, which makes sense, considering that the vast majority of the "streets" in Cinque Terre look like this:

• The towns are along a very cliff-like coastline, which means incredible views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also means rather steep streets and hiking trails. 

I don't remember the first time that I heard of Cinque Terre, but I do remember that as soon as I saw pictures of the string of 5 colorful seaside towns along the Italian Riviera, I knew I HAD to go there.

I mean, just look at it!

So after one last cappuccino in Rome, Lauren and I parted ways at the train station; she heading northeast to Parma, and me heading northwest to Cinque Terre.

After a very scenic train ride along the coast, I arrived in Vernazza, the 2nd-northernmost of the five towns in Cinque Terre. My Airbnb host met me at the train station and showed me to the cutest little room that was to be my home base for the next two nights.

Most adorable Airbnb yet!

Vernazza is a teeny little beach town; the main road leads right from the train station to the small beach, which doubles as the town's harbor. I spent most of the afternoon wandering up and down the streets, just getting oriented to the town and snagging some spectacular views before hitting the beach to soak up some sun.

It was really starting to feel like I was on vacation.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that I squeezed in two trips to the gelato shop before calling it a night.

The next day, I got an early start, and after a cappuccino and Nutella croissant--man, I could go for another one of those right about now--I headed south out of town along the hiking trail to Corniglia.

What should probably have only taken me an hour and a half turned out to be about a two hour hike, because I kept stopping to take in the mind-bogglingly beautiful views:

Eventually, I made it to Corniglia, where I cooled off--you guessed it--with some gelato as I meandered along the winding streets.

It was in Corniglia that I first discovered the appeal of the rocky beach. After following a very steep set of stone steps, I arrived here: 

 

SO. FREAKING> GORGEOUS.

Anyway. Major advantages of rocky beaches include:

1. Less crowded.
2. Sand doesn't get all up in yo bidness. 
3. The water is so flipping clear (no sand clouding it up). 
4. The aforementioned sand doesn't get all in your stuff. 
5. Way more interesting scenery; watching waves hit rocks is way better than watching waves hit the same smooth stretch of sand over and over again. 
6. No sand to stick all over you and your shiznit. (Have I mentioned this already?)

Being the dingus that I am, I didn't have my swimsuit in my daypack; I'd dressed for a day of hiking without considering the possibility of getting in the water. (I know, I know....like I said: dingus.) 

I consoled myself with some more gelato before heading south out of Corniglia toward Manarola, only to find that the trail was closed for maintenance. (Apparently there had been some flooding earlier in the year, and the trails from Corniglia to Manarola and from Manarola to Riomaggiore were both closed.)

I chose to interpret it as a sign from the universe to head back north, and after a brief stop back at my Airbnb in Vernazza to grab my swimsuit--see? I can learn from my mistakes!--I hiked an hour and a half north to Monterosso. 

I was almost to the town when I spotted a side path down toward the water. I say "side path." It was really more of a trace of a trail along a foot-wide ledge. 

I'm all about following whims when I travel, so I (very carefully) edged my way along the path until I arrived here: 

I spread out my towel on a large rock before scooching into the clearest water I've ever swam in outside of a swimming pool. After about an hour of soaking up the sun and sea, I watched as two guys climbed up to a ledge about 20 feet above a cave. After they spent 5 minutes debating how deep the water below them was, one of them belly-flopped off the ledge into the water. The other guy followed with a little more technique.

You already know this adrenaline junkie was next off that ledge.

It wasn't quite high enough for me to check cliff-jumping off my bucket list, but it was still pretty dang fun!

As the sun started to set, I toweled off and headed into the town of Monterosso in search of dinner.

I forgot to take a picture of my asparagus risotto (I was so hungry it was gone before it occurred to me to Instagram that shiz), but take my word for it, it was pretty darn tasty. A couple of glasses of wine later, I headed for the train back to Vernazza, stopping along the way for some gelato at a shop that was blasting 80's music.

I caught several of my fellow passengers eyeing my pistachio and dark chocolate cone jealously on the train.

On my last morning in Vernazza, I spent most of the morning lingering over a cappuccino and croissant with a view of the harbor, before catching my train to Venice. 

Cinque Terre, I'll be back! And until then, you'll be on my mind.

In Which Jess Does Some Crazy Shiznit

Well, since I last posted, I've been busy working on my bucket list. And as promised, I'm here to give you all the deets.

On Thursday, I checked off "get a tattoo:"

Extreme close-up.
(~3 minutes post-tat)

Why dandelions, you ask? (Or, if you're my mother, just "why?")

Well...

1. Dandelions are tough and stubborn, like me. 
2. Many people see dandelions as weeds, but to me, they've always been pretty flowers. My tattoo reminds me how much of a difference your mindset can make. 
3. The day after I made my tattoo appointment, my students brought me dandelions at recess for the first time, which melted my cold dead heart and reminded me that, even though they drive me completely batty at times (read: pretty much ALL the time), they are still sweet little humans at heart and they do love me. Hopefully my tattoo will help me remember that in upcoming school years as well. 

I've had this idea in my head for a while, and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

I was pretty nervous when the time came, though. I mean--I don't know if you're aware---a tattoo is PERMANENT. Even though I was sure that it was what I wanted, when it was actually time to walk in the door and do it, I was SHAKY. But as soon as the stencil was on my body, and I could actually see the design right there on my skin, I relaxed and was completely fine.

Whenever I talked to someone about my tattoo beforehand, and I told them where I planned to get it, they would wince and say, "Really? The ribs hurt pretty bad." Well, either they were overstating it, or I'm just super tough (and I like to think it's the latter), because I barely felt any pain. The biggest discomfort was when it was time to get up from the chair and look in the mirror; my arm had fallen asleep from holding it over my head for so long.  🤣

If you're in the HoCo area and looking to get a tattoo,
I totally recommend Casey Hart at Rose Red Tattoo...she did a fantastic job!

So now your favorite blogger is all inked up! Check that off the bucket list. 🗹

Friday morning dawned hot but clear; good weather for the next thing on my list of to-dos,  something that's been on my bucket list since my bucket list's very inception: skydiving.

I went to Skydive Delmarva, which I'd heard good things about from a friend who's working on his A-license. It was a bit of a hike (a 2-hour drive), but it was absolutely worth it.

I rolled up around 10:45am and proceeded to thoroughly read--and yet somehow still screw up on--the lengthy waiver. After signing my life away, I was introduced to my tandem skydiving instructor, Chris, a massive former Special Forces guy whose mere presence made me feel a whole lot safer about the whole jumping-out-of-a-plane thing, and my personal videographer, Ed, a 70-something-year-old with 2,000+ skydives under his belt. #goals

Fifteen minutes later, I was strapped into my harness and profusely sweating--from the 95° heat, not from nerves, I'll have you know--as the plane taxied into the loading zone.

Locked and loaded.

I realized as the plane lifted off that it was my first time in a small plane. I didn't have much time to dwell on that thought, though; I got distracted by the AC turning on. And by "AC turning on," I mean "the door opening at the back of the plane to get a cool breeze flowing through." I'd never been in a plane (large or small) with the door open mid-flight; I think most people can say the same.

Next thing I knew (really about 10 minutes later), Chris was quintuple-checking my harness and showing me the altimeter: 13,500ft. Time to go!

We were the last ones to leave the plane, but somehow I managed to blink and miss everyone else jumping out the door. All I remember is thinking "Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit" as we stood in the doorway, looking down at the ground oh-so-far below. And then suddenly we weren't in the plane anymore.

I don't really have the words to describe what it felt like--you've really got to experience it to understand it--but I'm going to try anyway.

After an initial moment of shock--"I just jumped out of a goddamn airplane!"--all I felt was exhilaration. Pure, unadulterated exhilaration. It was freaking AMAZING.

It all happened so fast, it was as though my brain got left behind and all that was left was pure sensation.

It didn't feel like falling...the air was pushing up on me so hard that it felt more like I was staying in one place while the ground was getting closer.

SO ALIVE

Before I knew it, Chris was pulling the ripcord and all the rushing in my ears abruptly ceased.

Once we were under the canopy and floating at a more sedate pace toward the earth, Chris asked how I felt. My brain still hadn't caught up to my body yet, and the first word I found was, "Cold."

About thirty seconds later, I was slightly more coherent--though even now I still don't have the words to fully express what it felt like--and I was able to tell him how completely mindblown I was, how alive I felt, what a freaking rush it was.

Chris pulled some crazy spins with the parachute on the way down, and we even went weightless for a moment or two, giving me the dropping sensation that I'd expected from the freefall.

I scored some sweet grass stains on my butt as, about 6 minutes after jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, we touched smoothly back down to earth.

Back on solid ground.

Back on the ground, I had no idea what to do with the rest of my day. Before skydiving, I'd had a notion that I might go to the beach, since I was most of the way there already. Post-jump, however, the idea seemed laughably lackluster.

I ended up hanging around, watching as other jumpers, both tandem and solo, came and went. I got to chatting with some of the staff and got a rundown of how the parachutes get packed, and how exactly they work when the ripcord is pulled.

Around 3:00, someone asked me if I wanted to do another tandem jump. My answer was something to the effect of, "Um, DUH!" I guess I hadn't realized that I had been waiting all day for someone to ask me that very question.

Since I didn't have a videographer for my second jump, Chris and I were free to do some crazy barrel rolls right out of the plane. So. Freaking. Fun.

There's nothing quite like looking up at the plane you've just leaped out of.

I got just as much of a rush from my second jump as I did from the first. God, it was fun! (See, I keep repeating myself because I just don't have the words!)

At the end of the video from my first jump, Ed (the videographer) asked me if I thought I'd do it again. I said, "Yeah, I think so." Guess there's no doubt left in anyone's mind now!

So...who's coming with me next time?

Summer 2018

Well, hello there...long time, no see.

My bad.

The last 4 months of the school year (yes, it has been that long since my last post, and yes, I am sorry) were tough, to say the least. Most of the time, I was just hanging on, counting down the days--and on some days, the hours--left in the school year. It was always too many.

Now that summer vacation has finally--FINALLY!--arrived, I find myself with both the time and the motivation to blog. So here we go...

Let's start with a (brief) reflection on my first year as a full-time teacher:

Pretty much sums it up.

I survived my first year of teaching 3rd grade with my sanity (somewhat) intact.

Now summer is here, and I haven't checked my school email since the last day of school, nor do I plan to anytime soon. (If anyone from work is reading this, don't rat me out. K thanks.)

No more thinking about school...my focus is on enjoying the bejesus out of my summer!

I had to.
Last meme for now, I promise. 

So what do I have planned for this summer? I'm so glad you asked...

Ya girl is getting out of the country again!

That's right, I will be making my triumphant return to Europe when I go to Italy in July. My rough itinerary for my two-and-a-half-week trip is:

1. Fly to Italy. 
2. Eat a crap ton of pasta.
3. Eat a crap ton of gelato.
4. Visit family in Germany. 
5. Have coffee and cake every day.
6. Fly home. 

For those of you wondering which cities I will be in when I am eating my body weight in Italian food:

• Rome (day trips to Pompeii and possibly Capri)
• Florence (day trip to Pisa)
• Cinque Terre
• Venice (day trip to Verona and hiking in the Dolomites)

If any of y'all have been to Italy and have any suggestions for me, leave a comment! I love love love travel recommendations!

The rest of this summer, I'm working at Go Ape treetop adventure course again, so I'll be spending a lot of time outdoors. (Come visit me at work if you fancy a swing through the trees!)

On my days off, I'm scheming a lot of day trips to the beach, some hiking, and checking off items on my bucket list. (Stay tuned for more details on that!)

I'm also hoping to see Hamilton at the Kennedy Center at some point this summer, so if anyone needs any ideas for a birthday gift for me... *wink wink*

↑ Me when I start talking about Hamilton. 

My friends and family. ↑

But actually.

Anyhoo, that's all for now, loyal readers. My *goal* for this summer is 2 blog posts a month, so you'll hear from me again soon. ☺