Let go of your inhibitions and just...

JUMP.

I think in the process of re-discovering myself these past few weeks, I have learned a new hobby: risk taking and doing things that get my adrenaline pumping. This weekend I got the chance to visit beautiful Cinque Terre off the Italian Mediterranean coast. We took a walk through the Via Dell'Amore, which is famously known as the "love walk" where you bring a lock and lock it onto the walls there, in order to seal your love eternally with your partner. It is a short walk, about 15 minutes and it leads the way into the second village, Manarola, where you can swim in this small inlet.

The inlet has some larger rocks that jet out, so we were able to jump off of some rather large ones into the ocean. The water was clearer than it was in Daytona, so it was quite scary looking down and seeing a school of fish swimming, and better yet, rocks at the bottom that you may or may not hit. Being careful to jump into the deeper spot of the inlet, it was probably one of my most favorite experiences. The rush you feel when you just run off the side of a rock and cannonball into the ocean is something simple that everyone should experience: its like a renewal of your soul.After we got our fill of jumping off of rocks and swimming with schools of fish, we hopped on the train to the farthest of the five villages, Monterosso al Mare, where they have an actual beach (and lots of fit Italian men in speedos). Best buy if you happen to visit here: 4 euro for a float, so you can lounge in the water and get a tan. Spending money on one of those lounge chairs isn't as cool as being able to lay out in the ocean, where there aren't any waves, and you feel like you are in a pool.

I thought because this place was the most touristy of the five villages in Cinque Terre, that their drinks (especially mixed ones) would be super expensive, but we went to a wine bar that was located directly on the beach and got some pina coladas for 5 euro. We skipped lunch because we wanted to be at the beach for as long as possible, so around 7pm we started getting hungry so headed back to Manarola in order to get a nice Italian seafood dinner. Cinque Terre is known for their fresh fish, and I have to say that it was probably some of the best calamari that I have eaten. Maybe it tasted so good because we had an amazing view of the sun setting on the Mediterranean or because we hadn't eaten all day, but I was okay with paying 20 euros for my linguine pesto and calamari.

We didn't stay in the actual villages of Cinque Terre, because our train was scheduled for 8am the next day out of La Spezia, the closest actual city to the Cinque Terre region (about a 15 minute train ride; it runs once or twice an hour) and we didn't want to miss it. But it was a blessing in disguise for us with the deal we got; our hotel had an amazing view of La Spezia and the surrounding region. It was 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, a porch, and a pool. If we could of stayed more days, this hotel would of really been worth it. I wish we had more time to check out the night life and lounge in the pool or on our porch with a bottle of some regional wine.

Cinque Terre has quickly become one of my favorite destinations of this summer, and its beauty makes me want to visit it again and again. The fact that I was able to spend a day in a place where there was absolutely no car access was really incredible, and it was refreshing to be away from the noise of most European cities. I wish I could of spent a whole long weekend here, rather than just one night. However, it certainly was a perfect ending to my six week excursion to Europe. In two days time I'll be on a plane heading back to the United States and back to my regular life. :-( So sad to be leaving my jetsetter lifestyle for a while.