Ciao Ciao!

Hardest part about vacation? Finding time to reflect on your experiences and stick to a diet.

I can live with those problems any day.

The first leg of our adventure is almost coming to an end!

We had 10 days to spend in Italy with Gabri's family and though we thought this would be enough time, we were wrong. Dead wrong. Every day was packed with things to do and our list of activities has grown far beyond our 10 day extravaganza.

With these few days we've had to enjoy this place Gabri calls home we were able to book ourselves solid. The day after I arrived we headed to Milan for The Color Run! This was indeed the happiest 5k we have enjoyed, with perfect weather, little jet lag and positive vibes all around this was a perfect way to start our vacation. The next day we enjoyed the Lake by renting a boat with Gabri's family and spending the day swimming and drooling over villas on the water. (& yes we saw George Clooney's Villa). Perfect weather yet again led to a perfect day spent out.

We then went to Switzerland to see a friend and we were welcomed by the surprise of two other friends from our study abroad together joining us! Celebratory reunion drinks were consumed and bbqs in the Swiss rain were successful. We enjoyed a nice hike in the Alps & couldn't take enough photos! After making our way bake to Lake Como Gabri and I went on a hike that I will never forget. In the Italian Alps we headed up some beautiful pinnacles, little did I know we would be using ladders, pulling ourselves across steep cliffs with chains and on the border of rocks falling the entire time. Though this hike pushed a mental and physical limit I haven't tested it was beautiful and quite an adventure. We celebrated with pizza, so much pizza. The last full day here in Italy we made the 3 hour drive to Cinque Terre to enjoy one last day in the sun! We hiked from village to village, and this was quite a hike. The stairs are deceiving they never seem to end! But my goodness it was so worth it, so very worth it. This brings me to my last beautiful rant in this post, THE FOOD. Pizza is better, bbq is better, tomatoes are crisper, basil is greener. The preparation and time put into the food here is greatly appreciated and visible. Never will I ever go back to pizzas without mozzarella di bufala. When in Italy forget any diet, forget any ideas of what Italian food you like and try everything, be open and just enjoy. You will never be disappointed here, trust me and my happily gained kilos.