weekends that turn into weekdays that turn into weekends

With only a few weeks left in the program it seems that the days blend together more and more. I live for the weekends when I get to travel to some amazing place in Italy and yet the weekdays are just as fun, hanging around the Campo, eating gelato and exploring more of the town. I can't believe I'm going to have to leave this amazing place. It feels like I just got here. Here is a brief update of the past few days:
FRI - took the train to Cinque Terre with Lanie and Rachel and a few other girls. We got to Riomaggiore mid-afternoon and after checking into our hostel we headed for the beach in Monterosso. We spent the afternoon lounging on the rocky beach and exploring the tiny town of Monterosso.It is the northern most town of the five. We even stopped by the wine bar where mom and I had made friends with the people and had rented a room from them. The wife immediately recognized me and gave me a big hug and kisses. It was so nice to feel like I knew some people in this small town. When the sun finally set we took the train back to Riomaggiore (the southern most town) and ate dinner at the "most happening nightlife" bar in town. Bar Centrale happened to be right below our room and really was where everyone in the 1000 person town hung out. For some reason there was a huge group of college students also staying in our town so it was a fun atmosphere. We discovered an AMAZING gelateria right next to bar centrale - possibly the best gelato I've had all trip. Homemade and delicious, I definitely recommend it if you are in Cinque Terre.
SAT - Got up early and after breakfast we headed out along the Via Dell'Amore, the first leg of the 7 mile hike between the 5 towns. We saw some amazing views of the coastline and the turquoise water. It is more like a stroll than an actual hike and is decorated in one part with hundreds of locks that people have locked on with their lovers. is a popular tradition. This hike took us to the town of Manarola, very picturesque, and we continued on to the town of Corniglia. More amazing views and lots of pictures. Sometimes I worry that everyone back home looking at my pictures wonders why I take so many of the scenery; but you can't help it here, everywhere you turn is beauty. Since the last few hikes were closed due to mudslides we took the train to Vernazza and then to Monterosso where we spent the afternoon in the sun, swimming and enjoying a lemon festival. This included free tastes of Limoncello, chocolates, lemon cake and of course just plain lemon. We stayed and had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the ocean and enjoying fresh pesto pasta. Sometimes I forget that I'm in school here. After dinner we took the train back to Riomaggiore, got gelato of course, and watched the game at Bar Centrale with the rest of the town. And by "the game" I mean the Inter Milan vs. Munich for the Euorpean Soccer Title. Milan won 2-0 which made everyone extremely happy. As I said before, soccer here is the true religion.
SUN - Got fruit and crossiants from the local market and headed down to the shore where we sat upon the giant rocky cliffs and gazed out at the ocean. It was so peaceful I didn't ever want to leave, but unfortunately our train left at 1. to Siena was nice as it feels like returning home after any trip and the sun was still out giving hope for a beautiful week ahead.