Florence

        My original thoughts about Florence and the time we would spend there were filled with all of the typical tourists spots and famous "must see" art pieces. The reality was that we only had one day to spend there and the lines for each attraction were several hours long. We ended up opting for climbing the Duomo rather than waiting in line to see the statue of David and I am extremely happy with our choice. I thought my mom as an art teacher would be upset about missing the chance to view such a famous piece of art history, but in the end we were all just as happy to see the replica which is now placed in the spot where the original once stood.
        The hike up the Duomo was very long and steep and most definitely hazardous. I can imagine the law suites that people in the States would dredge up if they allowed people to walk up stairs like them here in the U.S. There were very few hand rails and the crudely carved stone steps were uneven to say the least. The view from the top was definitely worth the climb and I'm very happy we didn't skip it. The buildings in Florence have a signature look which I'm sure is no accident. Whatever the reason, the result is very charming and beautiful.
        After climbing the Duomo and walking around for a while, we went on a sunset bike tour and it allowed us to see a lot more of the city than we ever could have without it. It turned out to be just the three of us and the tour guide who was very young and clearly in love with her city. She shared a lot of interesting and unique information about Florence and it definitely added to our experience.
        My favorite memories of Florence however, were a complete surprise, and that was the night life. After about 8:00 o'clock, all of the cars disappeared, and the streets were packed with people. There were street performers of all sorts one of which was a comedian who we watched for about 40 minutes and he was hilarious. The lights were beautiful, there was a carousel, street vendors, and musicians of all sorts. I guess in hind sight it makes a lot of sense because most everything we saw was some form of art, it just wasn't a painting or a sculpture like I immediately envision when I think of art. I thought I wouldn't be all that impressed with Florence, but I'm happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

Memo - 1876

"The 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
-Western Union Internal

lol. I bet whoever wrote this would be embarrassed now. I wonder what new technological advances are being doubted now that will eventually completely change and shape our world as we know it.

p.s. You may as well know that I found this quote in one of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. I feel no shame for reading them. ;-)                    

Cinque Terre

       We were blown away by the beauty of Cinque Terre. I can't think of any place on Earth that comes closer to my idea of paradise. Cinque Terre was recommended to me by the daughter of my former art teach Leslie Shell who is a close friend of my mother's as well as her colleague at Highland Hills Middle School. It is made up of five beach towns strung closely together that are connected by a hiking trail as well as a train that stops in each town. The nearest town is about a 30 minute train ride from Pisa and we traveled from Pisa Centrale early that morning and then returned to Pisa and our hotel later in the evening. Within that time frame we were able to spend time in each town and although I could have stayed there for weeks basking in the sun and enjoying the scenery, I didn't feel like we missed anything major.
       We decided to go to the last town first and I was very glad that we did, because as it turns out, it was the only one with a beach. The other towns had very beautiful rocky coasts and plenty of places to swim and enter the water, but we are fans of the more traditional sand beach if it is offered. We spent the morning and the high sun hours on the sand before venturing out to the other towns.
       Not quite knowing what we were getting ourselves into we decided to hike to the second town. In the end I'm glad we did because what we saw on the way was a breathtaking mountain trail with terraced hills and sparkling coastline, but two hours later upon arrival it is safe to say that we were very hot, thirsty and worn out (and possibly a bit grouchy). Much to my surprise, during our hike on this remote mountain trail, I bumped into an acquaintance from Ball State who participated in the internship program in London with me. I knew he would be traveling, but had no idea where he would be going. It was definitely a "small world" moment to see him there of all places.
       The rest of the day we opted for the train and each town was just as beautiful as the last with its own individual flare and identity. It felt like a completely different world. There were tourists to be sure, but it was clear that each town also contained its own tight-nit community of locals. I loved everything about Cinque Terre and it's definitely a place you want on your itinerary if you plan a trip to Italy!

 

Words to live by.

"Be silly. Be honest. Be kind."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wise man. I like his last name. ;)

Pisa

       I won't sugar coat it, Pisa as a city was a huge disappointment. I would label it a one hour stop or a stop you might consider skipping altogether if in a money or time crunch. Other than viewing the tower, there was literally NOTHING to do. The city was completely run down and there weren't even more than a handful of places to eat. Capitalism was clearly a foreign concept and not only were we unimpressed by the town as a whole, we were also the most worried about being robbed during our time here.
       We did meet some really nice people in the process of picking up maps and buying bus tickets, but they were quick to warn us to be on the look out for Gypsies. There are a couple of bus routes in the city, but typically tourists are only interested in the one that takes you directly to the Leaning Tower from the train station. This route is frequented by Gypsies and if we hadn't taken him seriously before; we were, shall I say fortunate enough to watch as this same man after being tipped off by the bus driver sprinted out of his office to assail the aforementioned Gypsies before they could escape with more of the belongings of tourists unawares. He wasn't quite quick enough and they ran off, but we had learned our lesson and made sure to keep an eye on our purses and our surroundings.
       After our stop at the Leaning Tower and our very standard Pisa Tower photo-shoot we were at a complete loss for what to do from there. After asking around we finally found the correct bus route to take us to the beach and were saved by this idea, but if we hadn't left the city we would have been sitting in our rooms for the rest of the evening and eating in the same cafe in which we ate lunch. It was clear that we were one of very few tourists to venture out on this route and ended up at two spots that were very obviously local hot-spots. The first place we stopped was a rock beach. This was the first rock beach I had ever seen and it was an interesting change. It was very difficult and precarious to navigate, but luckily I found some help from a few nice men in speedo's. ;)
       We went for a nice swim in the pool sheltered by the rocks, but eventually decided we'd rather move on to a spot with sand to end our evening. We found a beach club and paid the entrance fee deciding it was worth it not to have to keep looking and ultimately that we'd much rather lay on a deck chair than be without them. It all worked out in the end, but my advice to you if you ever decide to visit Pisa would be to watch your purse and to only stop for an hour or two if you can swing it.