ITALIA PART TWO!

Hi everyone! So despite having a midterm tomorrow (dont worry its French and pretty easy), I am going to take a study break to keep writing the blog. I know if I don't do it soon, I never will, and I really want to keep up! I am glad you all like reading this blog and I am so happy to share with you, but a big part of it is for me- to reflect and to remember months from now when I am home. I know I will be really thankful if I come home with a full record of these crazy months. But I digress...

TUESDAY

We slept in a bit the next morning and woke up feeling considerably better rested. Our backs were still a little sore from our long treck, but our faces were shining as a result of our carrot face mask we had used the night before! We went down to the adorable dining room and had a delicious complimentary breakfast- they had an apple turnover pastry that was to die for (I know my mom would of liked it)! We then headed out to the streets of Viarregio where carnival festivities were already beginning. We had pretty much walked the entire town the night before but we quickly found it was both more appealing and easier to navigate in the light. We basically spent the morning walking along the main drag, Viarregio is just like any other beach town really, with a main street lining the ocean, except it happens to be in gorgeous Tuscany which makes it extra special! We browsed the shops and various tents and vendors that were going up, mostly selling masks and other carnival goodies. We walked down to the beach, stuck our toes in the water, and took some pictures. We also saw what we think was a rehearsal of a performance (we later found out in the afternoon they do a run through of the parade that is taped for tv- maybe what we saw was part of this). It was quite odd and included some crazy gymnastics and a devil-like man on stilts. My friend Allie and I are both in the witch hunts class which has focused a lot on Christian notions of the Devil, so we got a lot of laughs out of the strange figure. We then grabbed lunch in a nice cafe that had huge portions for great prices. I got a calzone about the size of my head that was delicious, the cheese in it was so fresh. At lunch we met a crazy table of adults-- the men were all wearing wigs- including a crazy neon pink one-- one of whom invited us to have a drink later in the week at the hotel he owned in Florence (more on this later, it turned out to be pretty awk).

We walked around more in the afternoon and just basically got excited for the parade that was to come. We went back to the hotel to enjoy some wine (that I had bought and was asked for documentation to show I was 16- seriously Italy?!) and change outfits before heading back out to the parade. We bought masks as soon as we entered- I got a pink and gold one that matched my frilly skirt- and just joined the party. It was honestly one of the most fun nights of my life! We had set a few goals- including dancing in the streets and riding on a float- and I am proud to say we achieved both! We were able to get on the Michael Jackson Float (notice his perpetual existence in our lives) for a few minutes after meeting a strange man in a furry red devil suit who had major connections. Later on we saw this same odd character and he had changed into a blue leotard and angel wings- people get really into Carnival I suppose...

Haha but overall just a great night! After the parade we grabbed some cheeseburgers at an Italian type fast food place and headed across the bridge to the real party. There was live music and little bar huts set up everywhere and people were just raging. We danced in the streets for a good few hours. Needless to say, when we made it home that night we were pretty exhausted, but had tons of fun memories including the crazy angel/devil man, other crazy characters like Johnny Depp and Daisy Duke, and the mean Americans from Florence. I heart carnival.

Wednesday

Pre-carnival raging we had agreed to get up early the next morning and visit Pisa before going to Florence. On our way to Viarregio we noticed that Pisa was one stop away (it was kind of a "guys look left" moment") and we knew we couldn't pass up the chance to see the Leaning Tower. But in the morning, I'm not going to lie, it was a little rough. Post breakfast I did a little "meditation" (my new code word for power nap), while everyone else got ready since I am super fast haha, and we managed to get out in time for the 10:15 train to Pisa. We were still dragging a little though when we got off the train and went in the tourist office to ask how far away the tower was, we almost actually groaned when the chipper lady told us it was a 30 minute. But after a diet coke revival, we sucked it up and made our way. The walk actually turned out to be great and just what we needed, the weather gorgeous and the sites really pretty. Lots of cute shops and a few pretty churches lined the cobblestone streets. Eventually, we made it to the tower! All I can say is- its not a hoax- it is leaning. We took the traditional tourist pictures- it took our hazy brains awhile to figure out how to correctly pose but eventually the UVa education prevailed and we figure it out- and took it all in before heading back to the train station and on to our next destination: FLORENCE!!

I was really excited to visit Florence and knew I wanted to get my leather jacket there, but I also wasn't sure what to expect! Overall, I thought it was lovely and a great time. It was a little dirtier than Rome I thought, and I can imagine it gets quite crowded in the summer. I think all the places we visited would have been a lot different in throngs of tourists in sweltering heat, and I was really glad we went during the off season. But anyway, the train ride to Florence was pretty short, but we took the opportunity to "meditate" and catch up on rest. We found our hostel, which again turned out to be really cute. We really had good luck everywhere we stayed, they were all super nice and the staff very helpful. After checking in, the owner made us our own "circle map" and recommended some restaurants.

We headed out after getting settled in and walked to the main square. We saw the Duomo, which was absolutely beautiful! We were too late to climb it though so made plans to come back early in the morning. We walked across the famous bridge- Ponte Vecchio- just as dusk was falling, and it was beautiful. We looked in the jewelery shops lining the bridge and wished we were dating 80 year old millionares who could buy us the goods inside (in retrospect this is a strange joke, we were still slightly tired/delirious from the night before I guess). Across the bridge, we saw the huge Pitti Palace and browsed in a few shops- at this point I began getting ideas for the ideal leather jacket but didn't find just the one! After some more walking around- we did so much walking on this trip it was wild, our feet were literally destroyed!- we headed back towards our hotel. All the girls I was with and I have a weird obsession with hummus and we have been really missing it- we cannot find it anywhere in Luxembourg and are in withdraw. When we saw a greek restaurant right next door to our hostel, we really couldnt say no. Imagine our sadness however, when they said hummus isn't technically Greek so they didn't serve it! In the end though, the food was delicious and exactly what we were craving. We got a plate of sauces and pita, and it was all so good (we asked for no fish egg sauce and thought we didn't get any until after when we demolished the whole plate our waiter asked which was our favorite and my friend said the orange one- he laughed and said it was the fish sauce and we needed to be more daring). I split some plates with my friend Allie- grapeleaves stuffed with rice and baked feta and eggplant- plus got Greek yogurt with dried fruit and nuts for dessert! It was so good! After dinner, we headed to the hostel and just crashed. We had big plans for the next day and really wanted to rest up.

Ok so I need to study now, but I hope to finish the whole recap tomorrow!

Love you!

Care