We spent this past weekend in Florence and Pisa and I spent the past few days trying to recover from the trip. We had a lot of fun but Roma is still number one in our hearts.
The trip began with a four hour train ride at 5:50 AM... meaning that the public transit was not running. Our choices were taxiing to Termini (the train station) or embarking on the hour and a half walk there...
We are poor college students in a foreign country. What do you think we did?
Why, we woke our sorry butts up at 3:30 AM, laced up our hiking shoes, strapped our belongings to our backs and hit the road. As crazed as it was, we got the rare opportunity to see both the Piazza de Popolo and the Spanish Steps completely void of tourists and residents alike. I managed to snap a few photos; however, in my bleary-eyed state, I accidentally deleted my entire photo card. I could kick myself but, thankfully, the only photos lost were from that morning.
I slept the entire train ride to Florence (Firenze in Italian). Upon arriving, we located our hostel. A sprawling campsite located completely across the city from the train station (on the top of a steep incline) next to the Piazelle Michelangelo. Despite the struggle of climbing the hill with all our belongings, staying there was well worth the view of Florence both during the day and at sunset.
During the day, we visited Il Duomo. A centerpiece within the city, that is located in a church. In order to see the dome up-close-and-personal, we climbed 463 stairs and got to view it from a circular platform around the base of the dome (I am hoping to upload the video I took in the next post). Upon continuing the ascent, visitors are able to access the roof exit and take in a 396-degree view the city. It was truly breathtaking but I would not recommend the trek for those that are fear small, dark spaces or heights. As exciting as it all was, Noelle and I were happy to have our feet back on the ground!
Florence is also home to the 3 original David statues. We managed to spot two out of the three!
For the remainder of the day we wandered around and enjoyed the scenery. After that we had our first "wow" dinner since being in Italy at this outdoor bistro. I ordered lamb and roasted potatoes. To drink, Noelle and I treated ourselves to mojitos and then raced back up the mountain to the Piazelle to enjoy the sunset before settling into the tent (yes, us city girls camped... shocking, huh?) for the night.
After a good night's rest, we packed up our things, checked out and headed for the train station at 7 AM. Next stop? Pisa. Once we trekked back to the train station, I took another nap until we arrived at Pisa Centrale Station. I don't really have much to say about Pisa. I came, I took touristy photos, I shrugged and got back on the train. Not too exciting of a place BUT I am happy to be able to say that I have been there.
The train ride home was what made the trip to Pisa worth it. The tracks followed the western coast of Italy and provided for serene views of the ocean.
All in all, it was a very nice weekend!
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