Thursday
After going out Wednesday I struggled to get myself out of bed and off to Italian class at Piazza Strozzi at 10:30 am. I really like my Italian class and my professor. She speaks very little English so it forces us to figure out what she is saying, and we spend the majority of the class speaking out loud and responding to her questions. On the way back to class I met up with my friend Virginia (from Clemson), and then I went to the post office to pick up my NEW CAMERA! I was so excited to finally be able to take pictures of this amazing city. I lounged around the apartment for the rest of the day, definitely in need of some rest. Jacqueline's brother who lives in Amsterdam came into town, and they made us all the most delicious pasta dish! We had a little family dinner with plenty of vino at our apartment, and then got ready to go out. Jacqueline's brother had been to Florence before, and found an underground wine bar the last time he was here. After much adventuring around the city, we found the unmarked doorway and headed down into a cave. This is what it looked like:
This place was perfect for a fun, yet relaxing night. There were no Americans, and they let us sit in a private room in the back. Part of me thinks they were throwing us back there to keep our American nonsense out of their authentic scene, but if that was their intent it definitely didn't work. We ordered cocktails, but having "pregamed" with several bottles of wine, we all decided to get some very non-Italian refreshments (mine being a margarita, naturally). There was a band playing in the main room, and we quickly realized they were two Italian men singing all American songs! They did a mash-up of the Beatles and the Backstreet Boys, as well as classics like Brown Eyed Girl and Country Roads. It didn't take long until all six of us were standing in front of the stage dancing and singing along with every word. The band definitely got a kick out of us.
After singing and dancing for a few hours (and getting free shots and potato chips which the bartender referred to as french fries), we decided to head out to another bar. We found ourselves at a place called Slowly. It was pretty empty, but we made the best of it! It was a fancier bar where we met lots of nice Italians and got some delicious cocktails. My bartender boyfriend named Francesco even gave me a discount! We then made our way home (unsuccessful in finding the Via Faenza secret bakery like we had hoped) and went to sleep.
Friday - "the" PISA!
Today we boarded a train to the town of Pisa! We couldn't stay in Italy for four months without taking the ultimate tourist photo. The train ticket was pretty cheap, and thanks to my knowledgable mother, we validated our tickets at the sneaky little yellow boxes at the train station. I was shocked how unnoticeable the boxes were, and how there was not a sign instructing passengers to validate their tickets. It was a quick one-hour ride through some nice and some not-so-nice parts of Italia. Turns out they have some "projects" here too. It was a little confusing since the maps on the train made no sense, and there was no automated loudspeaker telling us which stop we were at, but we made it there alive. Once we arrived in Pisa we got a pretty lost but eventually found the famous leaning tower! It was a perfect sunny day. As you'll see in the pictures, the skies were very Clemson-eqsue: so blue they looked fake. It took us about a half an hour to figure out the best place to take the picture. You would think they would have a big touristy sign that says "pose here," but they leave it up to you to figure it out. Luckily, Alana is an engineer and figured out the best angle to take it from. Once we got situated, we took a TON of pictures. I promise my photos aren't photoshopped. The sky really was that blue, and the building looks like it belongs in Disney World. It's not old or aged like the rest of the buildings in Italy. Here it is:
We were starving, so we walked down the street to this adorable sit-down restaurant. Considering its proximity to the tower, it was surprisingly un-touristy and pretty empty. Megan and I split eggplant parm and a margherita pizza. Good thing I walk a lot in Italy, because the carb-overload is getting ridiculous. After lunch, we went back to the piazza to see the Duomo di Pisa. On the outside, it pales in comparison to "our" Duomo. But on the inside, it is absolutely incredible! Definitely the most beautiful interior of a cathedral I've ever seen. After spending a lot of time wandering the Duomo, we laid outside on the steps like true Italians basking in the sun. There was an adorable old man playing guitar, so we relaxed and listened to him sing Guns and Roses. Besides the Duomo and tower, there isn't much to do in Pisa, but it is perfect for a short day trip if you're in Italy for an extended period of time. We stopped for gelato (of course) and rode the TrenItalia back to Santa Maria Novella.
I took a power nap (fifteen minutes) and then got ready to go out. Megan, Alana and I headed to Santa Croce to go out with girls from Clemson (Ashley & Virginia) and their friend Amelia from Florida. We ate dinner at a cute little sushi place where I had a cucumber roll and edamame. Eating sushi in Italy seems ridiculous, but after eating pasta, bread, and pizza every day, it was refreshing. We went back to Ashley's to drink some wine and then headed to Lion's Fountain (my favorite bar!) It is the American bar with the Clemson shirt on the ceiling. Unfortunately, the bartenders wouldn't let us climb on the bar to sign it, so we have to go back during lunchtime hours to leave our mark. Alana, Megan and I got free drinks from nice Scottish guys who stopped us on the street earlier that night to ask where to find a hostel. We told them how to find a hostel, and then to go to Lion's Fountain to drink. They ended up finding us there and buying us drinks! We got into a few superbowl related arguments about superiority of American football to rugby (or vice versa, in their opinion). The rest of the night was pretty low-key, but I was so happy to be hanging out with other Clemson students. It's comforting to be in a foreign country with people who share that type of common ground.
Today
I slept in until 10, took a shower, and headed to Marcato Centrale with Alana. After my pairing food & wine class, I felt much more confident in deciding which stands were the "best" stands at the market. I picked up green beans, zucchini, onions, delicious bread, homemade spinach & ricotta ravioli, almonds, bananas, and romano cheese. Then I bought two (much-needed) scarves outside on our way home. I only brought two scarves with me assuming I would "buy so many" here, but these two were my first purchase! One is purple and very thick and warm, and the other is white with a pretty design on it. We went home to put our food away, retrieve our other roommates, and headed out for a day of adventuring in Firenze.
We walked through the part of the city that we're very familiar with, only because I finally had a camera and wanted to take a picture of the Duomo. Then we went to the top of a department store at Piazza de la Republica, where there is an amazing view of the Duomo from up high. From there, we headed to Santa Croce. This is the part of town where nightlife is prevalent, and we're only familiar with wandering the streets late at night trying to find our way home. I had several "lightbulb moments" and figured out where a lot of places are while we wandered through that area. At Piazza Santa Croce, there is a chocolate festival going on for a a week. There was chocolate of every variety you could imagine. We all got fondue (I got banana) and wandered around the festival. If I wasn't so cheap I would have bought the entire festival. Yum. After the chocolate festival, we crossed the bridge next to the Ponte Vecchio to go to Piazza San Michelangelo. We climbed up a ridiculous amount of steps, but it was more than worth it. This is the most INCREDIBLE view of Firenze there is. I couldn't stop taking pictures, I was so in awe. Walking around the streets, it's hard to put into perspective how stunning the entire city is. Looking at it from on top of this hill across the river definitely gives you chills. For example:
We wandered around this side of the river, went inside of a church whose name I am unsure of, and even explored in the cemetery there for a little while. We then crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and headed home. I skyped for a while and uploaded my pictures from the day before heading out to dinner. I had dinner with a whole group of Clemson students! Virginia, Ashley, Mindy, William, our Florida gator but honorary tiger Amelia, and eight or ten architecture students who are studying in Genoa for the semester. Of course, we went to ZaZa's (my second time there in less than two weeks, whoops!) We had a great time drinking wine, limoncello shots, and obviously eating the delicious pasta. We sat outside since they had space heaters, and it was a really fun atmosphere. Our plan was to go home, get ready, and head out to a club called Space, but due to a busy week and 4 litres of wine with dinner, most of us are now too tired. My roommates and I went to get gelato at a new gelateria on our street. It was delicious, but a bit more overpriced than our "usual" spot. We will probably try a million gelaterias until we find the perfect one. Again, I'm thankful to have walked over three hours today (not to mention up a ton of stairs to Piazza de Michelangelo) after the abundance of chocolate and pasta Italy has to offer. I'll make it a point to stick to my fresh veggies from the market this week :)
I've learned so much about this country and this culture in the past week. Here are a few of my observations:
- Vespas are SCARY and Vespa drivers are fearless. I'm now a professional Vespa dodger.
- Italians do everything slow (kind of like southerners). If you don't ask for the check when eating out, plan on sitting there for five hours.
- In addition to dining, they walk slow too. I tend to weave around crowds of people.
- They think all hands are dirty (rightfully so). When you are getting change back they hand you the dollars and put the coins on the counter, instead of in your hand.
- They take PDA to a new level. When we were eating sushi on Friday, a couple was propped up on a barstool at the table behind us making it literally difficult for us to digest our food. I guess it is the Italian way.
- They are under the impression that girls would like to buy fake roses (for themselves?) while barhopping or eating in outdoor seating. "No, grazie" does not make them go away, either.
Ciao!
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