Today I finished booking my spring break trip to the Iberian Peninsula. Over nine days, Carleigh and I will explore Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon. I will see if 10 years of learning Spanish in school will help me at all, or if Italian has truly taken over my mind (I should be studying for an Italian midterm now....). As for my Portuguese…it never existed. Good thing Carleigh and I are equally adventurous and up for a challenge! This promises to be a fun and interesting vacation!
My recent excursions took me to the Tuscan region of Italy, including the lovely cities of Siena and Florence.
I will begin with Siena. A beautiful, ancient, city nestled in the Tuscan hills, Siena was a perfect day-long getaway. We took a bus into the city walls and wandered our way through the streets toward the Piazza del Campo and the Duomo. I was so happy to see people sunbathing all over the Piazza del Campo. It reminded me of "quading" back on campus at American, just sitting on the ground and relaxing while soaking up some vitamin D. The architecture of Siena was beautiful, from the bell tower in the Campo to the massive Duomo nearby. We had a lovely lunch, had a photo shoot, did a little shopping and finished our day with a cappuccino before catching the bus back. Definitely all signs of a good day!
 |
| the bell tower in the Piazza del Campo |
 |
| the duomo in Siena |
After a weekend in Florence, I completely understand why so many people love the city. My journey began with a couple new discoveries before even leaving Rome:
- There is a very convenient bus I can take to/from my neighborhood to the train station for only 1 euro. The bus is always crowded, and the bus door hit me every time it opened at each stop, but it definitely beats a 10 euro taxi fare.
- At Termini Station, platform 2E is not the same as 2 Est. After walking to the most distant corner of the train station, I realized that I needed to go even further. Thankfully there is a convenient tunnel under the train tracks which saved me a twenty minute walk. Yes, I caught my first train by myself. (Being comfortable traveling alone opens up so many opportunities!)
Promptly 4 hours after leaving Rome, I arrived in Florence where my best friend, Alexis and her roommate, Stef were waiting for me! They escorted me to Piazza Pitti where they live in a beautiful apartment that looks out to the Pitti Palace (I admit that I am a little jealous!). They quickly showed me to the best pizzeria in town, Gusta Pizza for a late dinner.
 |
| The view from Alexis' apartment, the Pitti Palace |
I always thought that people overrated Florence, but now I understand why so many Americans fall in love with the city. With a high tourist and study abroad population, Florence maintains traditional Italian culture while somewhat catering to tourists. Most locals speak English (at least enough to get by on), there is a great variety of restaurants varying from traditional Italian to an American diner, the shopping is great, and it is so easy to get around the city on foot! The sidewalks were much easier to walk on than the rough cobblestones that I stumble on over in Rome and I didn't have to worry about being hit by a car every other minute (it may seem funny, but I now appreciate some of the smallest things).
The weekend went by way too quickly! It was great to spend time with Alexis, catching up on life, shopping and eating way too much. I did some damage to my wallet at the leather market, buying two leather belts, one leather purse and a coin purse...it was a good thing the shoes I wanted were out in my size!
I was so sad to leave Alexis and the city, but unfortunately I do have to attend classes this semester and midterms are upon me in full force. Another 4 hour train ride and a walk in the rain later I was warm and comfortable, once again at Via di Monserrato…at least until this Saturday when I leave for Venice to see what it's like during Carnevale!
 |
| Classic duomo picture :) |
 |
| Alexis and Stef made me rub that silly boar's nose so I come back to Florence...let's see if the myth works! |
