Adventure is Out There!: If I were to live in Italy...

Tuscany. Definitely. As I am writing this post mortem. I think I could see myself living in Florence if I were ever to move to Italy. It´s literally just soooo pretty! I love the architecture and the rivers just all over and the streets are so lively. In Florence I was impressed with the amount of study abroad students from the United States. Literally everytime I heard someone speak in English it was with an American accent and they were in their 20s. That´s normally a turn off for because when I go to other countries I want to feel like I am, but there was something about Florence that made me loveee it. And I was traveling by myself and stayed at hostals. But we will get into that.

I arrived late to Florence. A three or four hour train ride from Verona which was like 30 euros. Not having my phone is like the worstttt. I had my ticket code on my phone so getting my ticket printed took some maneuvers having to call like 3 people until someone got onto my email account to get it. Thank you Juliana for letting me use my phone. Finding my hostal wasn´t too difficult and it seemed really cool, but I was like beyonddd exhausted so I decided to be that unsocial person that goes to bed at like 1130.

April 11

Day one in Florence I decided to wander a bit and stop by the grocery store for some breakfast. Nutella wafers and milk, yumm I am the healthiest.

My first mistake was waking up at 9 and not leaving the hostal till 10… and then not getting to Ufizzi Gallery, which has one of if not the largest collection of Renassiance Art in Italy, until 11. The line… was miserable. Like ridiculously long. On top of that it started to POUR. So there were like two lines: one for normal people, then another for groups and people that have like reservations. Once it started to rain, the groups and people that want to spend 30 euros for a ticket instead of 15 started coming… which then affects everyone else because they only let in a certain amount of people into the museum at a time. At first we were moving like maybe every 15 minutes, then it got to 30, and finally like an hour. I was in line for over two hours and the worst part is we weren´t even moving. Just stand in place for like an hour. Miserable.

When I got into the museum, it was still super crowded! I compare it to when I went to el Prado in Madrid. The line was super long but we (Nicole, Jean Luc, and I) got in within half an hour and it wasn´t very crowded. Italy, get on Spain´s level.

I was in the museum for like 4 hours until my stomach began to eat itself. It´s always really fun to see paintings that I have studied J Art History for the winnnn (SHANNON wish you coulda been there, would of contemplated the art and felt so cultured).

There was a really pretty view of Ponte Vecchio from the museum and then I wandered around the main Piazza in front of the castle.

Muesums are both mentally and physically exhausting so I headed back to the hostal round 6 or so and got some sandwich stuff and saat in a park close by. I felt like the weird bird women in the park… people took pictures of me because I was literally feeding birds from my hand.

April 12

I learned from my mistakes and woke up at like 830 and headed to the Galleria Academia around 9. And I brought my Ipod to make the hour wait so much more enjoyable. Dane Cook was such a good decision. I would be laughing out loud in line and get the strangest looks from people around me. Sawyy.

but yeah I did a lottt of walking around and taking pictures of things I find interesting...

Phi Mu love from Florence :)

I actually accidentally snuck into a Basilica and convent..and muesum. I originally had gone in through the private prayer and sat in there for a bit and admired one of the side chapels a bit. I walked a bit further (AFTER FINDING THE MOST PERFECT PHI MU SYMBOL EVERRR) and then there was this sign saying something about a leather workshop. I bought a leather coat and a leather purse while in Italy so why not see what that was about. Then I went up some stairs and all of a sudden I was in the gift shop, then Medici´s side chapel and then the basilica. Oops…. The basilica itself was pretty reg renaissance style but there was a super gorgeous courtyard though.

My favoriteee part of the day was when I made it up to Piazzalo Michelangelo. I walked across the Ponte Vecchio (hey future hubby, maybe take me to Florence and let me choose something pretty from one of the jewlers on this bride… justttt saying J) and then up like a mountain haha. It kind of reminded me of what I walked up when I was in Bolonia. TOTALLY worth it. Seriously you could see the entireeee city. After this view I knew I didn´t have to walk up to the top of the Duomo because you could see everythinggg from this piazza: the countryside and the city, including the Duomo itself. So saved mahself 8 euros hehe If I had been with friends, I would of totally stayed up there to watch the sunset with a nice bottle of Sangria J

this guy was awesome. making some legitimate
music with glasses of water

Ponte Vecchio

That night I ended up Couchsurfing with this 38 year old guy that lived close to Piazza Sant Espiritu. Sounds sketchy I know, but he was really nice. I was like deadddd tired though, because I seriously walked the entireee day so we just hung out in his apartment and chatted. Sorry I didn´t want to go out for drinks Franchesco!

April 13

Friday morning woke up decently early and headed to the Duomo which I still had yet to visit. The line to get in had always been sooo long like every other attraction in Florence. It actually wasn´t very impressive on the inside. The outside is absolutely spectacular and is full of quatrefoils (the Phi Mu in me remains) but the inside was kind of plane, but looking up at the dome was pretty neat.

My next stop was Pisa! Seven euros and two ish hours later I arrived to this little town that is so well known for it´s architectural mishap. I actually really really liked Pisa even though there wasn´t necessarily that much to do. Until you got to the main square where the cathedral and tower were, it was really authentic and cute and one of the few cities I had been to where most people spoke Italian! When I got to the Leaning Tower area, completelyyy different story. I literally sat in the grass with a sandwich I bought at a deli for like two hours just people watching and laughing at everyone´s poses with the towers. It looks really funny when all you see is someone leaning awkwardly hehe

this actually wasn´t on purpose! I just put my hands out to do a different pose but there must be something about Pisa that makes these pictures just happen.

but you gotta do it, I mean when else will I return to Pisa?

Last stop of the day (it was quite a marathon day…) Siena. Again, not having a phone made for a miserable time to get in contact with my Couchsurfing host. I was originally suppose to stay with this Iranian guy but then this Spanish girl around my age messaged me saying should could host me too and so I sent a message to the Iranian guy telling him plans had changed but then I wasn´t sure when slash where the Spanish girl was going to get me and I had no way to call either one of them. I had to go into this bullshit fancy restaurant for wifi. I asked for the cheapest thing, they gave me a 4 euro glass of wine. I was so pissed off I didn´t even drink the wine. I ended up meeting with the Iranian guy because he hadn´t gotten my second message and from his phone I called the Spanish girl but she and I made plans for later that night. Stress on stress, wtf I was on vacation.

Sienna is GORGEOUS. My hosts name was Mostaba and he was so gentle and nice and showed me around some.

After I dropped off my stuff in his apartment, which was kind of a long walk from the center so with my backpack I was huffing and puffing, we went to get pizza. Seriously the best pizza I had the entire time I was in Italy. He invited me to gelato also, and I can never say no to gelato. In Mostaba´s words, it was a perfect J and definitely got me back on the happy.

After noming a good bet, we went to one of his friends birthday parties. He is a PhD student, so there I was spending my Friday night with a bunch of late 20 year olds that were all pretty drunk. A lot of people were kind of confused as to why I showed up with Mostaba, haha Couch Surfing is a wonderful thing.

So I ended up meeting the Spanish girl, Ainhoa, around midnight and actually sleeping at her apartment, I know bizarre. When she picked me up, she definitely sported the grungey Spanish look: dreads, plus have her head shaved, a nose ring a tongue ring and walked as if she was on a mission. Here I am dressed in skinny jeans and a flowery shirt… We bought two 1 liter beers and went to her apartment. We seriously talked until almost 5 in the morning, and this was the first time I have ever met her. She was seriously one of the most inspiring and interesting young person I think I have ever met. She is only 23 and has traveled and seen so much, and not in the most “standard” way. She does hitchhiking a lot, worked at a hostal in Germany for a summer, now doing Erasmus in Siena but travels most weekends. On top of that she is finishing her degree in journalism and works independently on side projects AND is helping to organize this worldwide protest in May (Check it out:) The main thing that stuck out to me that she said was something along the lines of people wanting to be good. That´s why she likes couch surfing and hitchhiking. It was a good mid travel pick up hanging out with her.

April 14

Next day, unfortunately, it rained the ENTIREEE day. Poured actually. I only did the main cathedral and treasury and stuff but I had plans to meet up with Mostaba at 2 for lunch. Plus, my stuff was at his apartment.