Pisa and Cinque Terre

Before I begin on this post, I want to share something. According to our landlord, the building we live in is 900 YEARS OLD. I cannot believe this....it's older than the United States and most of the world's famous art works. In the US, we have a different perspective on what is "old" and "new." This really blew my mind away, and it is in great condition!

Anyways, this weekend I went on two day trips: Pisa and Cinque Terre. Both were really awesome in very different ways.

On Saturday morning, Laura and I went to the train station around noon to buy a ticket and head to Pisa. A one way ticket only cost 5.60 euros, so this is a very inexpensive trip if you're traveling from Florence. Anyways, getting the ticket and finding the right platform was probably my most stressful experience so far on this study abroad semester. Why? Because the train station is INSANE. Getting a ticket was one step below chaos. They have kiosks of self service ticket booths, but only certain ones accept cash and certain ones accept credit cards. Neither of our cards were working and the lines were quite long. We finally figured out how to work the cash kiosk and the next step was to head to the platform. However, none of the departure signs had our destination listed. We asked probably a dozen people to help us...Italians, Americans (who looked like they knew what they were doing), a help desk, and conductors. Each one told us a different answer, which was confusing. Finally, we found a customer care office where some Italian (who spoke very little English) was able to tell us the correct platform (1A...which was a bit of a walk) and how we only had 2 minutes to make it. We ran like idiots to the train and barely made it....phew.

The train ride was about an hour long, and it was my first time leaving Florence in a week and a half. It was so cool to see the Tuscany countryside and relax for a bit. Once we got to Pisa, we had no idea where to go. We found a local map and figured out that the Leaning Tower was easily a 30 minute walk from the train station. An American couple was also heading that direction, and they helped us find the way. Once we got there, it was so neat! The tower is ACTUALLY leaning. You hear all about it, but it's more believable to see it in front of you. We thought about going up it, but the cost was 15 euros and we had to wait for a time slot that was 2 hours way, so it wasn't worth it for us. We walked around Pisa, and I really enjoyed being somewhere where there wasn't 234234234 tourists, and it was really quiet and calm. After exploring the city for a couple of hours and walking all over the tourist area, we took the train back to Florence and made it home by 6:30pm.

The next day was an even more exciting day trip: Cinque Terre. For those of you who don't know what it is, Cinque Terre is a national park, five towns connected ONLY by hiking trails and a train service. This place is on the Western coast of Italy. The five towns (in order) are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. A bunch of my friends and I had signed up for this trip through Bus2Alps, a tour company that provides trips for students studying abroad. We got to the train station (again) at 7AM and took a bus for 2 hours to La Spezia, the portal town to Cinque Terre. We got to the first town, and we decided to hike the whole way until the 4th town, where we hung out at the beach and then took the train to the 5th town, where we also hung out at the beach. This trip was a BLAST. I loved hiking through the mountains, and even though I was drenched in sweat, my friends and I had a great time together and took so many amazing pictures. Jumping into the Mediterranean felt so wonderful after hiking for hours. The sights were out of this world, and the ambience of the place was relaxing and full of life. I would love to go back there if I can, hopefully someday.

One of the coolest parts: I saw a girl wearing a KU hat!! I nearly jumped for joy, because I am the only Kansas in this darn city (or so it feels like) and it was amazing to scream ROCK CHALK at a stranger and have them understand me. Yeah, I'm weird.

Here are some pictures, as always promised!

Along the first hike on the Via delle Amore

Saw these two motorcycles in Corniglia...such a picturesque moment!

Me, all sweaty and disgusting, along the hike to Vernazza

Vernazza, 4th town!!

Leaning Tower of Pisa picture...always a must!

This week I have nothing terribly exciting planned, just to go to my classes and do my homework. It doesn't even feel like I am in school with all this traveling I am doing, but I promise that I am being a good student! This weekend I am going on a trip with my school to the Almalfi Coast...we will be going to Sorrento, Pompeii, and the Island of Capri. Very excited for that!

Thanks for reading, any comments or questions? I miss you all back home.

Ciao!