We started out early morning meeting the bus at the Archi Bar (which is just up the road from campus and a frequented place by students). It was somewhat of a cloudy day but that could have been because I wasn't quite awake that early yet! At any rate we loaded the coach bus and were off and running! Two coach buses took 120 of us students flying through the country side!
As we left the city we got a unique view of St. Peter's where an optical illusion makes the basilica seem as if it is getting bigger the further you get away from it! I am still amazed at how many unique things like this there are throughout the city. All of the locals each have their facts they love to share with you about what to do and what not to do. It's great! It wasn't long before the amount of buildings gets less and less and we were getting to the country side. The trip went relatively well since I slept most of the way! I tried hard to stay awake but it just wasn't working out for me! Every now and then I would just wake up and see the country side! No matter where it was that I woke up it was gorgeous.
After a quick pit stop at a rest stop it was onward for another couple of hours until we reached the town of Pisa. I tried to capture some pictures of the country side as we were zooming past them but they didn't quite work out as planned! I must add that seeing hay bails in the fields was a good taste of home!
We arrived in Pisa at the parking lot for the buses at which point the guides for our tours met up with our group. When we got to the parking lots there were lots of men trying to sell us goodies. Everything from fake purses to watches, sunglasses and hats. Just in case anyone forgot anything they had it covered and I must say they were quite ambitious salesmen! Finally after everyone's bathroom break we got organized and walked on into the city of Pisa. Along the way we saw more vendors! They are around pretty much any tourist site there is but it was still surprising to see them all.
Pisa was a neat little spot and our tour guide was a very proud Tuscan. Her name was Simona and she gave us all sorts of fun facts about the monuments. Did you know that all three of them are actually leaning in some direction. To the naked eye only the tower can be seen because the other structures are so big.
Once we were officially done with the tour we had time to wander around. And like good Italians we took the opportunity to grab a bite to eat at a small restaurant that our tour guide recommended. There was six of us so we were seated near the back in a beautiful garden area. It was nice and cool! Not too mention they had plenty of umbrellas for us for when it started to rain. By the time lunch was over we were ready to head out exploring. We walked down to the river, did some site seeing and soon it was time to meet up for the ride back to the hotel.
Our hotel was gorgeous! Don't know that I have ever been more excited for a hot shower! Once we got checked in all of us girls took a nap and headed downstairs for dinner! We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into that's for dang sure! It started out with a giant plate of pasta, followed by ham and french fries, and tiramisu for dessert. The portions were huge and enough for two or three people to eat. Our table was last for the salad so we missed out on it! We got impatient while waiting for the dessert so Kate, Lexi and I hoped up to the buffet dessert table. Somehow we managed not to get caught doing this because we had no clue there was more dessert coming! I will fully admit that eating the fruit torte and tiramisu was not a problem for me! :)
The men that served us were all in tuxes and very generous! Definitely the typical Italian men! Ha After dinner we went exploring down to the pool! It was gorgeous!! The lights were off but that didn't stop us and soon after that someone came down to light it up! All the mosaic at the bottom was gorgeous! Then it was off to showers and bed for a long day in Florence Saturday!!
To make it easier I will write another post about Florence and one more about the winery! That way you can all enjoy the pictures from each day!
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| The beauty of an open field on a bus ride! |
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| Crossing over the river! |
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| A happy little Tuscan town. |
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| Our first view of Pisa! |
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| The baptistry. (Not sure how to spell that one but you get the point!) |
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| Standing outside the church! We toured inside of there! |
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| The tower... |
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| From this angle it looks straight up and down! |
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| A street down somewhere in Pisa! |
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| The bucket is from long ago when beheadings were more common! |
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| My muscles are going to push it over! Ha ha |
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| The ceiling inside the church! |
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| Looking at the river! |
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| Peter, me, Lexi, Kate and Maura! |
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| Walking back to meet the group! Every view is different! |
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| Mom this one is for you! |
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| The view from our hotel!! |
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