Now, for those of you like me who tend to commence packing a week in advance simply because it takes you that long to convince yourself you haven't forgotten anything, the thought of packing for a 4-day vacation that you leave for in just a few hours is a bit daunting. I mean, I still had laundry to do just to have clean socks, and you know how long our laundry system takes... But my excitement for spur-of-the-moment adventure overrode my fear of forgetting something important, so I took on the challenge and had 3 loads of laundry done by the time Shane got home from a meeting the next day. That's when he informed me that we had tickets for the train leaving in 1 1/2 hours. What! I forgot to say that I also like to leave a clean house behind when going on vacation, and this time it just wasn't possible. I did at least get our beds made and the dishes washed.
We boarded our train and discovered that Ryan, Jane, and Kristin were only three compartments down from us. We wished we could sit with them instead of the Asian woman and man in our compartment. By the middle of the trip we were really wishing that when the man opened his mouth to answer his cell phone. Within seconds, the entire compartment was filled with a horridly sour, almost sewer-like stench...from his breath! You think I'm exaggerating, but it was so bad Shane had to discreetly put his face in his shirt, and I'm pretty sure I gagged once or twice. This was a 3 hour trip to endure. Blessedly for her, the other girl slept the whole way.
Once in Florence, we actually had to catch a smaller train to get into the heart of the city, which involved running up and down stairs, missing the first train, and hopping on a second one just before it departed. This all kind of put me in a bad mood, because I was the only one with a rolling suitcase rather than a backpack. How was I supposed to know there would be 4 sets of stair races?!
Ryan, Shane and I found our hostel and agreed to meet the girls for dinner later, as they had different lodging. I was disappointed they weren't staying with us. We ended up going to a quaint little restaurant with good food and a friendly waitress, where we took our time eating and socializing. I was so happy to finally be around girls! It's a rare opportunity these days.
After eating the girls went home and we went on a picture mission of the bridge.
I love Florence. The main streets are touristy and fairly wide, but when lit up at night they have a strange, quiet peacefulness about them, like how snow muffles sound. I wish I could live there instead of Milan. (But that's why travelling is so nice, right?)
Our hostel was nice but nothing special. It consisted of a twin bed and a king bed...which we discovered was actually two twin beds pushed together. Normally this would be fine....you each technically have your own bed and plenty of space. But, read on. The bedding on this "bed" was appalling in it's scarcity. It consisted of a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and the thinnest bedspread ever--made for a twin bed! The "fix-it" technique was to turn it sideways to cover both beds...but it only came up to the waist! Eh, no problem really. Shane and I had our own travel sleeping bags that were quite warm. So I gave the extra blanket meant for our bed to Ryan, whose noisy cot looked a bit sparse as well. In hindsight, I regret that generosity, because my little sleeping bag and a sheet did not do the trick. What made this problem worse came when we discovered that during the night, the two beds slowly trundled their way apart. Once again, normally this would have been fine, but try sharing bedding while this is happening. It gives new meaning to the phrase "stealing the blankets."
"Honey, you stole all the blankets last night."
"Well, no, actually the crack stole them. I never had any."
I might be exaggerating a bit, but it really was annoying, as it pulled my fitted sheet off, left me with inadequate, crooked blankets, and opened a crack wide enough to swallow me during the night. It didn't help that Shane slept on the far edge of his bed, dragging the covers with him. I couldn't help but long for my warm comforters in America, which are big enough for three people but are all for me. (I have to admit it's the one thing I dread about married life--having to share my covers.) Meanwhile, cozy Ryan and oblivious Shane snored loudly in peaceful slumber as I shivered and shook my way through the night.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Sadly for me, we couldn't get ahold of Jane and Kristin. Turns out that dinner the night before was the one and only time we saw them the whole weekend. :( We spent our day sightseeing, visiting the Uffizi art museum (first attraction we've paid for) and climbing the steps to the top of the duomo (second attraction we've paid for). The museum housed hundreds of paintings by famous artists, as well as what had to be hundreds of naked men and topless women statues. That really gets old after a while. Weren't clothes already in style back then? I have to admit I got a little bored at this museum, as it's just not really my type of art. Although it was fun seeing a few paintings I'd studied in History of World Art class. I snapped a few illegal pictures of those.
The climb to the top of the Duomo was exhausting yet hilarious, as all you could hear was the echo of panting and helpless gasps of fatigue coming from unseen tourists both above and below you. Not meant for those with heart disease or claustrophobia.
The climb was totally worth it though. We were lucky enough to get there when the sun was setting, and the view was gorgeous.
For supper we went to an aperitivo situated right beside the river. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and romantic, right down to the candles on the table and the huge windows to take in the view. Ryan was embarrassing by busting out his huge TRIPOD and camera to take pictures of everything from our food to the other guests sipping drinks. So much for peaceful and romantic. But I'm sure he got some great pictures, and I'll probably be jealous.
The food was the opposite of the bill--small. Apparently it was fancy enough to not believe in large bowls of help-yourself-pasta. Instead they served bite-sized selections of quiche, tortellini, fresh vegetables, and seafood. That's one thing I hate about being here, is not knowing what I'm eating half the time. I ate a really good ball of something I thought was vegetarian, then found out it was a crab cake. Since I claim to be 75% vegetarian, only eating chicken and occasionally turkey, this revelation grossed me out. Also, they put pork or ham in everything. Nevertheless, I ate my fill of what I could and was able to leave happy.
The rest of our time in Florence consisted of minor sightseeing and another aperitivo, where I accidentally ate squid, or something equally nauseating.
We walked along the river...
...and I saw a painting that I loved. Don't ever show your interest though. That hand holding the painting belonged to the painter who was in the process of haggling me over buying it so much that I finally just walked away. Too bad though; he offered it to me for 15 Euro. I probably would have been willing to pay 5, since we're kinda broke. Some day I'll come back with money and decorate my house with gorgeous Italian art.
We opted to take off early Sunday morning to stop in Pisa before heading back to Milan. Not much to see besides the tower, but we had fun taking cliche touristy pictures and eating at a little snack shop before catching the train home. (I don't have pictures edited of Pisa yet, but they'll come soon.)
Our next adventure begins this Friday and lasts for a week! Destination: Paris and Barcelona. I'm excited to be going to Spain, a new country I've never been to before. This time we are also flying instead of taking a train. Hopefully it works out well.
For those of you who don't have a Facebook, I am in the process of uploading all my travel pictures to a photobucket account. Hopefully I can finish it within the next couple days and post the link to it in my next blog.
Also for the non-Facebook users unable to see my announcements, if you would like to receive automatic emails of my new blogs, email me at ashelle_troyer@hotmail.com with your email address and I will add you to the list. :)
