Mi Nuevo Amor: Italia (Part 2: Florence & Pisa)

Hello, again!

Here's Part 2 of my time in Italy, starting with my arrival in Florence.

We got to Florence at about 9P on Saturday night. After getting a little lost (who knew Florence had TWO train stations??), we made it to our hostel. Our hostel was super nice. We were in a 6 person room, but we had a private bathroom for our room (rather than sharing a bathroom with the whole floor). The hostel also had a restaurant/bar, which we ate at on Saturday night, since we were too tired to go hunt for other food.

Dinner on Saturday night, salad with artichoke hearts. yummm.

Sunday:

Sunday we woke up and decided to rent bikes for the day. The hostel we were staying at (Plus Florence) actually had a travel agency working with it, so we just had to go down to the agency's desk (which was in the hostel's lobby) to rent bikes. Really easy! 15 euros for the whole day.

We started our day at a big market. 

Amanda, Kaley, me

Navigating.

We biked to a cathedral (Opera di Santi Maria del Fiore) which was this pink and blue building (complete with a dome!) in the middle of the city. We climbed up to the top of the bell tower and saw some great views. I didn't realize until this trip that Florence is sitting in a valley in between a bunch of mountain ranges, and it was cool to see all of the mountains from the top of the cathedral.

After the cathedral, we biked to the museum where the famous David is. However, the line outside was really long, and we decided we'd prefer to just keep biking around the city. So we didn't get to see David, but I think it was worth it to not spend 1/+ hours in line.

Had lunch at a place recommended by the guide book (thanks again, Laur and Pat!) It might not look good, but it was delicious! It was mushrooms with the restaurants most popular dish, a meatloaf-type thing. Idk. The waitress described it to us as beef stuffed with chicken and veggies. Really really good. 

We biked all over the city, saw some great architecture and churches. Then we crossed the river that kind of borders the city center and starting biking through a hillier area of Florence. We wanted to try to bike out to the countryside, but we figured out that the countryside was a little to far to bike to. So instead we just went on a short ride. We ended our ride on top of a hill that overlooked the entire city, and watched the sunset with a bottle of wine and live music.

View of Florence. Cathedral on left (with big red dome) has bell tower that we climbed.

After the sunset, we biked back to the hostel and got ready for dinner.

Amanda and I split a Florentine steak, which we'd heard about a lot and HAD to try before leaving. It was really good! 

Had some veggies with my steak. 

Monday:

On Monday we got up early to go on a tour called The Grape Escape, which was also run by the travel agency that worked through my hostel. We got on a bus at 10A and headed out to the countryside (to Chianti and San Gimignano) to tour vineyards and taste wines.

At the first winery, we had a very friendly Italian guy teach us the proper way to taste and try wine.

The first wine tasting. 

HUGE wine glasses to maximize the tasting experience

At the first winery, we tried about 5 different wines, two types of olive oil, and a balsamic vinegar. All were REALLY good.

At the second vineyard, went on a tour to learn about how wine is made!

Looks like typical machines on a chemical plant. maybe I'll just use my degree to work on a vineyard...?

View from the second vineyard

We got lunch at the second vineyard! Also got to try more wines.

After the second tasting, we went into the town center of San Gimignano to have world champion gelato!

We got rained on in San Gimignano :(

After getting home and drying off (we all got soaked in the rain!), we headed out to our last dinner in Italy.

We all split an antipasti: cheese (I forget which kind) with truffle honey and greens. Really good!

Amanda and I split two dishes: piper fish with zucchini and mushrooms and a dish with beef. 

Ended the meal with cheesecake, probably the best I've ever had.

Tuesday:
Tuesday morning we woke up and checked out of our hostel, then headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Pisa, where we'd be catching a flight back "home" to Sevilla.

We got to Pisa at around 1P, and had lunch at a place near the tower.

Mixed veggies. 

Gnocchi with pesto, split with Amanda

Mixed smoked fish, might look unappetizing (especially to you, Russ!) but it was REALLLY GOOD. It's fun to try new and weird things :)

The leaning tower was actually built to be the cathedral for this church. Little did they know, its foundation was on unstable soil (hence, the lean). It looks so out of place next to the other normal buildings. 

After our mini photoshoot in front of the tower, we caught a city bus back to the airport and then headed back to Sevilla, arriving late on Tuesday night.

I absolutely loved Italy. I preferred Rome over Florence, even though Rome was AMAZING, but Florence was even more amazing. Although Rome had all of the amazing sights, I loved the feel of Florence. I loved riding bikes through the winding streets of the city and watching the sunset on a hill. I absolutely fell in love with Florence.

I learned some cool things on this trip that I want to share with you:
1. Having a travel book is REALLY helpful (thanks again, Luckeys!).
2. Riding bikes is a great way to see more of a city. I feel like we saw way more than we would have if we had been walking in Florence. Plus it's more fun :)
3. Sharing food is a great way to try a lot of things. I split dishes at almost every restaurant we went to, which was awesome because it meant I could try a bunch of different things.
4. On a less happy note.. .pickpocketing is for real - Gabi got her wallet stolen out of her purse at the metro station in Rome. Something to be aware of, I guess.
5. Taking advantage of tours is a really great way to maximize the experience! I got way more out of the Vatican City tour than I would have if my friends and I had gone in on our own. Also, the touristy double-deckers are actually really helpful, because as you drive through the city, a guide tells you about the history behind what you're driving past. Which you wouldn't get if you were just walking.

You might be wondering about food - I absolutely loved everything I had. Every dish was AMAZING. Everything tasted so fresh, especially vegetables. I didn't eat nearly as much pasta and pizza as I thought I would because I was too busy eating the meat and vegetables. And although Spanish food is really good too, I think I prefer Italian.

I've also decided to go back to Italy when my school semester is over (before returning to the US) because I loved it so much. I'm thinking I'll go somewhere south, maybe Sicily. If you have any recommendations for where to go (I'll be there for Christmas), let me know!

Thanks for listening. :)

Mi Nuevo Amor: Italia (Part 1: Roma)

Ciao, everyone!

I went to Italy last weekend. I left on Wednesday night (10/10) and returned Tuesday night (10/16). 6 wonderful days. 

We started in Rome. We stayed in Hostel Alessandro for three nights. It cost about 75 euros per person for all 3 nights (borato!). The hostel was a little more hostel-y than the one we stayed at in Barcelona. Barcelona's hostel was very new and pretty. This hostel was less-so, and my friends and I (4 of us) were in a room for 8 people. At first, we weren't crazy about it (our first roommates were rather smelly), but by the end, we adjusted. I think Hostel Alessandro was much more of a typical hostel experience.

Thursday:

Ruins at Palatine Hill

On Thursday, we had breakfast at the hostel (3 euros for a buffet: cereal, toast, tea, coffee, fruit, ham/cheese) and then headed out for our first day. We decided to be super tourists and go on one of those double-decker hop-on-hop-off buses, because we felt that would be the best way to see the most things, rather than spending most of our day wandering the city. It was a good idea :) on Thursday, we saw the Colesseum, Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and other lesser-known spots. 

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Gabi, Amanda, me Kaley

Ruins at Roman Forum

Palatine Hill - buildings where the wealthy Romans used to live

Kaley and me on the double decker #tourists. also, it was very sunny.

Palatine Hill

After we saw the Colosseum, we wanted to get some lunch at a place that my wonderful uncle John recommended (Nerone), but it was closed for siesta. So we decided to have a small lunch, that way we could save our appetites and come back for a big dinner at Nerone later. I split a sandwich called a Spongbol with Kaley, soooo good. It had proscuit (delicious ham), mozzar(ella), melanz (I forget), rucola (lettuce), olio (olive oil). Paired that with a banana to hold me over until dinner :)

After our quick lunch, we headed to the Pantheon, which was a temple built in Rome for Paganism. It was supposed to be a temple to all of their gods. It was impressive! It was basically a huge dome with a big hole in the top, which is the only source of light for the dome.

After that, we hopped back on the tour bus and rode around the rest of the city (we were tired from walking a lot) until the bus dropped us off back near the Colosseum (and Uncle John's recommended restaurant!). We went to Nerone for a nice dinner :)

Ravioli for dinner

Panna cotta for dessert, which was pretty much this chocolate pudding-ish stuff. Really good!

Shot of limoncello, came after our meal. Pretty good! I didn't know it was normal to take a shot of dessert alcohol after meals in Italy. Me gusta :)

Shout out to my wonderful Uncle John and his dinner recommendation. It was delicious! We all loved our meals. Amanda had lamb, Kaley had chicken, and Gabi had fish. And I, of course, had ravioli.

Us with our server at Nerone

Friday:

On Friday, we decided to do a tour of the Vatican City that was advertised through our hostel. The tour cost 30 euros, and included entry to the city and museum (plus we didn't have to wait in a 2 hour line!). The tour didn't start until 1:30P, so we started out our morning by having breakfast at the hostel, then headed out to see the Trevi fountain and have lunch before the tour.

                       

Trevi Fountain

Tossing a coin in!

We had lunch at another spot recommended by my Uncle, called Cafe Capranica.

Started with an antipasti: eggplant, tomato, mozzarella. SOOO GOOD. 

Gnocchi with clams and asparagus. Again, so incredibly delicious. Had that with a glass of white wine :)

Cafe Capranica

Another great meal! Thanks, Uncle John!

After our lunch, we headed over to Vatican City to meet our tour group.

Castle Sant'Angelo - for all my Dan Brown fans, this is THE castle from Angels and Demons. You know.. the bad guys lair. 

We headed into the Vatican Museum first. We were in a tour group of about 30 people, all students around my age. We wore headphones attached to radios and listened to the tour guide as she walked with us and spoke through a microphone. The Vatican Museum was very impressive, lots of sculptures and art. It was HUGE, we spent about 2 hours in it, but I think we could have spent a lot more time. 

In the Vatican Museum. Covered shoulders and knees required.

In St. Peters Basilica, which was WAY bigger than I thought it would be. 

I think the most impressive part of the Vatican City was the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, pictures are prohibited there. And even though I'd heard about the chapel, of course, I didn't realize how big it was, and I didn't realize that the ceilings and walls are literally COVERED in paintings. It was very interesting. It made me especially glad that I went on a tour through the Vatican City because our guide explained what the paintings on the ceilings/walls meant and why they were there, and I think that made me appreciate the awesomeness of the chapel. That Michaelangelo guy was skilled. I'm telling ya.

Swiss Guards of the Vatican City. Intimidating uniforms.

After the Vatican City, the four of us headed back to our hostel, took naps, and got ready to go out for the night. We wanted to go out and have a nice, relaxing dinner.

Me and Amanda before dinner. Also, there are one of the four bunk beds in our hostel room.

We wanted to go to a restaurant recommended to us by the guide book Lauren & Pat gave me (thanks again!) but when we got there, it was packed and had an hour long wait, so we decided to go somewhere else.

I split two dishes with Kaley: veal and lamb. On the left side of the plate is the lamb, the red-sauced meat is the veal. Paired with asparagus, potatos, carrots. 

Me & Kaley. And wine, of course.

Gelato! Mint, chocolate, and stracialetta (I think that's the spelling, it's like chocolate chip)

After dinner, we were walking back to the hostel, unsure of what to do (where do Romans go to party?) when we happened upon a plaza filled with Italian people drinking! And there wasn't a bar or anything, there was just a liquor store where everyone would buy alcohol and then sit outside and drink it. We decided to join. When in Rome, right? We started out with a bottle of champagne and plastic cups, and sat drinking and talking for a few hours.

Cheers!

Sitting on cardboard because the ground was wet. Responsible.

Walking home. Btw - our dresses are wet because we were sitting on wet ground. Just thought I needed to clarify that.

Shout out to my mom and Russ, who had the patience to skype with a less-sober me after we got home on Friday night. :)

Saturday:
Saturday was our last day in Rome. We had to catch a train a 5:30P to head to Florence (Firenze).

We started out our day a little slow, with breakfast and shopping in the morning (we all bought matching sweatshirts! Univ of Roma!) and checked out the Spanish Steps and Plaza Navona.

Plaza Navona, Fountain of Four Rivers. Also - Angels and Demons fans, this is the fountain where (spoiler alert!) the last pope drowns. I was totally geeking out while I was here. There's an obelisk and everything!

Another fountain at Plaza Navona

We found masks in a tourist shop.

We had lunch at a small Italian restaurant near the plaza.

Antipasti: eggplant, zucchini, artichoke heart, mozzarella

Antipasti with different meats (I think salami and ham?), mozz, zucchini, eggplant.

Minestrone for lunch! Very fresh tasting.

Spinach

After lunch, we did more shopping, walked to the Spanish Steps, and then headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage and catch the train to Florence!

Got some pizza before catching the train. The red had salami and was pretty good. The white was DELICIOUS.

Special thanks to Lauren and Pat for the Europe guide book they got me for my birthday. It was SUPER helpful in Rome, I carried it with me everywhere we went. It helped us find restaurants and find/understand the significance of all of the main spots. We'd arrive at a spot (I.E Spanish Steps) and then pull out the guide book to figure out exactly what we were looking at and why it was important. Really helped us to get more out of the experience. Thanks again!

Now I'm going to write my post on Florence. Stay tuned!