Blogs from Tuscany, Italy, Europe - page 335

Chapter 5 Leaning on a tower Breakfast and left Rome on the 9.46am IC train to Pisa. The train was delayed by 10 minutes,having swapped seats once, they ended up in a compartment with a family (very sweet, well behaved kids and friendly parents). The train took them through Rome’s suburbs, heading north along the Mediterranean, past Cievativiechhia, Cerosetto, Livorno and 3 hours later, they arrived at Pisa Centrale. Maya had been here before and knew a cheap hostel right by the tower, so they headed through the pretty streets, over the bridge and after Martin had changed his shoes, they arrived at the Piazza di Miraculi. First the hostel, Albergo Gronchi (H: a very plain, very decrepit, but very cheap hotel that stays full, with a great view of the Tower. The weak springed beds ... read more

the computer just ate my really great blog... yesterday we went to the pitti palace which has the best celings i have ever seen, carvings turn to paintings. then to the synagouge for a break from crosses, and a pretty place where i understood all the symbolism. then we saw the david, its huge. today was uffsi day... lots of old painting, more crosses, starting to learn the saints... st. sebastian is the one with all the bows sticking out of him... the paintings in france were better taken care of took the day off from gelato... outta time, sorry so short... later... read more

Caren and I are in Lucca right now which is exactly the kind of place we needed and wanted after Turin. It gets visited by enought tourists that people speak at least some enlish and it is very cute and relaxing. It is a tiny little city with lots of big old churches surrounded by a big wall. We walked around the wall this morning and this afternoon we are going to take a bus out to see a villa. We got to empty our memory cards today which is good cause i had already filled up a card and a half. We will probably have to empty them again in Rome and then I don't know how I'm going to get through greece with the limited space until we get back to france. The hostel ... read more

Florence. The city of light, the city of art. The city where the famous dome arches high above cobble streets, and David stands proudly in his piazza. At least his fake, because they removed the original David to a museum where you have to pay a fortune to see him. Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria della Novela, and tons of Renaissance arts and architectures. But instead of experiencing it all, our day started in Villa Medici (c. 1671) in Fiesole. We were so antsy about having done with school work for the day and exploring Florence that was within our sights. From the Villa, we could see the terra cotta color Duomo in a distance, and like Jason described it, we felt like cats with a little fish waving in front of us. "Duomo ... duomo ... ... read more

I flew to Pisa and then took a train to Florence. I stayed here for a few days and met up with my housemate Leigh and his friend. It was the first city I've ever cycled in and despite the crazy Italian drivers this was definitely a highlight of the trip. I went back to Pisa for a few days. From here I also visited the beautiful Gothic town of Lucca. I had enjoyed cycling in Florence so much that I hired a bike here too! ... read more