I am blogging from the train this morning on the way to Venice. Yesterday I had no class as usual on Fridays, so three of my roommates and I decided to wake up early and travel to Lucca and Pisa for the day. We walked to the train station and just made the train on time by a few seconds. Taking trains in Europe is so easy, cheap, and convenient. The train took us right outside the famous walls of Lucca. We walked through a tunnel to get into the city. I forgot how beautiful Lucca is! There is a wall that surrounds the quaint town. It wasn't as crowded as Florence always is in the afternoon.
The first thing we decided to do was get lunch at a cafe in one of the squares. I decided to get another caprese salad, which was different from the one I enjoyed the first day, but just as delicious. The next thing we decided to do was to bike around the top of the wall. We found a small bicycle shop and found two person bikes. We decided to pair off and take these instead of our own individual bikes. These bikes reminded me of the ones in Disney on the boardwalk. This was probably the funnest thing I have done yet here in Italy! You could see the whole city on your right, and on your left you could see the beautiful Tuscan countryside all while riding a ridiculous looking bike. It took us only thirty minutes to get around the whole perimeter of the city (just goes to show how small Lucca is). In the end it only cost us 2.50 euros each!
After biking we decided to go back to a gelateria that we passed on the way and decided to come back to. Instead of getting gelato I decided to get a "granita" which basically is crushed ice mixed with different flavorings. They also have these in Florence, but it was my first time trying it. I got strawberry and lemon, which tasted like lemonade. It was delicious and the perfect snack for the heat.
After this, we continued to wander around the streets of Lucca and explore the city. It is small, so we were able to see most of the buildings and squares. It was nice to just be outside in the sun enjoying the beautiful city.
After we had done all we wanted to do in Lucca, we walked back over to the train station to catch a train to Pisa. The train took us there in about an hour and once we arrived we walked down the main busy street and across the river to get to the Leaning Tower. Once we were there we took some pictures and sat on the grass for awhile to enjoy the view. It surprised me how well they keep the tower, it almost doesn't look real.
We then walked back to the train station to catch a train back to Florence. It was nice to have seen more of Pisa, and it was defiantly worth the stop.
When we got back to Florence one of my roommates that had tracked how far we had walked told us we walked over 12 miles! I was surprised we walked that far, but I could definitely tell by how sore my feet and dirty my flip flops were. For the rest of the night I tried researching more cities that I want to visit during my other free long weekends. For the last weekend that I am here my roommates and I booked extremely cheap flights to Paris and London already. I am excited to see Paris again, have a different experience, and to show my roommates around London as best as I can remember from the fall. Florence is pretty centrally located so it is great that you can go almost anywhere in Europe for very cheap! I am definitely trying to take advantage of being able to visit these places while I can.
My study abroad program planned the overnight Venice trip for this weekend and a day trip to Siena for next weekend. I am trying to fill the rest of the weekends up with more places to go, so any suggestions would be great! I am thinking I would definitely like to visit Naples (maybe Pompeii if there is time), Chianti, and Milan. I would also like to go to the beach in Cinque Terre. My two roommates that are cousins said that you can rent a nice beach chair and lay out on the sand.
I have also been researching the sites in Florence that I would like to visit during the week. I already have a pretty long list, and I am hoping to see everything before I leave. The school I am going to also has activities planned that you can sign up for almost every weekday, such as wine tastings and another cooking class, that I am going to take full advantage of. I will post the pictures from Lucca and Pisa and will blog about my first day in Venice tonight. XOXO
-> Mommy and Daddy: text me when you are able to Skype. Maybe when I get back from Venice Sunday night?