We had been waking up so late for the past week that we had forgotten how painful it is to wake up so early. But it was a tast that must be done! We got dressed, jumped in the car, and drove to the nearest train station. We boarded the train and road all the way to Florance (a good hour ride).
Once there, it didnt look much different from the other bigger citys we have been to, besides the fact that there were huge street markets everywhere you went. We strode through them, trying to not look the venders in the eyes. Once you do, its like their a tiger pouncing on their prey. Once we made our way through one, we ended up in front of the statue of David (a famous statue made my Michaelangelo). After taking a couple pictures, we made our way to the reservation line for the Uffizi museum. After an airport security type deal, we walked for atleast an houre through a countless number of halls looking at hundreds of paintings. By the time we left, we had seen enough art to last a lifetime.
We had a delicious lunch, shopped for several more hours, boarded the train, and headed back home.
It was a great last day sight seeing, we werent very happy to leave.
Tomorrow is our last day here. The only thign we will be doing is cleaning and packing. We leave the next day really early so we're gonna try our hardest to get to be early tomorrow night. So, this means this is the last blog entry. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures here in Italy. It was a wonderful ytip of a lifetime that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
Next time... Austrailia?
See you soon, Washington. <3
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Day 18: Beach Day!
Nothing much to report today-
Since we had run out of places to see, we all decided to hit the beach one last time before we go home.
The weather was pefect, and our attitudes were great. We were determined to make our last beach visit count.
With even darker skin than we arrived with, we headed back home to have a good nights rest for our last sight seeing day the next day.
Watch out Florance, here we come!
Since we had run out of places to see, we all decided to hit the beach one last time before we go home.
The weather was pefect, and our attitudes were great. We were determined to make our last beach visit count.
With even darker skin than we arrived with, we headed back home to have a good nights rest for our last sight seeing day the next day.
Watch out Florance, here we come!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Day 17:San Gimignano and Volttera
Boy, are we early rises or what! Not. We left the house around 2, so we knew we wouldnt have much time at each stop. Today was the last day for seeing old citys and such, and there were only 2 citys left on our list. San Gimignano and Volterra.
San Gimignano was known for being super touristy, so we expected loads of people when we walked in. It met our expectations. The roads were crowded with tourists, and the sun was blazing hot. We walked around aimlesly through the crowds until we found a restraunt of our liking. Guess what we had? Pasta and pizza. Not a surprise there! After lunch, we entered the museum of torture (leaving mom behind, she didnt like the sound of the place) and saw some things that i could have gone my whole life without seeing. One of Reece's favroite forms was being strapped down and covered in sea salt water to have a really thirsty goat lick a spot so many times that your skin would ware away until you saw bone. Gross. I, how ever, hated it and will never return to a place involving toture.
After San Gimignano, we headed to Volterra, a cute city on the top of a mountain. Volterra literally means "land that floats" because the clouds hover right below it, making it appear to be floating (althought people cant see it from the ground because of the clods blocking the view). When my mom told me we were going there, something clicked in my head. Wasnt that the place New Moon (the second movie to the movie twilight) was filmed? Turns out I was right. If your not a fan of the sparkly vampire movies, dont bother reading this next part: A part of New Moon was filmed in Volterra (remember the Volterri? Makes sense now!). I stood in the plaza where Bella had run across to save Edward from exposing himself to the humans. Cool, huh?
It was an hour and a half ride back, in which we spent most of the time singing along to the CD our home exchange family had left us.
Since we spent the day walking around, tomorrow is our relax day and we will be spending it at the beach.
San Gimignano was known for being super touristy, so we expected loads of people when we walked in. It met our expectations. The roads were crowded with tourists, and the sun was blazing hot. We walked around aimlesly through the crowds until we found a restraunt of our liking. Guess what we had? Pasta and pizza. Not a surprise there! After lunch, we entered the museum of torture (leaving mom behind, she didnt like the sound of the place) and saw some things that i could have gone my whole life without seeing. One of Reece's favroite forms was being strapped down and covered in sea salt water to have a really thirsty goat lick a spot so many times that your skin would ware away until you saw bone. Gross. I, how ever, hated it and will never return to a place involving toture.
After San Gimignano, we headed to Volterra, a cute city on the top of a mountain. Volterra literally means "land that floats" because the clouds hover right below it, making it appear to be floating (althought people cant see it from the ground because of the clods blocking the view). When my mom told me we were going there, something clicked in my head. Wasnt that the place New Moon (the second movie to the movie twilight) was filmed? Turns out I was right. If your not a fan of the sparkly vampire movies, dont bother reading this next part: A part of New Moon was filmed in Volterra (remember the Volterri? Makes sense now!). I stood in the plaza where Bella had run across to save Edward from exposing himself to the humans. Cool, huh?
It was an hour and a half ride back, in which we spent most of the time singing along to the CD our home exchange family had left us.
Since we spent the day walking around, tomorrow is our relax day and we will be spending it at the beach.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Day 16: Cinque Terre-Episode 2!
Once again, we woke up early with one thing in mind- the beautiful Cinque Terre. Its moms favorite stop so far, but we hadnt seen all of it yet, and we were determined to see it all.
We started our day with an hour and 15 minute drive to the train station, then took the train to a part of Cinque Terre, and started our hike to a part that we had not seen before. This hike was suppose to be more difficult then the first one we did there, but we thought it was a tad bit easier. The beginning was insane! We climbed up what seemed like hundreds of stairs in the burning heat, hardly ever stopping to take some breaks. After the first part was done, it was a little easier. But it was still super hot!
After the hike we went straight to, you guessed it, the sea. We had an idea to rent kayaks, but when we got there we saw a pedal boat with a slide off the back. Who could pass that up? We rented it and rode out into the sea. As dad would say, the sea was rough that day my friend. It was bumpy and we were thrown back and fourth. I found out quickly that i get motion sickness pretty bad. So we used up the rest of our time and came in quickly.
We took a lunch break in the park (although it wasnt really lunch considering it was 5:30) in the shade. We fed our left overs to the birds and ants (there was a bird that had twine around it legs and couldnt move very well, we felt sorry for it and fed it more then the other birds) and headed to the train station after a quick stop at a gelato place (of course).
We boarded the train, drove home, and now we're all exhausted and ready for bed. The home sickness is spreading quickly as we talk to the care takers of our pets, family, and friends. Italy is beautiful, but theres no place like home. I'm sure we'll have NO problem loving the rest of our time here though! :)
Until tomorrow!
We started our day with an hour and 15 minute drive to the train station, then took the train to a part of Cinque Terre, and started our hike to a part that we had not seen before. This hike was suppose to be more difficult then the first one we did there, but we thought it was a tad bit easier. The beginning was insane! We climbed up what seemed like hundreds of stairs in the burning heat, hardly ever stopping to take some breaks. After the first part was done, it was a little easier. But it was still super hot!
After the hike we went straight to, you guessed it, the sea. We had an idea to rent kayaks, but when we got there we saw a pedal boat with a slide off the back. Who could pass that up? We rented it and rode out into the sea. As dad would say, the sea was rough that day my friend. It was bumpy and we were thrown back and fourth. I found out quickly that i get motion sickness pretty bad. So we used up the rest of our time and came in quickly.
We took a lunch break in the park (although it wasnt really lunch considering it was 5:30) in the shade. We fed our left overs to the birds and ants (there was a bird that had twine around it legs and couldnt move very well, we felt sorry for it and fed it more then the other birds) and headed to the train station after a quick stop at a gelato place (of course).
We boarded the train, drove home, and now we're all exhausted and ready for bed. The home sickness is spreading quickly as we talk to the care takers of our pets, family, and friends. Italy is beautiful, but theres no place like home. I'm sure we'll have NO problem loving the rest of our time here though! :)
Until tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Day 15: Market, Pisa, and Beach
Making sure to get up early enough this time, we got up and drive to the local market. Mom was excited to see what the locals had to offer, and we all hoped it was something worth waking up earlier then usual for. It turned out to be quite small, but really cute. They had all set up little tents, displayed their stuff on the outside of them. On one end, there was a vegetable and fruit market and on the other side there was a clothing/accessories/house items. We looked around a bit and finally left with just one thing- A cute yellow dress for me! Thanks mom!
Our next stop was Pisa. Of course, we traveled there for one main reason. The leaning tower. When we entered, the streets were lined with venders selling souvenirs and cute accessories (i got a cute bag to match my dress of course). As we got closer and closer to the tower, we noticed at least 20 people standing on cement cylinders taking the famous "I'm holding up the leaning tower of Pisa so it wont fall" picture. We also saw other people getting creative and pretending to push the tower, hug the tower, and even carry the tower! After watching some people for a while, we tried our hand at our tourist picture. They turned out pretty good. (Look at the side of the page for the pictures)
After sitting in the shade of the tower and watching the tourists walk by, we headed back to our car; on the road again. Since it was so hot, we decided to hit the beach once again. We drove to our favorite beach and layed out our belongings on the burning hot sand. We immediately hopped in the ocean and were cooled down instantly by the refreshing water. As soon as we were cooled off, we noticed that the waves were legitimately bigger then last time we were there. Reece got out his boogie board and rode wave after wave into shore. As the waves got bigger, we had to keep moving our things farther and farther back from the shore line... our things almost got taken away to sea at least 3 times!
Sand in our hair and salt on our skin, we headed back home for another great dinner and nights rest.
We're all looking forward to going back to moms favorite place tomorrow; Cinque Terre.
Our next stop was Pisa. Of course, we traveled there for one main reason. The leaning tower. When we entered, the streets were lined with venders selling souvenirs and cute accessories (i got a cute bag to match my dress of course). As we got closer and closer to the tower, we noticed at least 20 people standing on cement cylinders taking the famous "I'm holding up the leaning tower of Pisa so it wont fall" picture. We also saw other people getting creative and pretending to push the tower, hug the tower, and even carry the tower! After watching some people for a while, we tried our hand at our tourist picture. They turned out pretty good. (Look at the side of the page for the pictures)
After sitting in the shade of the tower and watching the tourists walk by, we headed back to our car; on the road again. Since it was so hot, we decided to hit the beach once again. We drove to our favorite beach and layed out our belongings on the burning hot sand. We immediately hopped in the ocean and were cooled down instantly by the refreshing water. As soon as we were cooled off, we noticed that the waves were legitimately bigger then last time we were there. Reece got out his boogie board and rode wave after wave into shore. As the waves got bigger, we had to keep moving our things farther and farther back from the shore line... our things almost got taken away to sea at least 3 times!
Sand in our hair and salt on our skin, we headed back home for another great dinner and nights rest.
We're all looking forward to going back to moms favorite place tomorrow; Cinque Terre.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Day 14: Monsum Anno
Despite our last few days of relaxing, we all had a late start once again. By the time we all woke up and were out the door, it was 1pm. We headed down to where the market was, just to found out, to our disappointment, that it was closing down. So, in other words, our plans were canceled... and we didnt know what to do next. After a couple minutes of discussing what our next plan of action was, we decided to head on over to the nearest town, Monsum Anno. It was very quiet, and the only people wandering the streets besides us were other tourists. All the stores were closed down for siesta, so it was hard to find somewhere to eat for lunch. We ended up stopping at a kebab place, and we had a wonderful lunch there. Tummys full, we got back in our car and drove to the nearest grocery store. By the end of our shopping trip, our cart was full with what we hoped was the stuff we were looking for, payed, and left.
We all promised ourselves that tomorrow we will NOT have a late start.
Its time to get down to business and get some serious tourists stuff checked off our list.
Util tomorrow! Chao!
We all promised ourselves that tomorrow we will NOT have a late start.
Its time to get down to business and get some serious tourists stuff checked off our list.
Util tomorrow! Chao!
Day 13: Lucca and the beach
Since we spent most of yesterday relaxing and re-energizing, we were more then ready to hit the streets of Lucca... A beautiful city surrounded by a tall wall. As soon as we walked in the huge door, we followed the locals and all the other tourists and rented some bikes for an hour. With Reece and dad on their two-seater and me and mom on your separate bikes, we rode along the walls edge, which was made into a park. The path was lined with huge shady trees, and the breeze was just right. We rode around the whole wall (which took about 30 minutes) and once through the city back to our starting spot. After returning the bikes, our new plan was to walk until we found gelato. This plan didnt last long, because after walking only a block we came across a gelato place. We finished our gelato's, and walked back through the huge door and back to our car.
It was so hot, but we werent ready to go home for the day. So, in a desperate attempt to stay cool, we drove to the beach. This time, we decided to keep it cheap, and went to the free side. The water was just perfect and the waves were rolling in just big enough so Reece could use his boogie board. After spending the rest of the day there, we were sandy, salty, and ready to go home again.
We're looking forward to another wonderful day tomorrow.
Goodnight, Washington.
It was so hot, but we werent ready to go home for the day. So, in a desperate attempt to stay cool, we drove to the beach. This time, we decided to keep it cheap, and went to the free side. The water was just perfect and the waves were rolling in just big enough so Reece could use his boogie board. After spending the rest of the day there, we were sandy, salty, and ready to go home again.
We're looking forward to another wonderful day tomorrow.
Goodnight, Washington.
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