The second week of February was extremely cold. It seemed like every person I knew had some sort of cold. When the weekend came around, my friends and I were trying to figure out what we should do and we decided to go to Pisa. It’s actually ridiculous how inexpensive it is to go some places. It was only 7 euro to go to Pisa for the day….cheaper to take a date to the movies. So we all packed a backpack in case we wanted to sleepover, and casually hopped on a train to Pisa.
When we got there we had no idea where the Leaning Tower (Torre di Pisa) was. After some wandering and asking directions we stumbled upon it. It was incredible, I don’t understand how it can lean at a 10 degree angle and still be standing. My friends and I walked around and took the typical tourist pictures holding up the tower. In the same area there is a gorgeous church that doesn’t get much attention because of the tower. After the photo shoot we purchased our tickets to climb the tower. A bit pricey..15 euro but “When in Pisa”. (Those sayings are how most of my money gets spent, we’re all trying to be as conservative as possible but it’s hard when you’re in these beautiful cities and want to see all they have to offer.) It was almost 300 steps to the top and the further up we went, the more you could feel the lean. The view from the top was BELLISSIMA! You could see the entire city of Pisa with all the mountains on the outskirts of town.
After about an hour in the tower, we popped in and out of stores to stay out of the cold. There isn’t much else to see in Pisa so we all tried to figure out if we should stay the night in Pisa, go back to Florence, or take a trip somewhere else. A few of the people in the group went back to Florence but seven of us decided…why not go to Siena? So for 8 euro we bought a ticket and went to Siena. (I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to the real world… who gets to randomly go to Siena for a night)
When we arrived in Siena we realized we had no idea where to stay, it was past 9 o clock and there weren’t many people in the train station. By the grade of God, my friend Bryce asked an Italian man where we could find a hostel. The guys name was Robert, and he ended up being our tour guide of Siena. Oddly enough, he worked at a five star hotel, and ended up getting us three rooms for an incredibly low price. We all had thoughts going through our head like.. why is he being so nice to us.. where is he taking us… are we about to die? It was the greatest idea ever to go with him though because he gave us the ultimate hook up. That night we all went to Piazza del Campo which is (according to all the tourist books we’ve read) the most beautiful piazza in all of Italy. Personally, I would agree. It also happened to be snowing and everything was covered. We ended up playing and dancing in the snow all night…which explains why I woke up with a fever, but I would do it all again and live with another week of sickness.
The next day Robert made us all an amazing breakfast, and showed us around the city. He said he loved practicing his English and hanging out with Americans because we were “loud and fun.” How stereotypical of us… After touring around the city (which was gorgeous) we headed back to Florence. Every time my friends and I go on a trip, we all have a great time and are amazed by the beauty and culture every city has; but, every place makes us fall more in love with Florence. I am so thankful I chose to study abroad here.
Kelsie – University of South Carolina
