We got into Florence pretty late last night. We got confused getting on the train in Venice because we couldn't figure out if we had seat assignments or not, but we finally deciphered the ticket and figured out what car and seat we were in. I did some verse memorization and was able to charge my computer a little bit on the train ride. Also did a little bit of sleeping and watched a strange man steal people's seats while they were up. It was kind of comical.
But we got to Florence and it was probably around 930 pm and we struggled to find our hotel until we finally got out a map and located the correct street. We got to the hotel and checked in and it is a nice hotel. Not much of a view (a white wall 5 feet in front of us), but it does have Internet so I can post on here a good bit. Once we had gotten our stuff unloaded we decided that we needed something to eat. By the time we made it back out to the street though, the local restaurant that I thought would be good to get some pizza was closed, so McDonalds in the train station was really our only option. I ordered a number 4 which was basically a burger with tomato and cheese and lettuce and mayo, and they informed us that we could have a Big Mac or a Chicken Sandwich. I took the Big Mac. So much for a choice.
By the time we made it back to the hotel with the food, most of it was cold. But oh well; I was starving. After we finished eating, I checked a few emails and we headed to bed. Mom decided it was best that I got some sleep since I have been burning the candle at both ends since about three days before we left due to several tests I had.
Woke up the next morning around 11 to a nice cold. My sinuses were aching and had a little nasal congestion. I took some DayQuil that Mom had, but my vast knowledge of viral colds tells me that I can only help the symtpoms. Just have to let it run its course. I took a shower and this shower was surprisingly big for an Italian shower. In Venice, I could barely turn in a circle, better yet try and reach down to clean my feet. We got dressed and Mom had decided that we would go to Pisa today.
We headed off the train station but made a quick pit stop at a grocery store that was in between our hotel and the train station. We picked up a loaf of bread, a couple bananas, a chocolate bar and a couple drinks and headed to the train station. Mom got in the long line for train tickets and the train that we needed to take was going to leave in 15 minutes. I thought it might be a good idea if I tried to operate the automatic electronic ticketing machines where there was barely a line. I went over there while she stayed in line and told her that I would see if I could work it. Although I do think myself technologically talented, I could not with confidence buy the ticket, so I left Mom to buy the ticket hoping we would have enough time to make it to the train before it left.
We did make it to the train fine and this train did not have assigned seating so that was less confusing. We then ate our food and enjoyed the one hour train ride to Pisa. However, our joy would cease as the ticket collector guy came and saw our ticket and saw that we had not "validated" our ticket. To those who are not familiar with ticket validation, Mom and I have come to the conclusion that it is just a way to get 5 more Euros from stupid tourists. You are supposed to take a ticket that you just bought and slide it into some yellow machine located in the most remote spots of the station and it stamps it with a time. The collector saw we had not validated us and wrote us a ticket. Lame.
We got off the train and Mom knew of a Pizzeria that was very good and she remembered it from her childhood. However, we ended up not being able to find it. So instead we got on with our walk and followed our map to the Duomo and the Leaning Tower. We were able to take some streets that did not have cars on them but lots of places to shop so that was cool. We stopped at a shop to have a cappuccino and then headed on. We came upon the complex and they were both beautiful buildings. For those that do not know what the Duomo is, it is the church in which the Leaning Tower is its belltower.
Mom and I spent some time talking about how it was very interesting that if the Leaning Tower had never decided to "lean" then there was not much reason for people to come to Pisa. The Duomo is an amazing building and very beautiful, but there are churches in plenty other places in Florence and Venice and other parts of Italy. And of course everyone is obsessed with the Tower and pays little attention to the church. The grasses in the complex are so green and there are signs everywhere saying Keep Off the Grass, but tourists obviously are quick to violate these rules so they can do the typical tourist picture of "Holding Up the Tower." I decided to pass on that pose.
Mom and I found the ticket office and bought the 2 Euro each tickets for the Duomo and I coughed up the 15 Euros to walk up the Tower. I could understand if they charged us to take an elevator, but we are the ones doing the work, you think it would be cheaper. Anyways, we read the Rick Steve's tour book of aspects of the Duomo and it made looking inside the Duomo much more enjoyable. Saw an amazingly built pulpit and mosaics and a lantern in which Galileo had observed the actions of pendulums. Then my appointment had come to go up in the Tower.
They let 30 people go every 30 minutes to the top. I figured half way up the Tower that I wanted to know how many steps it was, but it was too late to count so I pledged to do it on the way down. The steps to the top were in a spiral staircase with a low bridge, so I spent most of my time crouched over. We got to the top where there are four or five bells and then I took a smaller staircase to the very top where I took some picture of the Duomo and the surrounding Italian countryside. It was very beautiful. We got to spend about 10-15 minutes at the top and then we made our way down. I counted from the top to the bottom there were 306 steps. Due to old tennis shoes, I almost slipped when I was going down one of the spiral staircases. Luckily it wasn't a slip near the outside railings.
Mom and I left the complex after that and viewed a couple more daring tourists brave enough to get on the grass. It wasn't 10 feet past the complex before we heard the shrill whistle of the police getting onto the people for being on the grass. It was quite amusing how quickly the people scattered. We headed back in the direction of the train station by a different route. We stopped at a place along the way to get a slice of pizza that was delicious.
The pizza here actually seems kind of healthy. It is a thin crust pizza with a very thin slice of cheese and the tomato sauce is not very thick. It is surprisingly packed with flavor though. After we finished the pizza, we walked awhile longer before we found a Gelato that we had read about in the tour book that is known for selling some of the best Gelato in Pisa. We both got a cone for very cheap and headed to the train station.
We had our tickets already so we spied one of the yellow "validator" boxes and got the tickets stamped. Surprisingly enough, no collector came through on this ride. I wanted to make sure that they saw we had stamped it this time. Slept some more on this train ride and was very exhausted when we got back. We headed straight to the hotel and rested for a few minutes. Mom asked me if I felt like going out to a nearby church and even going to the Ponte Vecchio which was a good 20-30 minutes away but I did not think I had it in me. Besides I thought this would be a good time for me to go to a nearby McDonalds, where there were plenty of tables that I would not be kicked off of and do some studying. I convinced Mom that this was the best idea so I headed in that direction.
I know it may seem lame to most to study while you are in Italy, but since I will be getting back on the Monday that school starts back and missing the first day of class back, I would be a week behind if I did not cover the material that we did last week. So there is plenty for me to do on this trip and I just cannot take a week off. I got through a whole day's lecture though and headed back to the hotel. I uploaded some of my photos from the day and added some pictures onto the blogs that I had done previously.
I am fixing to talk to Kristie for a bit on Facebook and then I am headed to bed. Tomorrow we will go and get our tickets for the Accademia and the Uffizi museums that you usually have to get tickets ahead of time for. It is disappointing that they do not allow photography inside the museum because I wanted photographs of some of those paintings. Oh well. Guess I can do without. I am sure we will do a ton of walking tomorrow, so I hope that my body has picked up on this cold and started to get rid of it. Hope to have great stories for tomorrow!!
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