The other day the school took us on yet another trip. This time to Pisa and Lucca. Two cities not far from Florence. Once we got to Pisa, it was suprisingly sunny for a fieldtrip day. Usually we find ourselves just short of hypothermia in the freezing rain, but this particular day, we instead were able to catch fleeting glimpses of sun.
Pisa was an amazing place to visit. There was shop after shop after trinket-filled shop of wonderfully cheap items. A true mecca of touristy goodness. There were leaning mugs, “real” leather purses, miniature replicas of Piazza Dei Miracoli (one of which I now own), badly composed postcards, I HEART ITALIA-wear in every imaginable color, and more scarves than winter in Finland. (Two of which i also own as they were exceedingly cheap!)
There were, of course, other things to look at, such as the Leaning Tower itself. My friends and I proceeded to take the required touristy pictures of ourselves in front of the tower. Ones leaning on the Tower. Ones holding up the tower. Pushing over the tower. Karate-chopping the tower. Roundhouse-kicking the tower, and a million other variations of the same person-and-tower duo. It was quite fun. Also our teacher, Antionetta, treated us to coffee and a pastry, after which we were free to wander for a bit. This, of course, gave me opportunity to take pictures of the tower at nearly every angle possible to show off its varying degrees of leaningness.
After a while we all re-boarded the bus and headed off to Lucca. It was a very small town, sparklingly decorated with blinking icicle lights draped overhead at almost every street. There we spent time in a market in one of the squares, where I bought a hat, found some of the most adorable bunnies and tiny turtles ever, and looked through the world’s second largest collection of cheap scarves! Also, a group of us went and ate lunch in L’Anfiteatro or Amphitheater which has now been turned into housing, and ascended a very tall tower to discover one of THE most breathtaking views ever.
After that, the day was pretty much done, and we were all tired and complaining about our sore feet. So that was Tuesday for you.
…In other news, it has, over the past day and half, become so cold that I have recently begun remain fully clad in both jacket and scarf from the moment I throw off my covers, until the moment I must change into pajamas. I have yet to see my breath in our room, but I’ll bet that time comes tomorrow morning. Sometimes I even snuggle my laptop for warmth or set it on top of a pillow just to heat it up…
Fun times in Italy!!!
Posted December 10, 2009 at 4:05pm
