Spring Break...Part Two: Pisa, Italia

Pisa, Italy

While Pisa wasn’t originally in our plans for spring break, it turned out to be a pretty good day trip. 

Let me just walk you through it though.

Making it to the Train Station

As usual, we somehow ended up having to sprint to our platform in order to not miss our train despite having have woken up early and catching the bus to the train station at a reasonable time. It’s just not normal if we’re not always running, apparently.

Anyways, we managed to make it to our train right before departure. It was such a close call though, that we didn’t even have seats when it took off. Thankfully, we were able to get situated and I got to sit next to a girl who missed her flight. I thought missing a train would be bad, imagine a flight. She didn’t seem to upset about it though, which I thought was pretty cool cause I would have been totally bummed out had I been her.

Pisa International Airport

Something I found very interesting was the number of people who go to Pisa just to catch a flight from there. Apparently, Pisa has a very large international airport. I found this surprising considering it’s such a small city compared to Florence or Rome. But then again, our flight to Barcelona was leaving from Pisa as well and it was the only one we were able to find so I guess it worked out well. 

Arrival to Pisa

The first thing we did when we made it to Pisa was to buy tickets for the bus that would take us to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:38pm so we had to be at the airport at around 6:30 or so.

After purchasing our tickets, we went on a scavenger hunt to find where we could check in our bags for the day. We finally found the bag check in and made our way for the leaning tower, which was pretty much the only reason we had visited Pisa.

Leaning Tower

We walked through the beautiful streets of Pisa

and about 20 minutes later…boom. There it was.

The amazing leaning tower; it’s a lot more beautiful in person and pictures don’t really capture the level of its lean.

Of course, like everyone there, we took tons of pictures with it. You know…the typical poses: tipping it over,

catching it,

kissing it,

kicking it,

punching it,

leaning on it,

etc.

It was entertaining to see everyone and all their neat poses. Everyone looked absolutely ridiculous; as I’m sure we did too. The pictures were completely worth it though.

Once we were tired of taking pictures, we napped on the grass for about an hour. It was so nice to just lie there and relax. I somehow got an awkward tan though. It was the strangest thing. We also overheard a pretty dramatic conversation between an ex-couple. While it was quite hilarious to hear them, I did feel for the girl. The dude sounded like a complete JERK.

Roaming Around Pisa

When had finally had enough of the leaning tower and about 10 million pictures later in every single part of the piazza,

we finally called it good. We grabbed a bite, bought some souvenirs and found a nice little cafeteria to chill at. We ate some gelato and people watched for a while.

After we got bored of that, we went window shopping…strict window shopping because it was extremely hard for me to not purchase anything. Especially because I found the cutest short overalls ever and the greatest shirt ever! It took every little part of me to contain myself and just say no. It was awful. That’s when we realized the struggle was real and decided to just head to the airport.

Waiting at the Wrong Spot…Again

Back at the train station we picked up our luggage and headed to where we thought the airplane bus passed by. Again, we were terribly off. We were waiting for a nonexistent train for about 20 minutes when we finally decided we should go ask. Thank goodness we did that, because right as we found where we were supposed to be, the bus was getting ready to leave. We caught it right on time.

Barcelona…Here We Come

Needless to say, I was more than ready for Barcelona. In just a few hours I would be in a country where I actually spoke the language and would be able to communicate with no hassles. J

Spring Break...Part One: Firenze, Italia

Departure From Venice

When our class trip in Venice ended on Sunday, April 13, everyone was released for Spring Break. Since the hostel we were staying at was paid until Monday, Shelby, Kait and I didn't check out until Monday morning. Our train for Florence didn't leaven until 8:45am, so we headed for the train station at around 8am. However, from the train station in Venice, we had to hop on a train that would take us to the mainland, Mestre, which is where our main train for Florence was heading out from.

So we made it to the Venice train station, purchased our Mestre train tickets, and found our platform. The train was scheduled to leave at 8:27am and it was only about a 5 minute ride to Mestre so everything seemed to be on track. However, the train didn’t take off at 8:27am like it was supposed to. Instead, it took at 8:35am.

Needless to say, we were all freaking out! Our train from Mestre left at 8:45am and we still had to get there and find our platform, which can sometimes be tricky. The train finally took off at 8:35 am and we made it to Mestre with 3 minutes to spare, found out where our platform was, and sprinted to it! Thankfully, the train was still there and one of the train employees directed us to our cabinet

.

I can’t even tell you how relieved I was. I honestly thought we were going to miss our train and the simple thought of that depressed me to the max! Good thing it was just a close call.

Anyways, the train ride was lovely even though I dropped my tweezers while plucking my eyebrows and never found them again. L

Arrival to Florence

We arrived to Florence at around 10:30am. Check in at our hotel, Together Florence Inn, wasn't until 3pm. However, we weren't exactly sure how to get there. All we knew was that it was about 30 minutes away from the center, so we decided to go to McDonald's to use the Wi-Fi and find directions.

Once we got a general idea on how to get there, we decided to just hop on the next bus that would take us there, even if we arrived a little early for check in. I mean, they would at least store our bags if anything. That’s all I really wanted because my bag, which is a duffle bag but I've been using it as a backpack, was killing my back. I just needed it off ASAP.

Finding Together Florence Inn

So let me just tell you how finding our way to the hotel went down because that was an adventure within itself.

First, we had to buy a bus ticket to get on the bus. We had no idea where we could find these tickets, so we literally asked about four different places before someone could finally direct us in the proper direction. Apparently, those types of tickets are normally sold at the stands that sell newspapers and stuff like that. That was good to know for future reference.

Second, once we had our bus tickets, we went outside at the stop we THOUGHT the bus would come to. After waiting and waiting and not even seeing our bus number announced on the board, we figured we were probably in the wrong area. So, we crossed the street…that always seems like a good idea, right? Well, nope. It wasn't there either.

At this point, I was literally dying of back pain! That’s when I saw a little touristic stand so I went and asked them where our bus stop was. Turns out it was just on the opposite side of where we were originally waiting for it.

Side note: If there’s one thing I've learned from being abroad, is to ALWAYS ask for help. Otherwise, you might be waiting at the wrong places for hours, going the wrong direction, or just doing something flat out wrong.

Third, our bus finally arrived! Hurray…finally a seat to sit on…yeah, not so much. That dang bus was so packed, we pretty much stood the whole ride to the hotel and that was more than 30 minutes! Talk about physical resistance.

Fourth, we weren't really sure which was our stop, so we stayed in the bus until it went to the last stop. Then, we were pretty much forced to get off because it was just going to head right back to the train station. It was all good though. I mean, we had to be somewhere near our hotel. We had already ridden the bus for more than 30 minutes and that’s what directions had indicated. However, the hotel was nowhere in sight!

Fifth, we decided to walk a little bit…maybe, just maybe, we would stumble upon it. Nope. Definitely not the case; so we went back to where the bus dropped us off. I was so done with being lost at this point, I just stopped some random lady to ask her for directions and for the first time ever, I engaged in an Italian-Spanish speaking conversation. Don’t ask me how it worked, but somehow it did.

Still though, we didn't find the hotel. We then decided to ask some elder men that were standing at the corner of the bus stop. Best decision ever. One of them not only told us how to get there, but he walked us part way there. Apparently we were just right around the corner. I felt so dumb yet relieved and happy at the same.

Experiencing Florence – First Day

We went it, and to our pleasure were able to check in right away. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful too and the hotel was just beautiful! Not to mention, we had free breakfast and a Jacuzzi we could use and also Wi-Fi. When you come to Europe, having free Wi-Fi is kind of a big deal.

One thing that was different about the Wi-Fi here though, was that you had to get a new username and password every 24 hours from the reception. It was just a bit strange but I’m sure they had a reason behind it.

Also, in Italy, they have a system for saving electricity. It’s quite smart actually. So, once you get your room key, which is a card, you must insert the card to this little slot on the wall of your room and that’s the only way the electricity will work. When the card is taken out, you no longer have electricity. Smart, I know.

Anyways, that day we decided to have a late lunch at one of the restaurants the receptionist recommended. It was not only delicious pasta, but it was cheap too, AND right across the street from the best gelato place I had had in Italy. It was pretty great.

After lunch and gelato, we decided to go for a hike on one of the mountains that was right down the street from our hotel.

That was probably my favorite part of the trip. The view we got from the top was absolutely breath taking.

We got to see the Tuscany lands and took tons of pictures!

It was just incredible to be surrounded by nature.

At one point we saw a little deer just jump out of nowhere and began to wonder whether there were wild cats and if we should leave. We stayed.

In the evening, Shelby was extremely hungry! So we headed out for dinner at around 8pm in search of another restaurant the hotel had recommended. Unfortunately, when we finally found it, it was closed. That actually wasn't so bad in the end though, because we found an AWESOME little pizzeria called Giglio’s Pizza. They had every pizza your little heart could ever imagine and they were all super cheap and delicious. Not only that, they had cute little beers that were really good too! With 16 euros we purchased two pizzas and three beers.

We were all pretty excited about that because Italy is not a cheap place at all.

Florence – Day 2

The next day we headed for the center to see the Statute of David. Despite getting there fairly early, we stood in line for over two hours just to get into the Academia Museum and be able to see David. It was definitely worth the wait. The statute itself was HUGE and so humanly-like. You can literally see veins popping out, muscle indentures, and so much detail it’s hard to believe it’s not a real human being. My mind couldn't even process that Michael Angelo created this masterpiece from just a large chunk of marble and a chisel. 

After staring at David for about 20 minutes and sneaking some pictures of him (pictures weren't allowed in the museum), we decided to head for lunch and explore the center.

For lunch, we went to this sandwich place that is apparently number one on Trip Adviser and is supposed to be like really good. We were all really excited for our meal, but it turned out to be not that great. I've had better sandwiches made by myself.

After lunch, we did some exploring and a little shopping for leather goodies because Italy is known for their amazing leather. It was definitely a good shopping day for me. I found lots of leather treasures that I absolutely fell in love with. Not only that, but at one of the shops we also met the most awesome Italian ever. He was actually an employee there, but extremely honest when it came to their products. I loved it! He was also super hilarious, and even knew some typical Mexican phrases. It was pretty awesome.

The center was GORGEOUS! The Dome Cathedral was incredible!

The whole place was just so lively. There was music playing, people taking pictures, and good vibes were in the air. Everything was astonishing.

For dinner, we just grabbed some Giglio’s Pizza again and went home to pack because we were leaving for Pisa early morning the next day. I was super sad to be leaving Florence because I truly enjoyed my time there, but I was excited to go experience yet another city in Italy.

Vienna/Venice Class Trips

European Travels

Backpacking through Europe has definitely proven to be much more exhausting than I thought. I never imagined traveling could be so draining yet rewarding. This past week and a half I spent it visiting three different countries and five cities in Europe. While it was amazing and I loved every single minute of it, I was a bit relieved to get back to my home base in Olomouc so I could get some proper rest and not be living out of a backpack anymore.

Let me just start by touching on the class trips first.

Vienna, Austria

The first stop was Vienna, Austria. This stop was a class trip so it was nice to not have to pay for anything but my meals and any shopping I did. We stayed in Vienna from Thursday, April 17 to early Saturday morning at a cute little hostel called “Happy Hostel.” The staff there was very nice and the rooms were very cozy and homey.

Anyways, since it was a class trip we had the opportunity to visit amazing historical places. These included: the Hofburg Palace which also houses the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Silver Collection, Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum where Empress Elizabeth used to reside. We also visited the Museum of Natural History and Arts.

Hofburg (Imperial) Palace

Until 1918, the Hofburg, also known as the Imperial Palace, was the center of the gigantic Habsburg Empire. The grounds were built up majestically by the Habsburg emperors – from the 13th century to the most recent addition from around 1900. Today, the Hofburg Palace is the official seat of the Austrian President and it is absolutely breathtaking. 

Imperial Treasury

The Imperial Treasury is considered to be the most important treasury in the world and is located in the oldest part of the Imperial Palace. As I walked through this treasury, the only thing that was running through my mind was how the heck did one family get so rich?! There was so much gold, silver, and bronze everywhere my eyes didn’t even know where to wander first.

Everything was absolutely beautiful…unlike anything today. Since both the palace and the treasury were so huge and there was so much wealth everywhere, it was difficult for me to process that one family owned everything I was seeing at one point in time. It was just incredible to see it all and think that just like the Habsburgs had had it all one day, they also lost it all and now many of their belongings are being displayed in this treasury.

Imperial Silver Collection/Imperial Apartments/Sisi Museum

We also got to see the imperial silver collection which consisted pretty much of all the luxurious dishware the Habsburgs owned. While it seemed ridiculous and unnecessary to own such expensive dishes, cups, forks, spoons, etc. it was extremely beautiful and I guess a very important part of the society back then. Owning such possessions signified class, elegance and wealth. Many of the pieces were actually gifts to Maria Antionette or Maria Theresa.

The imperial apartments were very interesting. It was fascinating to see the Conference Room where ministers and the crown council held their meetings, or the office of Emperor Franz Joseph where he spent a lot of his time, or the various rooms for the officers of the imperial household. I was also able to see the living room and bedroom of Elisabeth and couldn’t help but get instantly jealous of everything she had.

On that note, the Sisi Museum was the best part. This museum is located inside the Imperial Apartments and it highlights everything on Empress Elizabeth. Since I had an audio guide for this, I was able to get all the details and stories behind everything I was seeing. That was neat.

One of the things I cannot forget is how obsessed Elisabeth was with being slim. She was 5’8” and only weighed about 98lbs! That’s ridiculous! While she would go on strict diets, she also indulged in many pastries too. She kept her slim figure by exercising A LOT! In fact, she had some workout equipment in her bedroom that she used daily for hours. She also used strawberry masks for her face and would undergo hair masks that took a whole day because of how long her hair was.

Museum of Natural History

This museum is one of the largest, oldest, and most noteworthy natural history museums in the world. It was completed in 1889 and today it houses a collection of about 30 million specimens and artifacts. When I heard there would be Egyptian artifacts and mummies being displayed, I was instantly excited!

I took TONS of pictures as I was walking through every room because I found everything just so amazing.

Not just the Egyptian part of it, but everything else as well.

Needless to say, it was gigantic. It took me a whole three hours to explore and I’m pretty sure I didn't even get all of it.

Exploring Vienna

Vienna is gorgeous! There’s so much green everywhere…I just loved it.

The parks are breathtaking,

I saw tons of people riding bikes here, and I got to see the Mozart statute.

It was refreshing to just walk down the streets and take it all in.

Venice

Venetian Ghetto

The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were forced to live under the Venetian Republic. This was the first Ghetto and was instituted in 1516, though political restrictions on Jewish rights and residences existed before that date. Today, the Ghetto is still the center of Jewish life in the city and while we there we actually got to see many Jews there with their curls and everything. Although I couldn’t believe I was standing in the same spot that many Jews who were prosecuted had once stood, it was a neat experience to see this.

St. Mark’s Square/Basilica

St. Mark’s Square, or Piazza San Marco (as it’s known in Italy), is the main public square of Venice.

 Here, you will find many street vendors,

tourists,

restaurants, but also the St. Mark’s Basilica which is the most famous of the many churches of Venice and one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in the world.

It was amazing to be able to go inside, especially because it was Palm Wednesday so I was able to get a palm blessed…in Venice, Italy! Yeah, I was pretty excited about that. What’s more, the cathedral was beyond gorgeous.

Duke’s Palace

The Duke’s Palace, or as said in Italy: Palazzo Ducale, is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city. The palace was the residence of the Duke of Venice who was the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice. In 1923 the palace opened up as museum and is visited by thousands of people yearly. 

However, what’s interesting about this palace is that the ancient prison of Venice is located at the underground level. I actually got to see it, and it looked just like what I imagined it to look like: very small, chilly, bars everywhere, dark, rusty and old looking. It was crazy to think I was walking through the prison where once many prisoners were sentenced to death for ridiculous reasons. 

Exploring Venice

On my free time I really enjoyed exploring Venice. It’s one of those places that no matter how aware you are of your surroundings and how good you are at finding your way around in unknown places, you are guaranteed to get lost. There’s just no way around. I mean, the place itself is an island so it’s very easy to just go in circles because everything looks so similar. Regardless, it’s extremely beautiful. I absolutely fell in love with the place, the people and the food.