On Thursday morning, Bethany and I awoke to the scorching sun. My One Hotel was a very nice accommodation for people who are traveling internationally. The rooms were modern, the service was kind, and English wasn’t too hard to come by. We’ve come to learn that air conditioners are hard to come by here, even in 4-Star hotels. The need to splurge is no longer, as I awoke to the sun beating into our room. We packed up everything we had, and headed off towards the train station. Along the way, we stopped at the Postale Italiane, the post office. Research told us that we could ship internationally, but it would cost us a pretty penny. We’ve already acquired a handful of goodies for home and realized there were a few things that just weren’t needed on the trip, so the extra space would be great for the long-run.

After a 20 minute wait (yes, America, the wait isn’t just USPS) the lady was not interested in helping us, telling me it was impossible to ship internationally. We walked out defeated, as the idea of only carrying our backpacks was the only happy thought on our mind that morning. We headed to the train station and grabbed a panini before hopping our train to Pisa. On the way we met a couple from Ohio, a young lady studying at Kent State that used to live in Mount Vernon and her boyfriend, who was celebrating graduation on the trip before heading into his grad program. Our train to Tuscany was just over an hour, so I napped quickly after a poor night’s sleep. When we arrived in Pisa, we checked our backpacks to cut down on what we were carrying (Pisa is a hotbed of scheming thieves around the station and tower) and hopped on the bus. A couple we met in Cinque Terre at the laundromat had warned us about three pregnant gypsies that worked together to pick-pocket people in the bus. Within minutes of riding the bus, a pregnant woman stepped on and pushed her way through to the middle of the crowd. We won’t ever know if she was the said lady, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. We walked to the Tower of Pisa, a remarkable attraction. The surrounding area is full of beautiful buildings.

I don’t like cats.. but this gal likes me, and she’s Italian. I respect that.

My favorite part of Pisa was the Piazza del Duomo. It hosts the Duomo cathedral, the Baptistry, and the Composanto Monumentale. The Baptistry of St John was constructed in 1152. I learned that the Tower of Pisa was constructed in 1173, and just 5 years later the tower began to sink because of unstable soil. The construction of the tower was halted for almost a century because of battles with surrounding areas.

After  a few hours in Pisa, we hopped back onto the train and headed to Florence. An estimated 20-minute walk to our room, an AirBNB pickup, ended up taking about 40 minutes due to directions and spotty GPS service, but we made it to a beautiful room just a few blocks from most of the scenery in Florence. Within 3 minutes we can walk to the Ponte Vecchio, the only surviving bridge from World War II, as well as Duomo Square.  Paying a little more for this location was a great investment for us. I had no idea what to expect from Florence, but so far it has blown me away. The buildings are so beautiful, aged thousands of years but still maintained. The nightlife is very active, although we spent our evening just roaming around with gelato and canolies. There is incredible shopping as well, with endless leather, high-class fashion, and the most amazing window displays I’ve seen. When the monuments and cathedrals are all lit up, it looks incredible. Tomorrow we plan to spend more time investigating and learning the buildings, as well as exploring the museums and artwork. Another bucket list item is soon going to be crossed off, “Look at art in Italy”. It seems simple, but I am thrilled about this.