the inevitable has happened.

I'm sick. meh. Living the life in florence has finally caught up with me. This means that I slept all day (literally all day, I've consumed one meal) in hopes to get better by tomorrow. Which also means I do not have the energy to update 6 days of my life that I am behind in. Sorry peeps - I'll do more tomorrow. But, I won't leave you hanging too much. Here is a recap of my first europtrip with the roomiez....to Pisa we go! (slash went...yesterday..)

Our train left the station at 9:28am so we decided to take it easy the night before. Luckily the train is right down the block from our apartment so we walked, met up with our friend Joe who was joining our lovely lady group for the day, and grabbed some breakfast at the station. There was a little confusion on how to validate the tickets and proceed with the boarding of the train but we figured ourselves out and got situated. WEEEE our first Italian train ride!!

roomskis first train ride!

The train took an hour and we arrived in fabulous Pisa! Pisa, as wonderful a city as it is, really has not much else going for it besides the little-known Leaning Tower. So - to make sure we didn't waste 12 euro on a day of seeing one site, I navigated my way through my trusty little guidebook and led the girls on a great round trip tour of the little city. Here are some of the other things we got to experience in Pisa....

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina

crazy vending machine pizza/pasta

and a trip to Europe's oldest botanical garden!!

Of course...the reason why you travel to Pisa, and the reason my profile picture is as cliche as the other 27 people on facebook that have the same one....the famous Leaning Tower finally came upon us. The piazza where it's located is pretty breathtaking...simply because it's not just the Tower standing alone. There's the Tower, the majestic Duomo (no rival to our own in Firenze but magnificent just the same), the Baptisteria and the Camposanto Monumentale.

il Duomo

group photo in front of the Baptisteria

The weather was pretty awful and it started drizzling almost as soon as we got there so we got to posing for pictures ASAP. Luckily, since there were 11 of us we were able to commandeer the best spot for "holding up the tower" pictures and shove everyone else out of the way. Check it, homez.

saweeeeet!

Wow...I almost forgot to talk about what it was actually like IN THE TOWER!! It was 15 euro to climb it and so far has been the best 15 euro I've spent. After checking our bags in lockers at the ticket station we embarked on our adventure up, up, and away. As all of you should know, the tower leans. Laugh you might but one of my roommates (I won't name any names but coughJESScough) put up her pictures this morning and named the album "I survived the LEADING TOWER OF PISA." When confronted she was truly confused. Needless to say she's one of the good ones ; ) Entering the tower was great...the door was even lopsided. Ascending the stairs was the weirdest experience. You could actually FEEL the lean of the tower.You found yourself against opposite walls or sidestepping to regain your balance. The 287 stairs (Christine and the internet say 294 but I counted OUTLOUD 287) were a hike and we were all pretty out of breath...that's a lie I was completely out of breath and others were wheezing...once we reached the top. The stairs were a spiral staircase that never seemed to end. The last 20 or so steps were outside and pretty treacherous. Ari was wearing heeled boots so we had a buffer zone of 5 people in front and behind her in case she fell. Haha...always looking out. The top was unreal. Even scarier since now you were standing on the top of a building with only a handrail guarding you from the ground...whilst leaning at a definite angle. We made our way cautiously through but the danger was completely worth it when you saw the view. I mean...talk about a VIEW. I can't even begin to make you understand but hopefully these pictures do it some justice...

the whole fam!

We had been toying with the idea of making the Pisa day trip into a Pisa/Lucca day trip since Lucca is only 30 more minutes by train and my guidebook has a fantastic bike tour for it BUT since the weather wasn't up to par and since we had a pretty planned out night ahead of us we decided to head home. The Tower is legitimately at the farthest spot from the train station that could be picked so we picked up the pace to get back to the station in time to catch the earliest train. We stopped on the way, however, for what Frommers claimed was "the best gelato in Pisa." Indeed, Frommers, my trusty friend, you were right again. And I, as well as my roommates, would venture to say La Bottega del Gelato is better than any gelato we've picked up here in Florence as of yet. I got Nutella and Tiramisu and mmmmmmm it was to die for.

zee bestest gelato een town

Our plans ended up falling through last night so we headed over to Naima...get used to this name as it has become our favorite night spot to frequent in Florence and we have become regulars. The owner, Sergio, even knows us! It's a really great bar..not rowdy but a very nice ambiance...perfect for hanging out before going to the clubs or just getting a drink with the girls and going home for an early sleep. Love it!!

our favorite bartender!

I woke up this morning (does 1:30pm count as morning?) with a terrible sore throat and absolutely stuffed up. I bundled up and ventured outside to get some sustenance and then got immediately back into my jammies, made some tea and hung around the apartment. Hopefully a good night's sleep tonight might help me recover by tomorrow!

Until then,
arrivederci!