Firenze/Pisa/Cinque Terre: Mishaps and Adventures

Well, right now we are actually in our hostel in Rome (the first of 2...we booked our rooms too late), but first I need to update on the last few days.

(3/19) Florence:
Today was all about seeing the sights of Florence--the Duomo, the Gates of Paradise, the Pontevecchio and Michelangelo's David. The David was so incredible to see in person. It was gorgeous--so immaculately and perfectly crafted. Every detail was believable and graceful and subtle. The Duomo was neat to see too, though perhaps a bit disappointing. It's amazing how empty a Cathedral can feel when the architecture becomes more important than the Architect himself. I am learning more and more that God's temple is filled with His spirit because His people dwell there--not because it looks nice on the outside. I think that the buildings are pleasing to Him, but the hearts of His people are so much sweeter.

One great thing we did today was cross the bridge to the other side of the Arno River and hike up to a monastery where we had a view of the whole city. Views like this one change my perspective so much. Florence seemed bigger, grander from up there. We also got to see the brilliant greens, yellows and oranges from the countryside of Tuscany.

Tonight we met up with Jen, Jen and Ashley (who had spent the day on a Vespa tour through the wine country...we were jealous). We had planned to go out with them and ended up joining their new traveling friend Peter, Bre Mason (a friend from Westmont who is studying in Florence), and a ton of her friends. We noisily traipsed through the city to a place called Aparativo, where for 8 Euro we each got a cocktail and appetizers for dinner. It was so good and a really fun atmosphere. We spent the night laughing and joking and making friends with random Florentine people :)

Florence is...
-teeny, tiny narrow sidewalks...these near misses with motorbikes are getting old
-voltage conversion issues-Yes, I actually burned my hair at one point.
-Gorgeous views and lots of history
-Jen Griffeth may or may not be married to a Macedonian bartender
-Dancing
-Laughing 'till we cried
-Duomo, duomo, duomo...we could see it from everywhere. Where should we meet? Um, near the Duomo. Where is the bridge? Just to the right of the Duomo.
-6 Euro gelato...oops!

(3/20) Pisa-Cinque Terre:
Today Britt, Jen, Jen, Ashley and I left Florence on an early train headed to Pisa. The hostel we had planned to stay at was full so we ended up at a really nice (but fairly cheap) hotel right by the Leaning Tower. After checking in, we literally sprinted across town to catch our train to the Cinque Terre. We made the train, but when we got to the Cinque Terre we found out that almost the entire park was closed. We were so bummed, but we took the train to Venazza (the middle city) anyway and had lunch at the creepiest little restaurant. It was such a weird day, which made it all the more fun! We took tons of pictures of the beautiful scenery: the brightly colored buildings of the tiny towns, blue-green water, and ruggled cliffs dotted with winter-bare grapevines. Jen, Ashley and I made the fatal mistake of wearing bathing suits, running shorts and sweatshirts because we thought we were going to be hiking all day. Little did we know that it would be in the 40s and 50s all day! People literally pointed, stared and laughed at us all day, but we laughed right along with them.

We ended the day back in Pisa with kebabs and gelato. Jen, Jen and Ashley reminisced about their time in Turkey and Lithuania, and Britt and I had a great time hearing about all their adventures. They are such beautiful and vibrant friends, and we so enjoyed our time with them!

Pisa/Cinque Terre is...
-Leaning
-lots of running and cold legs--One lady told us we looked like plucked chickens because of our goose-bumps!
-Cappucinos for breakfast
-Lots of laughter
-Our first Italian riot on the way out of town