Italy Week 2
Last week I traveled to Siena, San Gimignano, and Lucca. Each day just keeps getting better. Friday, we walked to the public pool which was really nice on the 95 degree day. It was funny because we were told you had to wear swim caps to get into the pool. Everyone at the pool was wearing the caps. After getting drained in the sun at the pool and walking home we laid low that night to prepare for the Saturday trip. On Saturday I went with the school to Siena where we had a guided tour around the city. We saw the oldest bank in Italy, Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico, the main square (where they host horse races) Piazza del Campo, and the Duomo di Siena. We also ate an amazing lunch in the Siena Piazza. I had shrimp pasta. We then got back on the bus and headed toward San Gimignano. Here we got gelato and explored the cute town that is on the hills of Tuscany. It had amazing views of Tuscany from every angle. I got to climb up on the wall of the city and look out at the green pastures below. It was so amazing. Most towns here have walls around them, that were from the fighting that happened in the olden days between towns. We learned that San Gimignano used to be taken over a lot by both Florence and Siena because it was in the middle of the two powerful cities. San Gimignano is also known as Italy's Manhattan because it is a very wealthy town. We then headed back to Florence. On Sunday my and my eight friends here, decided to take a train to Lucca, a cute wine town in the hills of Tuscany. One of my roommates parents were staying there so we all decided to go. When we got to Lucca, we decided to rent bikes because the wall that surrounds the city has a road on top of it so you can walk or ride around the whole city. It was very peaceful and relaxing. It was pretty quiet in Lucca because it was a Sunday, but was exactly what we needed after the long day we had the day before. They had many churches, squares, and a little river running through the town. We ate lunch at a small cafe and when I ordered an iced latte, I got iced milk haha. I then asked them to add a shot of espresso into it and it all worked out. We went home around 6 because it was a long day and weekend and had school the next day. During last week I spent some of it shopping in florence, going to classes, eating good food, and getting lots of cappuccinos. I also got to meet up with my friend Talia’s sister, Taryn in Florence on Thursday which was really fun to see a familiar face and get to go have lunch with her. I just got back from the amazing Amalfi Coast last night, but that will be on the next blog.
Ciao