During our group dinner Corinne and I decided to take a trip
to Pisa and Siena to see more of the Tuscan area of Italy, as well as the
churches and sights that each place had to offer. After lots of convincing,
Filip and Ray decided to join as well, which was exciting…the more the merrier!
On Saturday morning we BARELY caught the train to Pisa. By barely I mean that
we were sprinting through Termini like a bunch of tourists. Picture this scene:
Filip gracefully sprinting like a tennis star, Ray close behind him, me with my
backpack on my front, and Corinne behind me sprinting in the loudest sandals I’ve
ever heard. We got to the train right as the conductor was blowing the whistle.
She saw these four exhausted and sweating tourists and felt bad for us so she
let us on, even though we were about a minute late to the train. We were SO
lucky to get on!
Once we got to Pisa, we headed to the tower and had a great
time taking the classic tourist pictures with it. Pisa was a great little town.
It reminded me a lot of Florence, but it was much more condensed and toned
down. The facades of the buildings were very reminiscent of Florence, but it
was much smaller and quieter.
After Pisa, we started heading to Siena. Corinne and I got
separated from Filip and Ray, so we were on our own. We didn’t think this would
be an issue, little did we know we’d be lost in Tuscany for the whole
afternoon. About 3 incorrect train rides, another unintended trip to Florence,
and about 4 extra hours of traveling later, we finally got to Siena in one
piece. We saw it as a blessing, however, because we got to watch the sunset
over Tuscany while we were on our last train into Siena. The rolling green
hills were glowing under the sun; it was a huge treat to be able to see it.
Once we finally got into Siena we treated ourselves to a
cool beer and a giant slice of pizza in Il Campo, the central piazza in Siena.
The next day, we visited the Duomo and climbed the clocktower in Il Campo, with
great views of Tuscany.
I really enjoyed Siena because of its cultural atmosphere.
There were lots of young people, all who just wanted to have a great time. We
didn’t leave the piazza until about 1am and there were still toddlers running
around in the piazza!
It was a great trip to have right before we had to crack
down and finish our studio projects, which went really well. It’s refreshing to
be finished with studio and have lots of time to really enjoy Rome. I’m excited
yet sad to live up these last few days here. Arrividerci!
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