Well, it’s Sunday morning. No Siena for us today! It’s 10:30 and everyone is fast asleep. Well, Ana just woke up and we decided we’re going to go to Luca instead, just because it’s a smaller town and we feel as though we can see it in a few hours. If the times don’t work out we’ll just go to Pisa. (Pisa is really close and easy to get to by bus or train. It has a bad rep as a city, though. Apparently it’s pretty ghetto and the only thing to see is the leaning tower. I’ve always wanted to see that, though! And they’ve officially taken the cables off of it, which were holding it up for a while. That’s exciting.)
Yesterday we left for the train station around 8:15. Alex came with us and we met up with 3 of our other guy friends on the way. We got to the train station (after Alex stopped and got McDonald’s breakfast - that’s the second time I haven’t given in) and found our group. The train ride to Viareggio was about an hour and a half. It was a really nice train, though. We got off the train and walked to the beach. It was about 10:30 and we had until 5 when we had to meet up with the group again.
The beaches in Italy are weird. Actually the whole situation at the beach is not cool. Every inch of the beach claimed by a person/s. Therefore, you need to find a section that you want to stay in all day and pay the person running it. There is one free section, but you have to literally lay on rocks. We found a spot and each ended up paying 3 Euros. That got us 2 umbrellas and 6 chairs. The chairs weren’t even lounge chairs, though, so Jackie, Ana, and I just put our towels on the sand (and of course I was freaking out all day because I hate sand). There were about 11 of us. It was such a fun day because we were all just relaxing. I brought speakers and we listened to music from different iPods all day and just sat around and talked. The water felt really good, too. And of course the scenery was amazing, once you get past the fact that every inch of the beach for as far as you can see is covered with umbrellas and chairs. Having the mountains in the background is very very cool.
Jackie and Doug are in a fashion photography class together and their first assignment was to take pictures of their “models” in swimsuits or lingerie. Doug brought his camera with and took pictures of Ana and me. He’s really good at photography, but while he was taking pictures everyone in our group was watching us. That made is awkward. It’ll be interesting to see how they turn out.
Later in the afternoon Jackie, Ana, and some of the guys went and got us crepes, which are really popular in Viareggio. I had one with Strawberry and Creme gelato inside and it was so good!
We met up with the group, took the train home, and Alex made us dinner again. We had quesidillas which was a nice change from pasta and pizza, which is literally all you eat here. We had some people over for a little bit and then went out. It was fun, nothing too exciting. Except, on our way home Jen (a girl who lives upstairs and came out with us) tripped and took me down with her. I rolled my ankle and it’s killing me right now. Not the ideal city for that to happen, but I’m sure it’ll be fine in a few days. It better be, because Katie and I are going to Rome! I’m so excited.
I think when Britt and Lexi get back tomorrow and Katie on Tuesday we’re going to sit down and start planning weekends. I’ve decided on 3 trips out of the country. That’s enough for me. I really just want to see as much of Italy as I can. For fall break Ana, Britt, Jackie, Lexi, and I are doing an Alps trip. Ana, Britt, and Lexi want to travel to 4 different countries while doing that, but Jackie and I are going to stay in Switzerland the whole time. We’re also not planning on going for the whole break because we’re both big on seeing Italy. We plan to come back here and do a few day trips. (Katie’s boyfriend Jake is coming to visit during break, so she has her own traveling plans with him.)
2 weekends after fall break we have Thursday off of classes. My roommates are all planning on going to Greece. I was never completely convinced on going to Greece, just because I feel like it is a place that I can vacation when I’m older. I want to do more sight-seeing now while I have the chance. London was never really a place that I wanted to go, but I’ve heard amazing things about it. I’m going to go to London with Alex and one of his roommates Jeff. I’m really really looking forward to this. Jeff is a fashion major and Alex is musical theater, so they’re all about doing all the things that I love. Alex has been to London 4 times so he knows exactly where to go and how to get around. This is the best part, though. Apparently if you bring your student ID with you, you can get same-day tickets for musicals for 20 pounds ($40). We’re just going to stay in the cheapest hostel and bring food so that we can see one or two musicals. I’m psyched. The three of us would love to see Wicked again, so that’s on the list.
My last trip is going to be Paris. Ana and I are the only ones I know for sure who want to go. We’re going to do that our last weekend before finals, I think. It’s not cheap to get to Paris so hopefully that won’t be a busy time to go. It’ll be cold, but I’m sure I won’t mind.
Well now that it’s 11:30 I’m hopefully going to wake up Jackie so we can figure out our day! I’m thinking we’re just going to hang around now. We’ll see!
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