Well onto one of my most anticipated trips, ITALY. And not just any spot Florence. A friend of mine offered to put me up on her couch and as soon as I had a free place to stay I was booking that ticket. It has been a life long dream of mine to eat REAL Italian food and I finally was able to make that dream come true with the help of some friends.
So naturally what better way to fly to Italy from Spain than to head up to Prestwick, Scotland and spend the night in the airport then fly to Pisa, Italy in the morning and finally take a bus to Florence? I know it makes perfect sense to me to. So after the trip down to Malaga I stuck with my tradition and got myself some Burger King and I am convinced that soda machine is broken because every time I have gone there the coke ends up tasting like seltzer water with a lemon tang.
As I was enjoying my healthy lunch of BK I heard a group of people speaking loudly in English (usually a dead giveaway that they are Americans) and I saw them comparing the different types of money they had acquired in their travels. I saw American money and said I hadn't seen it in so long it looked funny to me and naturally as with so many traveling stories they invited me over to there table and we had a nice long talk. We laughed we joked, talked about our travels, and about stuff we missed from back home.
After yet another long hardy laugh we decided it was about time to head over to the gate to get to our respective flights but as we are walking over I take a look at my ticket and to my horror and dismay I realize that it says "Gate Closes: 3 Minutes from now" okay not literally but I realized my gate was closing in 3 minutes. So I start to jog and what do I bump into? A mile long line to the gate so I tell my new friends I have to go and pray someone will be generous and let me step in with them.
I run to the front of the line and ask the first guy, hands shaking, heart racing, praying for a miracle and ask him if I could step in behind them and he tells me in a very thick British accent, "No, you gotta cue up like everybody else" without ever making eye contact with me. I look desperately at the woman behind him and thank God she goes, "What's the problem?" From that point on we began talking and without me even asking I could tell she didn't mind one bit if I stepped in with her. Turns out there was a man at the front of the line freaking out that was what was causing the whole delay.
Just to be sure she didn't mind I asked her if she would mind if I stepped in line with her and she said quietly, "Not one bit dear." As we stood in line waiting to get through I asked her name and turns out my angels name was Marietta, a large South African woman who had to have been in her 60's. Ironically, guess what she does for a living? Travels around the world working with different mission groups and trains them to work in different parts of the world. I mean come on, there is God yet again just smiling down on me cause yet another one of his clever little acts showed itself in my life. He's good I gotta give it to him.
Turns out she lives in Prestwick, Scotland and has done so for a couple years and she absolutely loves it. After thanking her profusely we got closer and closer to the gate. Then I saw my new group of friends try to cut the line as I had but since they were a large group and not just one person they got yelled at and told to get to the back of the line. I think since I was alone and went up people must have thought I was with Marietta which worked out for me in the end. I said a quick prayer for my friends hoping they didnt have any trouble making it to their flights as I got through the gate and ran to my gate.
Turns out it had been delayed a bit too but I was still so thankful for Marietta and her kind, open heart. We ended up standing in line to get on the plane together and we talked a bit more, it was interesting that she is the first true South African I have ever met in my life. And a kind of funny twist, the British guy who had said no to me in the line originally ended up behind me in the line to get on the plane (ha ha). God clearly has a sense of humor.
I got on the plane and I hear a voice come over the loudspeaker saying that because of our delay if we dont get everyone seated and get moving in 15 minutes we would be grounded by air traffic control and not be able to leave for another couple of hours. Fortunately we got everyone seated and as bags we still being put away the plane started rolling.
I got to know the two Spanish people next to me on the plane, Fatima and Nikolaus, and we spent the whole flight talking about different things. My favorite topic had to be how they learned proper English pronunciation and about slang words from South Park. Yet another example of how big an influence media and television has on foreign perceptions of the US.
We landed in Prestwick, Scotland I said goodbye to my new friends and made my way to the terminal. Found what I thought would be a comfortable spot and posted up for the night. Turned out it had an air conditioning vent pointed right at it so I was FREEZING allllll night and had a great deal of trouble sleeping but once it hit 4 or 5 in the morning I got up.
I wanted to get something in my stomach before my next flight so I went to currency exchange and exchanged 6 euros thinking I would get back enough for a sandwich or something. I got back 2 pounds and 85 pents. Lovely. So I enjoyed my breakfast of gummy bears and a liter of water (which I had to chug before passing through customs) and made my way to might flight to Pisa. Slept most of the flight and touched down. Got through security and came out to see Becky waiting for me at the airport and we had decided prior that we would go see the leaning tower of Pisa and then head on into Florence.
A short bus ride from the airport and there we were.
A crazy tourist trap with a few big buildings and the tower. All along the right side were merchants selling souvenirs.
Everyone was doing the cliche act like your holding up or knocking down the tower (yeah I took one too) and we went and walked around, took a bunch of pictures, and after about 20 minutes we were both content. Many people had told me you only go to Pisa to see the tower because there is nothing else to do, this turned out to be exceedingly true.
Now it was time to take one of the most classic pictures taken in Pisa..
Becky is responsible for snappin the shot and needless to say I love it.
It was very cool to see the tower, yet another thing to check off of the bucket list, but the difference with this one is I think seeing it once is enough. Whereas I could spend a week on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower, I don't think I would want to go back to Pisa, at least anytime soon. Very cool, very glad I did it, but after 20 minutes I was ready for Florence and REAL ITALIAN FOOD!!
For some reason there was a biker gang taking pictures in front of the tower and cheering.
The cathedral was very cool but cost money to enter so we said, we'll pass.
We had to head back to the airport to catch the train to Florence but unfortunately we grabbed the bus going the wrong way so we got the full hour long tour of the entire city of Pisa. Which included such exciting sites as.... ummm... well there was a carnival.
We got back to the airport grabbed a train and went on our way. My first encounter with a real Italian person came on the train when the conductor came to punch my ticket. I had my feet up on the chair in front of me and he looked at me with utter disgust and said, "This is not your casa" then I wasn't sure what I meant so I took my feet down and he just scoffed, shook his head, punched my ticket, and went on his way. So far it seemed like Italians LOVED me.
First thing I saw getting off the bus in Florence.
The sidewalk chalk artists in Florence were amazing, recreating works of art with just a couple sticks of chalk.
I loved the river when I first saw it. Turned out I was in luck because Becky lived in an apartment right next to the river.
So when I booked the tickets for this flight I told Becky all I wanted was to have the best pizza, pasta and wine if my life and it began at Gusta Pizza.
We walk into a small pizza placed that is owned by 2 brothers and they have 3 restaurants total. One is a panini place, one a pizza place, and one a small restaurant. I went to all of them. This pizza was absolutely INCREDIBLE and so flavorful, honestly I could have eaten 2 or 3 but unfortunately I'm not entirely made of money.
This is a place that students often go to hangout and relax or drink a bottle of wine.
After a little touring it was time to grab some gelato but I was more surprised at the drink choices at the gelato stand.
Frankly it scared me so I just enjoyed my strawberry/lemon gelato. We had some great ice cream in Granada but gelato definitely had a richer flavor. I loved them both.
Some outdoor markets we saw walking through the streets.
More amazing street art.
This street musician was amazing. He did a variety of incredible tricks in 5 minutes and also made everybody laugh. We had to stay and watch his whole show.
These remind me of the street paintings you see outside of central park. I've always been a huge fan of these paintings because they make them in about 30 seconds and although this type of art may never be hanging in a museum I think its incredible to watch it made.
The Duomo, the most famous church in Italy.
This girl here was bombing around on this segway and looked slightly scared and confused. The whole time Becky and I were asking each other where her parents were.
This picture is a spoof on a Beatles t-shirt which depicts Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and George Bush as "The Killers". I thought bringing Bush into this was pretty damn extreme but it just goes to show you that people around the world can have drastically different perceptions of rulers in other parts of the world. Not saying people in the US liked Bush but doubt they would have lumped him in with those other two.
This is an open air market that is world renowned for its leather. Becky told me that Florence is one of the leather capitals of the world and believe me they kept up with that image because you could find anything made of leather on this street.
Dont really know what the hell this statue was depicting but I think sometimes its best to just not know.
Now this is an identical copy of the David statue outside a museum. I ended up not seeing the real David statue but as I said in the last blog entry I learned I am not a museum guy so seeing this lovely replica was just enough for me.
I love the side streets in Europe. They have this feel that is complete unique from anything I have ever seen.
This is a shot of the view from Beckys apartment. right outside the window is literally the river but Becky told me people dont swim in it due to the fact that the sewage systems drain straight into the river. Wouldnt be the best way to wash off.
A shot from Becky's balcony, yes I agree and they do as well that they had an absolutely incredible set up with there apartment.
Sunset from the bridge near the apartment.
The first night I was so excited for my first REAL Italian dinner so we went to a small restaurant that the girls frequented. We shared a bottle of house wine between the 4 of us and I got some great pasta. The girls were nice enough to share there pastas with me and everyone I tried I liked more and more. Also our waiter seemed to take quite a liking to me and was constantly making jokes at me and flamboyantly giggling afterwards. Then when we received our wine glasses he gave me a larger one than the other 3 girls. Now I dont know if that is proper etiquette in Italy to give the guys larger glasses but the girls kept joking he was trying to get me liquored up. All in all a great meal and we laughed a lot.
We went out to hit up one of the girls favorite bars that night and little did we know that it was Notti Bianca (White Night), a huge city wide party where everyone takes to the streets of Florence to dance, drink, and spend time with friends.
We came to this beautiful historic church and they had set up a stage out front of it and hundreds of people were gathering and dancing in front of it. It was still very early for Europe but there were quite a few people filling the square at that point.
Now walking through the streets here I had my second ridiculous coincidence run in in Europe. I was walking with Becky heading to the bar when all of a sudden I went "No way..." Becky asked what and I went over and tapped this girl on the shoulder. She slowly turned around and when she realized who I was she jumped up and gave me a huge hug. Turns out it was my friend Steph from Penn State who I hadn't seen since sophmore year. She asked what I was doing out there and I asked her the same, turns out she had been studying there all semester and I had no idea. We laughed and talked for awhile and then went our separate ways. Great seeing another old friend in Europe.
We arrived at one of there favorite bars but little did we know that it was karaoke night. Now normally I wouldn't be opposed to karaoke but apparently now karaoke attracts every teenager in the world and it literally felt like we were chaperoning a middle school dance while we were there because I can guarantee several of these kids were not of age (18 in Italy) but they were drinking and carryin on all the same.
Now this picture was to show the middle aged couple with there young son hanging out at the club. I kept looking at Becky and saying, "There is a child in the bar" I don't even know why they would bring him because really what is a kid gonna do at a club? Clubs aren't fun for kids, Chuckee Cheese is fun for kids, thats where he should be hangin out.
A beer bigger than my head but unlike Granada it was not cheap, cost a pretty penny but fortunately the girls had a discount card which helped mitigate that a bit.
Some Italians singing such favorites as Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and just about any Katy Perry song you can think of.
When we got back out to the streets it was insanity. Thousands of people and it was darn near impossible to move but we slowly made our way through the hordes off to our next location.
I had to take a picture of this at the next bar we went to because that bottle of Grey Goose is bigger than that girl.
At this bar we hung out a bit longer and I ran into a guy and a girl who were studying abroad in Barcelona so we spoke a little Spanish and they ended up hanging out with us for the rest of the night.
We finally decided to head home because we had an early morning waking up for Cinque Terre the next day and even at night the river was still beautiful.
The next morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to make it to our bus which would take us to Cinque Terre. Originally we hadn't planned on going but Becky told me she found some cheap tickets and I heard it was one of the most beautiful places in the world, how could I say no?
I would love to know the total amount of hours I spent traveling on buses during this study abroad.
After 2 and a half hours on the bus and a short chain ride we stepped off onto the platform and saw this...
So all the things I'd been hearing about Cinque Terre being one of the most beautiful places on the earth were starting to become clear..
So this trip worked like this, we got off the train, we had 5 separate towns to visit. We started in the first town after getting off the train and we could hike to the next one then we had to take a train to the third one then we could take a long hike to the 4th town and a train to the fifth.
We got to get down to the rocks and get right up to the beautiful water below.
Struck a pose on the rock then we continued on our way.
Now as you can see this is yet another one of those times where I can't even begin to describe this place in words, the deep blues and greens in the water, the amazing rocks and cliffs, and the water crashing up over the rocks. I wish there was a word stronger than picturesque because this was so much more than that.
I mean.. just look at the water..
We arrived at the second town and I was very excited because as we were hiking along the coast I found out Cinque Terre is where pesto orginated from so we had to grab some pesto pizza while we were here.
I loved the classic small town, fishing town look with boats lining the streets and these tiny quite streets where people have probably lived their lives the same for the past 30 years.
This cat was not moving for anybody, a couple girls tried to call him to get him to come over, I dont think he even blinked.
This was a nice little inlet in the second town we stopped in that had a waterfall that dropped into it.
the waterfall is flowing under the bridge along the rocks if you look closely.
My lovely host during my adventure in Italy, thanks so much Becky I can't thank you enough for putting me up and showing me such a great time!
So we hopped back on the train and road about 5 minutes to the next town because the hiking trail between the two was covered by a mudslide. Once we arrived we had a short hike up a HUGE set of stairs to get to town number 3.
Dont know why but I found this sign funny.
Now you cant really see but up that nearly vertical side of that mountain is a very steep set of stairs. Took us about 10 minutes of straight stair mastering to get up this bad boy.
The views kept getting better and better the higher we got.
Exhibit A.
No matter who you were at the end of this staircase you were sweating bullets.
Finally into the next town where we had a forty minute break and we had the option to either take the train to the next town or take the 2 hour hike, so you know we took the hike. During my study abroad I always tried to take the "hard trail" or the "longer trail" because it always seemed to me that you appreciated what you saw more and that often the views were that much better when you went a little more off the beaten path.
I was amazed by the houses literally built into the cliffs that move up and down with the terrain. The colors are awesome and it blows my mind that people were able to build homes like this decades and decades ago without them falling right into the ocean.
After our short break we struck out on the 2 hour hike route to town #4 and before you see the pictures let me tell you that it was so, SO worth it.
What amazed me was that multiple times I saw people that looked to be in their 70's on this hiking trail and it wasn't easy or flat by any means. There were lots of changes in elevation, loose terrain, and some rocks you basically had to climb up and down. Just goes to show you the only limitations you have are the ones you place on yourself. If you really want something you can absolutely make it happen.
I love seeing older people doing things like this because so often you hear people saying, "I'm too old" or "I don't have time" but honestly things like this are so much more worthwhile than just sitting on the couch watching TV. If you think about all time you spend just sitting on the couch or on the computer there is SO much time and SO much to see, why not try to see it all?
And I know people reading this will go, "Yeah that's true but..." and fill in one of a million excuses that we tend to use when we are just selling ourselves short. Lets be honest I will too at times, at times you lose sight of the truly important things and get caught up in work, or stress, or some bad things that have happened in your past but when it all comes down to it what's really important? Your friends, your family, and your happiness. Plain and simple. Once you boil it down to that honestly all the superfluous worries and concerns really just start to melt away. When you take each day and look at all the blessings around you, you can truly see that life is a gift and a gift that's meant to be enjoyed. So do your best to enjoy every second of every day!
Now if my words aren't striking a chord I think I have something that will. This is a man who was on the plane that went down in the Hudson River and his speech is both inspiring and honestly the type of speech that could change a persons life if that heard it at the right time in their life. If you have five minutes I really recommend taking this in because the message is genuine and profound.
For those that watched it.. I KNOW RIGHT?! The guy is pretty damn incredible. That's the type of video I'd recommend that you pass on to a person who really needs it because sometimes it just takes the right words from the right person at the right time to change someone's whole outlook on life.
And now.. back to Cinque Terre...
Now I was very impressed by the 70 year old couples taking this hike, but I was blown away thinking about whoever built this trail. I can't imagine how many years it must have taken!
As I said the views just got better and better...
Once again... THE WATER!! Just look at it, were hundreds of feet up and its crystal clear and just the most amazing blend of blues I think I've ever seen.
I kept saying to my friends how amazing it must have been to be on a boat looking onto this amazing coast and just being out in that water, definitely something I'm going to do one day.
Like I said it got real steep at times but these older people just used their ski poles and plowed right through it. Sometimes a little slower and sometimes they waited a little longer and took breaks but by God they did it and I admire the hell out of that.
I'll just say I absolutely love this picture. Nothin wrong with takin pride for snapping a good shot here and there. And for those who have kept up with the blog 99% of these pictures were taken with my broken screen camera so I was blind shooting this whole trip!
Finally after two hours of hiking, which by the way most of us did in sandals, not because it was a good idea but solely because we just felt like it. We were coming down the final descent and came out onto town number 4 which looked a little something like this...
If you google image seach Cinque Terre on google this place comes up as probably the first 20 search results. Blows my mind that I was there and got to eat there, relax there, and swim in that beautiful water.
Now are you ready.. because it's time for CRAZY COINCIDENCE ABROAD #3!!
After about 2 hours of hiking there were two people walking towards us in the opposite direction on the trail. Becky, who is from right near Boulder, Colorado and will be attending CU Boulder in the Fall happened to just say something along the lines of, "I'm definitely going there when I get back to Boulder." Now she happened to say Boulder right when he was next to her and he turned and said, "Oh are you from Colorado?" She said yes and then asked if he knew Cathy who is my ex-girlfriend and turns out he went to high school with her. So all the people I met when I went out to CO he knew and had gone to high school with.
Oh but you worry it gets even more ridiculous.
After a couple minutes of conversation Becky comes to find out that this guy is Cathy's next door neighbors best friend. Now just to run into a guy who is the best friend of my ex is one thing, but to do it in Cinque Terre on this hiking trail in the middle of nowhere and the fact that Becky happened to say Boulder at the precise right moment, I cant even imagine. Now common God, if your gonna keep blowing my mind over and over gonna have to give me some warning at some point!
After yet another incredible coincidence (but come on we know it wasn't a coincidence) we made our way down into the town.
These were the types of tiny side streets I expected to see in Italy and they were just as magical as I expected them to be.
After a short walk through the town we came out to the coast.
A beautiful jetty with boats, a beach, and off in the distance you can see the rocks where everyone was hanging out and tanning in the sun.
Great little beach and people were tanning on the rocks all along the coast you can even see them way off in the distance in the back of the photo.
We decided to grab lunch at a nice little restaurant that the girls had visited the last time they had been to Cinque Terre.
I thought the way they layered the beach umbrellas was so cool with all the different bright colors blending together.
The rocks were awesome and if you took your time you could find one that contoured to your back perfectly.
So I climbed down to the edge to get a look and a feel of this beautiful water because I'll tell ya I wanted to get into this water so badly.
After dipping my foot in and realizing that it was absolutely freezing I thought a little about maybe going in but keeping with tradition on this study abroad I knew I had to. Last chance to swim in the Mediterranean you bet your butt I'm doing it no matter how cold it is.
I jumped in and swam over to those rocks in the distance you see in the picture above. I talked to 4 American women for a bit and found out 2 of them were on vacation while the other 2 were workin in Europe and took trips like this all over Europe every weekend. Yet another amazing example that if you want to do something you can find a way.
These women made enough money to live, eat, and travel. They were in there mid to late thirties and were just living the life. You're never too old, there is never too little time, just make it happen. If there is something you want don't hesitate, work for the happiness you want because some of the most worthwhile things in the world are the things you have to work the hardest for.
We had the option to head to the 5th town by train but the girls who had been there before recommended that we just hang out in the 4th town because it was the best. I was more than happy to hang out there and just go with the flow. I've found the more you're willing to go with it and take things as they come the better time you're going to have.
Love the European lifestyle, the mentality, take it easy, live it up, and enjoy the moment.
After an amazing day at the beach it was about time to head back to the train so we could make it back to the bus to get home to Florence.
After the couple hour bus ride back we were in Florence yet again to witness yet another beautiful sunset.
After passing on the nap and getting ready to head out Becky and I decided to hit up yet another one of the Gusta restaurant locations. We got there and after a short wait were seated. We ordered a bottle of wine, some pasta, and prosciutto (Im gonna go ahead and guess I spelled that wrong).
Now we had ordered the house wine and when the bottle came the waiter popped the cork and poured a bit into my glass then asked me to sample it. Fortunately last summer I worked at a lovely upscale restaurant and after witnessing many different wine tasting events I knew the proper procedure for sampling the wine. To be honest I probably couldn't tell the difference between a 100 year old wine and some boxed wine but I went through the motions.
Swirled the glass, lifted it and smelled it, tilted the glass, took a small sip and gave it an enthusiastic, "It's delicious". Normally that would warrant a simple, "Glad to hear it sir" but this waiter not only seemed pleased by my response but also seemed very proud. He enthusiastically thanked me and went back about his business and I realized that they brew this wine in house. This is something they take great pride in and although it may just be a simple nod of approval, that means the world to these guys who put their blood sweat and tears into the food and drinks they create.
But I have to say, this wine wasn't just delicious, it was exceptional. The best wine I have ever personally tasted and I was blown away by it. It was a 2007 bottle that cost only 9 euros and I every sip was absolutely incredible. I had never really had wine that I enjoyed that much before in my life so this added that much more to this dining experience.
I had a lovely plate of pasta, some bread, and Becky's prosciutto because she didn't want it (how lucky for me). Once again as I have said so many times the food in Italy did not disappoint. In fact it superseded all my expectations and the craziest part is that the best meal was yet to come.
Funny little side story as we were sitting eating this woman came up to me out of nowhere and said, "I'm sorry I had to come over I heard you speaking English and I had to tell you, you look exactly like my son. He is in the military and has that short cut hair red hair just like you and you remind me so much of him I just had to come talk to you." I though it was great and ended up talking to her for awhile and then she said, "Sorry for interrupting your meal have a nice night."
Then about 20 minutes later she came back into pay and walked back up to me and said, "It's so funny I see you and just see so much of my son in you I just kept saying to my friends outside 'I just wanna go hug that boy!'" So I reached out my arms and said, "Come here" and gave her a big ole hug. It's great when you can bring happiness into your own day but when you can brighten somebody elses at the same time, its just so great.
After dinner we went to a relaxed bar Becky, Ricky, and I and had a couple drinks one of which was this monstrosity.
That little bugger has a name I don't remember but apparently it is the right of passage drink of Florence so I was obligated to choke one down. It was a mix of gin, rum, and some mystery ingredients (I'm guessing goat piss) and every sip was a battle. I made it through and was accepted into the ranks. The ranks of idiots dumb enough to drink this damn drink.
A much more relaxed night than "Notti Bianca" and we enjoyed the relaxing walk through the streets.
After all the hiking and adventuring during the day we were pretty burnt out and decided to call it a night so we headed back to the apartment and I posted up on my lovely fold out couch and drifted off to sleep.
Then next day we had some plans to see some sites like David and what not but first we had to start the day with some Gelato and when I saw they had canolis I couldn't resist.
Now this cost a few euro but it was totally worth it. One of my favorite deserts is canolis and to have one in Italy was yet another dream come true. Turns out I found out about yet another misconception that I didn't even know I had.
Canolis are not prominent throughout Italy, they are Sicilian in origin so if you're looking for a canoli in northern Italy you are not going to find one unless the owner is Sicilian. I had some luck that this guy was Sicilian so I enjoyed my bite size canoli thoroughly.
Then as we were sitting by the river enjoying our treats the rain decided to come down, and when it came down in Florence, it came down HARD.
Nice flowers along the river.
We huddled under my umbrella and went to a bar right by Becky's apartment.
After arriving at the bar we decided to order a drink and try to wait out the storm before going to see David, then after about 30 minutes of rain without seeing it let up at all we made a fairly easy decision to not go that day and just enjoy the food and drinks.
Keeping with the tradition of trying new things we each order a random beer from tap that we had never heard of before and gave it a try...
Mine was bigger and it was a great German beer I'd never had before.
Now you may be asking yourself what this picture is about. Let me go ahead and break it down for you. At a young age I came to the realization that not only was I never going to be tan, but I would never get any darker except for the occasional freckle here and there. So naturally when girls around me complain about how "white" they are I quickly show them just how not white they are. This was one of many "look at how white Brian is" pictures taken that weekend. Now don't worry this doesn't bother me, in fact I encourage it. I embrace my white skin and red hair, makes me unique and in Europe made me stand out so much which just got me that much more attention which I loved.
As we spent more and more time at the bar the rain just kept up so the more the rain came down the more we became content with hanging out at this little bar off the street.
Now I have a story that I am very excited to tell and for anyone who has been reading the blog consistently I think you will be excited by this one too. So here we go.
While sitting in the bar a guy came in and ordered a drink. At this point Becky and I were joking about goofy pick up lines like, "Are you okay? The fall from heaven must have hurt." And so on so I rattled off two or three in a row and this guy couldn't resist scoffing because he thought I was actually making an attempt to pick up this girl in the bar. I laughed and told him it was just a joke and he said, "Oh thank God."
Turns out he was a British guy around our age who was traveling around Italy with his buddy who he called his "mate", I love the British accent. So Becky and I had been there for about an hour already and we ended spending another hour or so with this guy. At one point he walked away and said it was his mate calling and he had to talk to him because they had had a little argument before and he needed to work it out.
After about 5 minutes he came back looking very concerned and explained to us that his mate was very upset with him and said he was leaving and going back to England. We just told him to stay calm, not freak out, give it a minute and call him back which he did. Now Becky told me later because I was oblivious at the time that his "mate" was actually his boyfriend and this was a couples fight which we all know are a big ole pain in the butt.
As he walked away for his second call Becky looked at me and said, "Remember that story you told me about the Irish girl, well I think now might be that time."
For those who remember back in Ireland that lovely Irish girl Emer bought me a pint and said the only reason she would do it is if I promised to buy someone else a pint when they needed it most, I promised and now it was time to make good on that promise for the first time. I'm really glad Becky had that thought cause I'm not sure I would have had she not said something but now that she had I was ready to make good one my promise I had made months and months ago in Galway.
He came back looking concerned and deshevled and told us he wasn't sure what to do. I said, "I think what you need to do is give it a bit, sit and relax, dont blow it out of proportion, and have a drink with us then head back to the hotel and work it out." I said I would buy him a pint and he kindly replied saying I didn't have to but I said, "Really I insist, it's no problem." And he smiled and accepted. We all had a pint of Guinness then he went off to work things out with his mate and we said goodbye. Becky gave him her number just in case things didn't work out and we parted ways.
Later Becky got a text saying, "Hey we worked everything out and were gonna continue our trip through Italy, thanks so much for all your help you both are brilliant!" It was great to be able to help somebody even a little bit when they needed it most and not just that but to keep my promise to Emer. It's great when things like that come full circle. But the promise to Emer wasn't a one and done thing, sometimes something as simple as buying a person a drink can turn that terrible mood into a great one.
After spending a few hours at this bar we headed back to the apartment and got ready for something I had been anticipating since before I had even arrived in Italy. Becky had told me about this restaurant called "Acqua al 2". She said it's a little pricy but it will be the best food you have ever eaten. With a promise like that how could I say no?
We headed out Becky, her friend, and myself. Her friend and I had never been there before so we were both about to have our first experience at Acqua al 2. We got there and I was so excited (honestly reliving this now I am getting so hungry) so we walked in and Becky's friend and I were splitting the pasta and steak samplers. Becky was ordering a blueberry steak for herself.
Believe me I know what you are thinking, blueberry steak? How could that be good? Well the whole time I was there all her roommates and friends kept telling me that I needed to eat the blueberry steak, that it would change my life. So I took there word for it and we went in.
Here you can see Becky's full blueberry steak. Heaven on a platter.
The way the samplers work is that they bring you out small plates of 5 different types of pasta and 3 different types of steak so every couple of minutes a new plate appears in front of you with some new incredible food. All the pastas were delicious but the steaks were out of this world unreal.
When I say it was the best 3 steaks I have ever had in my life it is no exaggeration and that it sayin something because I have had some mind blowing steaks in my time. But this blueberry steak and the peppercorn steak and the one other they had were so mind numbingly delicious I cant even describe it in words. The best way I can explain it is that all our plates were cleaned at the end of it all and when I say clean I mean we used every piece of bread to sop up every last drop of every sauce not only on our plates but on the plates the food came out on.. .and even Beckys plate a little as well.
Take a look at one of the most appetizing sites I have ever seen.
One very cool feature about this restaurant is that they had TV's up in all the corners of the restaurants but they were not showing TV, they were live cameras showing the chefs in the kitchen preparing the incredible creations they call food. I thought that was a great touch to show these master chefs at work and honestly when you are sitting there watching them cook it definitely builds the anticipation.
After the best meal of my life we assessed the damage...
Minimal blueberry staining on all our hands and 3 perfectly full stomachs. Full of high quality perfectly prepared food.
Then naturally...
Yet another "look at how white I am" picture.
After that amazing meal I snapped a picture of this amazing place that I hope to visit sometime in the future and we headed out to have a drink at a bar before calling it a night.
God bless this place, and once again, thanks God for having me go here, good work big guy.
We hit the streets and headed to the stone corner bar. (I'm pretty sure that was the name).
On the way to the bar we came across this statue.
Now turns out there is a tradition with this statue. You walk up, rub its nose, put a coin in its mouth, and drop it and if it falls through the grate below in one try then you will return to Florence within a year. If it falls through after the second nose rub and drop you will be back within 2-5 years.
So here we go...
One try.... clink clink, no go. Try number two, goes through no worries. Looks like I will be back in Italy in 2-5 years and you will not hear any arguments from me about that!
Apparently this was a placed used in ancient times for torture and punishment for crimes. They would hoist bodies up and drop them on this spot as a way of punishment for severe crimes. I know its a bit gruesome but I thought it was pretty interesting.
We got to the bar and it was very interesting being there for me because they were in their final week of their study abroad. They were saying goodbyes and reminiscing about stories, something I wouldn't have to do for another 3 weeks but witnessing it was a great experience because it made me realize, whether you want it to or not this whole thing is coming to an end so you gotta make every second count and do what you can to make every moment special.
As the conversations wound down and it got to be that time we all headed home I got reminiscent about the trip. I said goodbye to Becky and all her roommates that night who were kind enough to put me up for 4 days. Cant thank her enough because thanks to her I was able to realize I variety of life long dreams. So here's to you Becky thanks for putting me up and showing me an incredible time in Florence!
The next morning I rolled out of bed and made the treck to the train station.
Saying goodbye to such a beautiful city was tough but I was ready to head back to my home, Granada.
Random guy sitting outside early in the morning with a board game.
The David apron, anatomically correct and ready to help you whip up some burgers.
Train station in Florence. Now I have never had more difficulty in all my travels than I did in Florence. Alone, in a place I don't speak the language, and the way the whole system worked was confusing. I missed the first train back to the airport in Pisa and had to work to figure out when the next one left. Through hand gestures and broken English, then some surprisingly good English I found out which train I needed to be on.
Grabbed some Mickey D's for a taste from home while waiting for my train.
Got on the train and the conductor helped me by showing me where I had to transfer to get to the airport and I enjoyed the ride and the scenery in the Italian countryside. At the transfer point I helped a girl carry her big suitcase up the stairs and she said in broken english, "thank you that's very kind" and for some reason hearing it said in a different accent makes it more special.
I got to the airport and had some time so I waited then hopped on my flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
I landed got through security and grabbed some more food.
It was pretty good, not nearly as good as the sandwich in Paris but food is food when you're hungry. After a few hours of waiting and a big bag of candy later I hopped on the plane to head back to Malaga.
A small fun fact, I saw "Smarties" candies in the airport in Frankfurt and the only other time I have seen them in my life is in Canada so I just wanted to make sure to point that out for my Mom who LOVES her Canadian smarties.
Was thinking of you Mom!
Just had to point out how happy this woman was to be eating this sandwich.
The lovely German countryside.
Finally I see the coast of Spain yet again and as always after a long trip I am happy to be getting home.
I absolutely love mountains and flying over them is incredible.
Mountains never get old or stop being beautiful.
Coming down for landing in Malaga.
Dad, this one is for you, snapped a picture of a golf course on the coast of Spain as we were coming down. This just means we will have to go back so you can play it!
Finally we touch down and I am only a short bus ride away from getting back home to Granada.
One of my favorite stores in the Malaga airport, not because I shop there, solely for the name.
Yet another trip had come to an end but the difference was this was my final trip that I organized myself. We had one more IES trip coming up but we only had 3 short weeks left at that point. Crazy how quickly it was all coming to an end but all good things have to end to make way for the next amazing thing in your life.
I promised everyone back home and I promised myself that I would finish these blogs even though I am already home and I am keeping that promise (just like I did with Emer and buying the drink). So dont worry there are a few more entries coming and although I am in Indianapolis right now at my internship the memories from study abroad are still clear and vivid. More blogs to come, I love you all and look for the next ones to be up in the next couple of days!
Live it up and remember, disfrutas cada segundo que tienes en cada dia!
