Tag: Leaning Tower

Adventures in Tuscany

Adventures in Tuscany

This past weekend, I ventured out on my own (well, with four friends) and went to Tuscany.  I had so many expectations about Tuscany. Being the pop culture junkie, I formed all my expectations from movies set in Tuscany.  Under the Tuscan Sun is my favorite; if you want to experience Tuscany vicariously through Diane Lane’s character, watch this movie.  Anyways, back to my expectations: they were completely exceeded.

The Tuscan region is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  We started in Florence, which is known for its leather.  Florence is a very small town, and everything seems to be in walking distance from each other.  We went to the Duomo and the Affizi Gallery, where Michelangelo’s “The David” is.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t take pictures inside the gallery, but The David was probably my favorite thing about Florence.  The sculpture is so lifelike and it is amazing how much detail was put into it.  Pictured below is the Duomo.

On Saturday, my friends and I went on a bus tour throughout the Tuscan region.  We made stops in Siena, Chianti, and Pisa.  In Siena, we took a walking tour throughout the city.  It was a cute city and the tour was nice, but it was freezing! There was snow everywhere, which depresses me, because I have been getting emails from my mom bragging that it is 60 degrees and sunny in Cleveland.

In Chianti, we had a nice lunch and a wine with olive oil tasting.  We had bread, pasta with meat sauce (the first meat sauce I’ve had here) and an antipasti meat platter.  The meal was at an agriturismo, which is a type of farm.  The farm we were at was organic, so all the delicious food we ate was organic.  It was a great lunch, and after the lunch we took the bus to Pisa.

Pisa was a very, very small town.  The main part of town was a duomo and the Leaning Tower.  I was excited to see the Leaning Tower because it’s such a popular landmark.  My friends and I had to take cheesy pictures by the tower posing like we were hugging it, kicking it, and holding it, of course.

The tour was great and we were exhausted afterwards.  We got McDonalds (yes… McDonalds… in Italy) and went to bed.  Sunday we explored a little bit more and headed back to the John Felice Rome Center.  It was a great adventure and I absolutely cannot wait for our next one in Venice!