On Wednesday morning of the Italy trip Lexi and I took a morning train from Florence to Pisa. It was only about eleven euros round trip, and we figured we couldn’t very well be in Italy and not see the Leaning Tower. It was a lovely little morning trip and was well worth it. Considering there’s not much in the city of Pisa other than the tower and cathedral, we spent an hour or so just goofing around and taking pictures.
None of the other girls we traveled with had any interest in going to Pisa. Instead, they decided to camp out at the TRL Awards Show stage. A friend from Madrid tipped us off and told us that Lady Gaga would be performing (for free!), possibly alongside Rihanna, Katie Perry, and the Black-eyed Peas. WHAAAAT!? My friends started their camp-out at about noon, and we met up with them at 2ish. However, quickly after our arrival, we received devastating news. It turns out the show was the Italian TRL Awards, aka. NO AMERICAN CELEBRITIES. We knew it was too good to be true… what a bummer. We ended up spending the rest of the day wandering around the beautiful Florence touring the Basilica di Santa Croce where lie the bodies of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Rossini, shopping at the leather market, eating gelato, reading reading reading- we were all addicted to our books all spring break, and enjoying the sights.
For dinner we did something very special. My friend Grace’s grandparents are Italian and visit Florence from time to time. Every time they’re in town they go to the same little restaurant, where they have become friends with the owner and chef. We were able to track down the address and find the restaurant with success. It was a truly delicious meal and super precious when the chef came out to meet Grace- he was so cute!!
After dinner we decided to check out the awards show for a bit after all, which was actually pretty fun. Even though we couldn’t understand the majority of the songs, it was cool to feel the energy of the show and listen to some live music. Turns out the Italians’ taste in music isn’t so bad after all!
