Last day

Today is the last day of the trip. And both of us woke up a little lethargic knowing we were ready to head home.
However we had one more stop. Pisa, where our flight was leaving from.
So we had a last stroll and meal in Florence and thought about going into the Duomo, but had no interest in lines.
We jumped on the train to Pisa. On arrival we did what every other tourist does. Headed for the Tower. And the rumour is correct, it is leaning. I wasn't very inspired today to do the cliché pictures at the Tower. Tyler was up for photo fun though. So after a very interesting photo we took that made us laugh, I got more in the mood for taking silly photos. Again we didn't go in, not just because of the line, but why go into something that might fall one day.....
Plus there wasn't much extra to see in Pisa. There is only the Duomo there with the Tower. So we headed back to the train station where we are now chilling out awaiting our flight back to Sweden.
Been a fun trip. Seen somethings I have always wanted to see. Been to places that have surprised me in a good way and eaten lots of good food. I also have to thank Tyler for the company. We have had plenty of laughs, and with us both being pretty easy going, have managed everything we wanted to do. Hope you have enjoyed the read.
Oh, and success, Italy managed to cheer us up after our first day. However hasn't necessarily restored my faith in humanity as everything in Italy was battles, wars, family feuds etc. Lucky I teach great students. Won't take then long to restore my faith.

Joshua

The heart of the renaissance

The last full day in Italy, and to be honest I am glad to be spending a whole day in one place after three days of traveling. Of course, being someone who had shown almost no interest in art throughout his life, and hasn't studied any history of this period of time, I knew nothing about this place. Well except that it is famous from the renaissance and the David is here.
To start my journey Tyler and I did a free walking tour. This taught me some history of the area such as the civil war in Florence and the reason for all the towers in the city. He explained the significance of the churches including the dome of the Duomo. The door on the basilica was explained, but still can't believe it took 23 years to make. And of course we saw the houses of three of the Ninja turtles. Only Donatello's place of residence when in Florence was not mentioned. We finished at the church where Michaelangelo and Gallileo are buried.
Due to the interest of the first tour, we went back for the 2 tour knowing it was a different route. Unfortunately there was a much bigger group this time so felt less personal. We did learn about the medici family, the significance of the David to the city, the old bridge that even survived the war when every other Bridge was destroyed. We finished at the palace with a story about the history of gelato, apparently being a Florence thing.
On this tour we meet Julia and Laura, a couple of German girls. They were friendly and wanted to join us for the walk to Michaelangelo piazza, the look out point for the city. We were happy for the additional company as we hadn't experienced too many travelers who wished to be social on our trip. (Except an Australian guy we decided to avoid as he only talked about beer pong).
The look out point was crowded as like the rest of Florence (was actually one of the busiest tourist cities I have been too) but still charming. We took daylight pictures, and then didn't have long until night pictures.
The evening finished with a humorous evening of dinner and drinks with our new friends.
Last day tomorrow, Pisa and home!
Short and sweet post.

Joshua

The misty mountains and the Italian countryside

After an interesting night of watching the San Marino locals sing karaoke which included sailor moon and dragonball Z songs, I awoke with some excitement for the day back up in the old town.  Unfortunately that excitement dwindled when I looked out the window. All I could see was fog! Darn it.
Oh well, we were only here for a little longer, and maybe for the only time in my life so had to make the best of the situation. And oh the shenanigans!
We did the typical tourist things such as getting our passports stamped and Visiting the towers. This was after we decided the vampire and werewolf museum and the torture museums were not a priority. The towers were cool but sadly the fog wasn't lifting. So after that we walked.... sounds riveting I know.
The exciting thing about this walk was we often left the path, resulting in us climbing on rocks hanging over cliffs that were about 700m high. Yes the poor visibility and most ground inspired a bit of crazy. However, while embarking on such shenanigans, the dog lifted a little and we were able to get improved photos of the country. An epic win for the lads.
The time came though that we had to leave this delightful country as we had a car to return in Florence. So of we went.
We hadn't learnt our lesson about avoiding the toll road, so again at out avoiding it. Today was somewhat more successful as we traveled through country roads and quaint little villages. We saw mountains, rivers, valleys. It was beautiful to see Italy in such beauty. We also had the fun of driving through mountains so misty we couldn't see more then the road immediately in front of us. Our Tyler, must of been such a strain on the eyes, and all the hair pins left him with sore arms as the smart car had no power steering. Glad we got rid of the car once we arrived. It is dumb driving in Florence.
Florence is great. It is completely different to all the other Italian cities. It is clean and is full of renaissance buildings, obviously, being the home of the renaissance. As it was Halloween we decided to go for the evening, although we had no costume. But by about midnight the adventures of the day hit us and we headed home. Although I did take Tyler on a few detours just for some photos. Tyler also was in the mood for winding up Americans, so that was a fun end to the night.
Tomorrow we will check out Florence properly.

Joshua