Venice and Pisa and Lucca, oh my!

Last weekend, I went on a fun-filled adventure through Italy. It was a weekend full of learning experiences, great memories, and great food. I wasn't expecting to be overly-thrilled with Venice but I ended up loving it! That morning was a little crazy... I missed my connecting train because the first one was late and then I had to figure out Venice's "water bus" system... Not an easy task. But Venice was beautiful! Surrounded by water and full of nice shops, nice hotels, and flowers planted on every window-sill, it was a great place to spend the afternoon.  It was insanely crowded and there were gypsies everywhere, but nothing could take away from how exciting it was to stand in St. Mark's Square. 

Me in St. Mark's Square

UPS GONDOLA!!!! You don't see one of those every day!

At Stazione Santa Maria Novella waiting for the train

Later that weekend, my roommates & our friend, Brock, went to Pisa despite the rumors that there is nothing to do there. Unfortunately.. those rumors are pretty accurate. We struggled to find a good place to
eat lunch, but we achieved our main goal of finding the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Like any other tourists, we spent a good 15 minutes finding the perfect spot to take pictures "leaning against the tower". 




















After that, we set out for Lucca... A town we knew nothing about, except for the fact that we HAD TO go there... 

The City Walls

Everyone who told us that Lucca is amazing was right. It doesn't have
anything extremely well-known or exciting, but it is nonetheless a
great city. It is surrounded by ancient city walls and has some
beautiful churches and piazzas. The thing I liked most was that it was
a great city but didn't have the hectic hustle and bustle of Rome or
Florence. We enjoyed our walk through the markets, watched a wedding
procession, and ate some delicious pastries called "frates".. think of
a doughnut.. But think of the BEST doughnut you've ever had! (You can
even get it with Nutella if you want).

Enjoying our "frates"

just your typical water fountain statue

Me in St. Mark's Square

We had a great day exploring, but we were so tired when we finally go
home. We went straight to bed.. Dreading the fact that we would have so much
homework to do when we woke up Sunday morning.