***Let me apologize in advance for such a long post. Its been 4 days since we've had any internet, so my entries have really been building up! I am going to come back soon and add pictures, so keep a look out! ***
May 27, 2008: Annecy – Who knew?
Today we left Paris for Florence, Italy. Because of bus driver regulations in Europe, however, we were only able to drive for seven hours today, so we are spending the night in Annecy, France. For the past couple of days I had just regarded this portion of the trip as an “overnight” deal; I didn’t think it would be anything to look forward to.
As we left Paris and began to drive out of the city, we were able to see miles and miles of French countryside. The vegetation wasn’t that much different from anything you would see driving through a rural area of the United States, but the architecture throughout the countryside was very different from anything I’ve seen before…and incredibly beautiful. The homes were all made of stone with rust colored roofs, and in amongst almost every little town you could see a church steeple rising above all the other buildings. There were sheep and cows grazing in pastures everywhere, and green rolling hills as far as you could see. The weather was rainy and overcast for a majority of the trip, so it made for great sleeping. I think about fifteen minutes into the trip everyone was pretty much out.
We stopped at our very first Autogrill about two hours into the trip…another European bus regulation. They are pretty similar to American truck stops or road rests; they offer lots of junk food and a relatively disgusting bathroom. Having to stop so frequently is pretty obnoxious, but it prevents anyone from using the bathroom on the bus, so it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
As we got farther away from the city, rolling hills began to turn into mountain ranges with areas of exposed rocks, a beautiful sight to see. The roads began to curve more, and the bus became less steady as we swayed from turn to turn. Our bus driver, Freddie, has been driving through Europe for almost 17 years, though, so we all feel safe with him at the wheel. Eventually we came to a long winding tunnel that seemed to last for miles. When we came out the other end there was a sigh from everyone in the bus; we were in the presence of the French Alps. The road cut along the side of a mountain, and in the valley you could see small villages and a river cutting through the rocks. In the distance were snow-capped peaks. It was at this point that I began to realize Annecy might deserve a little more credit than I had been giving it.
I had been reading on and off throughout the trip, but the scenery was so wonderful I was unable to focus much on my book. Once we got off the main interstate the roads became more narrow and winding; the towns became more quaint and enjoyable. As we entered Annecy we descended into the valley of the mountain range and seemed to be surrounded by nothing but mountains and peaks.
After being awed by the mountains, we were slightly disappointed by the hotel we pulled up to. Called La Mercure, it was a three-star motel-esque building with no elevators and saggy beds. Gwen and Liz were lucky enough to get the family suite, complete with two sets of bunk beds, a double bed, and one pillow for the two of them. (We later found out that they keep the extra pillows in the cabinet under the television…after a difficult conversation in French, since they couldn’t figure out what the word for pillow was…)
We bussed into downtown Annecy for dinner (there wasn’t anything decent to eat anywhere close to our hotel…) and ate at the most delicious gnocchi I have ever put in my mouth. It was at a quaint little French Italian restaurant with a wonderful view of the French alps and a lake surrounding the town. I ordered Gnocchi Vivaldi even though I didn’t know exactly what it would be. It ended up being gnocchi with shrimp and eggplant. Absolute heaven. From dinner we walked around town for a little while, and made friends with a swan who loved to eat pizza. It was a wonderful evening.
May 28, 2008: On the Way to Florence!
We departed from La Mercure at 8:30 am after a pretty lame breakfast. Initially I was planning to sleep on the bus, but the scenery we were driving through was too beautiful to even think about missing. There were snow covered mountains, glaciers, rivers and rapids, quaint little towns, castles, bridges…it was perfect. I tried to take pictures, but through the window of the bus it was difficult to get any picture to turn out. To get into Italy we had to drive through a 10 mile bridge, very narrow on both sides and strictly guarded since its over the border. The road up to the tunnel zigzagged back and forth for about 2,000 vertical feet before we even entered it. That tunnel started a chain of other tunnels; 78 to be exact. As we approached the coast of the Mediterranean Sea the landscape of the road became tunnels or high bridges. Had Freddie not been driving I would have been very nervous, but he managed the narrow, curving roads very well.
We made a stop in Piza to take pictures with the leaning tower, and experienced the first of many purse vendors. The ones that sell any type of name brand bag are illegal; we were warned not to buy anything from them because there is a large fine if you are caught by the police. Walking through Piza was very interesting…it was our first glimpse at Italy and Italian life in general, and it was gorgeous.
We arrived in Florence just in time to make our welcome dinner. Our hotel here is nice, and the rooms are slightly larger than the Paris ones…thank goodness! After dinner we went out to explore the area and found an incredible gelato stand. We hung out with most of our group in the square until late.
May 29, 2008: Florence -- Day 1 Our drive into downtown Florence was way different than getting into Paris. Freddie dropped us off down river from the main area of town, and Dr. Medina gave us a walking tour of the city to help us get our bearings. We went to the Uffizi first and saw lots of Renaissance artwork, including the Birth of Venus. The building itself was very cool; it used to be an office complex for the Medici family and was intricately carved and painted all over.
After the Uffizi we had a few hours lunch, so we decided to hunt down a good pizza restaurant…that’s what you do in Italy, right? After a fair amount of searching we found a place tucked away across the river that let you sit down and wasn’t too expensive. At this point it started to rain, so a place to sit inside was top priority.
It continued to rain off and on for the rest of the day, but we still managed to visit the Italian leather markets in search of purses. Unfortunately, everything was very expensive and the vendors weren’t very willing to negotiate. Our plan was to say that we only had a certain amount of money…but that didn’t work at all because all the vendors now have credit card machines. Darn. The purses were still fun to look at though!
We went as a group to visit the Bargello, which houses the statue David by Donatello. Once again, the building was just as interesting as the hotel itself. It used to be a prison, but it seemed like a very nice prison to me! There were large rooms, carvings everywhere, and stained glass on most of the windows. We got to see David being restored; there was a technician working on the statue and the statue was laying on its side. It was a really cool process to see.
After the Bargello we went to an internet café to check emails and assure our parents that we were still alive. We paid 3.20 euros for one hour of internet, and it was worth every second! The opportunity to sit down was wonderful and it was good to get in touch with everyone…or start to. I had over 50 emails to read and I definitely didn’t finish them all.
After our internet time, we walked over to a little café to get dinner. I ate a Panini sandwich with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. As we walked back to the bus it started POURING, so we ran for shelter. The first thing that we found was a window ledge. And no, window ledges are no bigger here than in the US. Needless to say, we got really wet.
We came back to the hotel, dried out, and went out for gelato…yet again. The gelati next to our hotel is the best, hands down. Cheap, lots of variety, and delicious. The perfect end to our first day in Florence.
May 30, 2008: Florence—Day 2
Our second full day in Florence we were scheduled to visit the Museo dell Opera and the Accadamia. The Museo dell Opera contained the doors to the Baptistry to Santa Maria del Fiora, which depict biblical stories in a continual narrative. I loved looking at all the panels and trying to figure out which story was which. My favorite was the Cain and Able one.
As we left the museum it started to rain, but we decided to press on and climb the Duomo of the Santa Anna. Other people in our group did it yesterday and came back with rave reviews. We stood in line for about 20 minutes, and then paid our 6 euros to go up. It was 463 steps to the top, and most of those were in very enclosed spaces. I felt like I was spelunking hundreds of feet in the air! When we got to the top it was pouring raining, but that didn’t take away at all from the beautiful view and the majesty of the cathedral. You could see all of Florence and the surrounding countryside. The dome was definitely not built for large groups of people to go up and explore; the stairs were very narrow and to get down you had to scoot by people that were coming up at the same time. It was challenging, but lots of fun!
We grabbed lunch at a café and then headed towards the Accademia for our second museum trip of the day. The first part of the museum was dedicated to the history of music. There were old pianos and old stringed instruments, and my personal favorite—several old clarinets! The second part of the museum was centered around Michelangelo’s David. As I turned the corner to enter the room, I was shocked to see the size of the statue. It stood about 16 ft in the air and was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. There were guards all around making sure no one took any pictures, but some of my friends were able to sneak a few.
We spend the remainder of the afternoon just walking around the city and exploring shops and boutiques and bakeries. My favorite bakeries are the ones that sell pizza by the kilogram…it looks absolutely delicious! We headed back to the hotel before dinner, and got together with a couple girls for bible study. All the girls we meet with are from our hall freshman year, so it’s a great opportunity to reconnect and hold each other accountable while we are so busy traveling.
After dinner we took the bus back into Florence for a night on the town. Almost the entire group came, and it was great to see Florence at night!
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