Week #57: FIELD TRIPS THROUGH ITALY (05.26.14 - 05.31.14)

On Monday I got to the apartment at a little before 7 am, and I stayed awake to text my mom everything was okay and to upload my photos. I ended up fallen asleep around 9 am and Stephanie and Shao woke me up when they came into the kitchen/my room. We went to an oriental restaurant and I had friend rice with chicken, the restaurant was recommended by Shao. Then we stopped by the coffee shop because Sam wanted/needed some coffee and just hung out. We also went to the super market and from there we just chilled in our apartment. I'm pretty lucky to have gotten the roommates I have, all of them are nice and I feel I can be myself around them; I kinda feel comfortable to even tease them and stuff :)

On Tuesday morning I went on a run! I woke up actually at 4:30 and stayed awake until 6:30 to head out into the windy morning. I ran 6 km, and this was my fastest 5k without taking into account my race time. My race time was 34 min this this time I ran it in 36 min. I loved running in Florence, because you would get lost with the aromas, and different signs trying to figure out what they said. I also didn't got lost but I did wander off my knowledgeable limits. I ended up in a part of Florence I've never seen, it even had a highway! I came back and went to my classes and then chilled in the apartment. I had good laughs with all three of my roommates the whole night :)

On Wednesday we wake up early because Steph, Sam and I were gonna join Shao in her class' field trip to Lucca to then go to Pisa. Sam's foot hurt so she decided to skip it and Steph, Shao and I met with Yuning and Hao (Shao's friend and boyfriend). I bought the train tickets and the train was pretty comfortable, we sat on one of those seats that face each other. We arrived at Lucca and to be honest the place was really boring and the food was not that great either... The professor took us to what she considered a good pasta restaurant, and it was awful... the service wasn't great either. I ordered what said in the description to be a pasta with bacon sauce and I didn't see any bacon when I got it. We went on train to Pisa by ourselves later, I honestly think that the professor that was supposed to take us to Lucca totally ditch us because she just made a loop around a couple of churches and a ratchet-y market and she left... When we arrived to Pisa, Yuning got stuck inside the train! Stephanie barely made it jumping out when the doors were closing and we were separated. We agreed on meeting Yuning in the leaning tower so we headed that way. We took a bazillion pictures with the tower, and it isn't as easy as it looks to pose with it; or well... it would have been a lot easier with a good photographer on the other side. Shao, Hao, and Yuning climbed the tower while Stephanie and I hung out in the lawn outside. I honestly don't see the point in going up there... I learned my lesson from Taipei 101 and the Needle in Seattle. We had dinner in this pizzeria and it was the WORST service we've ever gotten. I even got "the face", when you ask them something and they give you a look of hatred.

On Thursday it was back to reality, and I had a quiz for my Italian class in which I got a 100 :D I ate healthy for most of the day except at lunch when I had my pizza leftovers from Pisa but for dinner I had a nice salad :) Thursday was really an uneventful day actually. 

On Friday we woke up around 5:30 am because we had to meet up with USF at Pizza di Independenza for our Venice trip at 6:45 am. They separated us into three groups and I got in the same bus as Shao and Sam :) I sat next to Shao and the bus ride was really unbearable. The seat was uncomfortable and there were a lot of up and downs, and left and rights. I got dizzy. We stopped for a bathroom break and I bought my first panini with raw prosciutto and it wasn't bad at all. Then we hopped into a boat to take us to St. Mark's Piazza and we had a little break to have lunch, we went to a kind of pricey place and I had spaghetti with clams (I think the one from Los Toneles is better). Then we had a walking tour around Venice but it was so boring... This day was getting worser and worser. By the time we got to the hotel there was no wifi, no A/C, and we couldn't open the windows because it was raining and the mosquitoes would get in. We lost the option of four bedrooms because we got in late and they told us the only option was in groups of three. Stephanie volunteered to go with some random girls so Sam, Shao and I could share a room and when she left they announced that they didn't have any more triplets left and were heading off with pairs... So Shao took the bullet and Sam and I shared a room. I got bit several times, three of them in my left arm and the pillow was as hard as a rock. The restaurant we were supposed to have dinner at was like a mile away and it was raining and we had to walk there... the risotto was really good but the beef tasted just like my mom's... bad. It was a really unfortunate day. 

On Saturday the things stepped up a beat, we went to the Murano Island and saw how they shaped glass, we got to buy some things and explore the island which was kind of entertaining. Then a boat took us to St. Mark's Piazza again and we had 5 hours to kill. Our group of six split up into two three's because one half wanted to eat outside with a canal view yet expensive food, while the other half (us) didn't mind not having a view for a cheaper price. I'm so glad I chose for the cheaper price because the food was AMAZEBALLS and the service was extremely friendly and they even put us the the table next to the open window so we actually had a view in a secluded empty room so it was the perfect combo of view and emptiness since the crowds of Venice was driving me crazy. We also rode a gondola and it was the greatest thing ever :D I would definitely do it again. This was a much better day than the previous one and I was so happy I couldn't even shut up about how great it was.