ITALIA!!!

Italy at a glance...

Now that I'm back in not so sunny Lubeck I can take a minute to reflect on my time in Italy. Although it was short trip I felt we stuffed a lot in our 2 days worth of touring. From Pisa to Lucca and Florence,  I must say I was enamored with the culture, beauty, and history of the area. Pisa, although known for the leaning tower, offers so much more in the Duomo (Cathedral) of Santa Maria and the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery). The art work within the Duomo is breath-taking with expansive painting covering the walls, ceiling etched in gold, and the statues/sculptures commemorating Christ as well as other influential individuals to the church.  In the cemetery you can easily forget it is even a place of burial with marble and granite covering nearly every surface and the tombs etched with stories and depictions of the lives of the individuals below. It was AMAZING to say the least. In Lucca I was pleasantly surprised by a little Italian city with it's own flavor and spice of life. Just 20min outside of Pisa, Lucca was a city I'd never even heard or thought of. I'm glad T-Speck had previously visited the area and introduced myself to a place I would love to visit again if I'm ever in the Pisa area. The most impressive element to Luca is the massive outer wall encompassing the entire city. The wall once fortified the city from external attacks and from it's sheer size I could see how formidable a defense it would provide.  Finally, once we made it to Florence and found parking (it was like searching for a needle in a hay stack, not to mention the locals were trying to run us off the road haha) we capped our day of touring with a bang.  Florence was at the very center of the Italian renaissance and the artwork sheds light to that. 

Overall the trip was great, full of surprises and intrigue but an experience nonetheless. But I must say just having the opportunity to visit Italy is a dream come true. This was definitely a check off my bucket list and to get to do it within the current circumstances makes the trip all the sweeter. I can't wait to come back someday!

Adventures, Humor, and Downright Ridiculousness 

So at its very core this trip was an adventure in all senses. I have to start with our arrival in Pisa at around 11pm on Fri night. We get into the airport and then go on what seemed a futile effort to rent a car that night. Literally every place had no cars available except one company (Thank God!). Then came the decision to not go to Rome and travel throughout the Tuscany region to save money and gas.  

Once in the city center of Pisa the night life really threw us off. As a university town we thought the night life would be marked by clubs and good bar scene. What we found was the entire city center taken over by a mass of people literally taking the party to the streets. Small store front bars and restaurants fuel this impromptu party scene with music and alcohol. It was crazy to see the wave of people talking, laughing, dancing etc. amidst statues, cathedrals, etc in the city center.

Saturday became our designated touring day as we drove from Pisa to Lucca to Florence and back all in a marathon day of sight seeing and travel.  As I've already stated the area was gorgeous even though this is an understatement. The countryside of Tuscany may be one of the single most beautiful things I have ever seen. The blend of natural, rustic color with a taste of culture with expansive villas was a site to behold. As a backdrop were the rolling hills/mountains adding to the overall spectacle of Italy's beauty. 

Finally on Sunday we took to exploring Pisa during the day. We were greeted by an open market in the square of miracles which is home of the leaning tower, the duomo, and the monumental cemetery in Pisa. We had several "salesmen" seek to entice us with fake designer watches, sunglasses, etc. One went so far as to ask me how much I thought his merchandise should cost. I told the guy it should be free b/c I was a broke tourist haha. Then we took to the Tirrenia, Italy and the beautiful Mediterranean coast. Relaxing in the sun and just enjoying some down time after all the walking and picture taking was nice. 

Then things got quirky,  

First due to having an early morning flight on Mon. we decided to cut some costs and not book a room for sunday night knowing we'd only be there a few hours. We felt we'd hang out at the beach, see the town and waste time at a local bar before taking a bus back into the city and eventually make our way to the airport.

1) We miss our bus into the city at 8 b/c our one drink we decided to have took about an hour (One thing I must say I don't get about Italian culture is just how SLOW the simplest things are), we ordered one drink each and it was like we ordered a 3-course meal

2) Then we proceed to wait for over an hour for the bus b/c the posted schedule was all messed up and we had no idea. While we waited and got antsy, we decided to give hitch hiking back to Pisa a try. Jose took to dancing and thumbing towards Pisa to no avail. So we though maybe a sign would help. All the sign did was add for some extra laughs as ppl sped up to pass by or stared us down like we were aliens or something haha. Then we finally make it back to Pisa and decide to grab a bite before heading to the airport to spend the night.

3) We arrive at the airport around 12:30am, decide to chill for a bit before making our way to our terminal and crashing until our 6am flight. What we find at 1 is that the airport closes and we have to leave, beginning a a marathon 3 hours stuck outside in the cold trying to catch some zzz's on the concrete outside Galileo International Airport. It was the most uncomfortable, yet hilarious moment of my life. Needless to say the night sucked...

4) To top it off at 4 am when we finally get to go inside, the airline wouldn't check us in b/c we had to wait until exactly 2 hours before our flight. WTH???

Basically our last night in Italy turned out to be just sheer insanity, but all in all the trip was a huge success. The food, the sites, smells, etc were all brand new and exciting for me. I can't wait to get the opportunity to return to Italy again sometime. But it feels good to be back in Deutscheland  and now for the homestretch.

4 more weeks...

I'll be back home in the USA. Each day here I continue to realize just how much the comforts of home are comforting. From just the ability to sleep in an airport or have access to certain entertainment at my fingertips, you just never think of how blessed we are as a nation. I miss my family and friends foremost of anything and can't wait to share all my adventures with them. 

But what I can't discount is how lucky I am to be here. And I know I must finish the task at hand. With two more games left on our schedule I know my mission and my purpose is to help take this Seals team as far as it can go. I'm excited for the opportunity and the challenge of the Rostock game and the Game against Belefel as well. Two very good teams ahead for us, but nothing worth having comes easy. Let's work hard, fight, and show these guys what Seals' football is all about!