Pisa + Viareggio= Good Weekend

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It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the weekend goes by here. Friday after 3 hours of Italian class, 20 ACM students and 3 faculty members caught the train to Pisa. I don't have much experience with trains, so it was a fun/quick way to get to Pisa. I think the train ride only took about an hour with a few stops in between. It was a beautiful ride because you can see the Italian countryside. We spent about 4 hours in Pisa. We walked the mile long route through the middle of Pisa from the train station to the the Field of Miracles (with the Leaning Tower, Cathedral, and Baptistery). Once at the Field of Miracles, we had a chance to take pictures with the tower (we were such tourists). Janet gave us some of the history behind the tower and cathedral before taking us into the cathedral. I have come to realize that while looking at the art inside these establishments is interesting, I would much prefer to study the history and the architecture of the buildings. Our professors don't really go into those areas of study much. I guess I will just have to research it on my own.

After we got done at Pisa, a group of about 15 of us caught the train from Pisa to Viareggio, a nearby coastal town on the Ligurian Sea. We didn't have any plans for where we were going to stay or what exactly we were going to do. We wandered around Viareggio for awhile before we lucked into a 2 star hotel only a few blocks from the beach. They had room for all 15 of us. I think we pretty much made up the whole hotel. Dinner that night was less than ideal. The restaurant some of us went to treated us like crap probably because we were Americans. But hey, at least the food was good.

I spent all of Saturday at the beach. The weather was ideal beach weather. It was just warm enough to be pleasant, but not too hot either. I enjoyed just sitting in the sun reading a new book I just got. It is called The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It's an awesome book. You can tell when reading it that the author is very intelligent. I love the vocabulary she uses. It's one of those books you just can't put down. I strongly recommend it.

Sunday was really laid back. I got up late and spent the day in the park reading. It was the quintessential Sunday afternoon followed by a gelato outing. In short, it was amazing!

Next stop, Venice!