Playing Catch-up - Days 8-12

Ok, so here is the latest... kind of.

Day 8 - To conclude that cliffhanger ending... I went to meet with the woman who had invited me to her friend's place and told her that I wasn't going to go. She didn't mind and luckily she was meeting someone else at the same time, so I didn't just leave her hanging. I ended up hanging out with Rachel and Bec at an Irish pub watching the Spain v Italy match. There were so many people that we weren't even able to buy a beer (awesome money saving). It was a great game. I was pretty much rooting for Spain, but I tried to keep it on the DL for the most part, since those Italians can get pretty rowdy. The match went into overtime and ultimately into PKs, so as the tension mounted I began to show my colors a bit more. I kept getting dirty looks that said, "why are you here, and not in Barcelona where you belong?" It was pretty funny. Sadly enough for the Italians, Spain won! We made it back to the dirty hostel and slept really well.

Day 9 - The next day was all about the awesomeness of travelling solo. I had intended to start my voyage through Tuscany, but had been hearing so much about beaches, so when I got the station I saw that there was a train to Rimini. I ended up sleeping the entire way because it was just so hot. Rimini is where all the Italian tourists go on holiday. It was pretty cool to be surrounded by Italian rather than English.
Once I found a place to stay - which was pretty easy - I took a nap, the heat really takes it out of me. I have come to enjoy my siesta time. Once I woke up and started to function I hung out for a bit around the area. That evening I did the really creepy solo traveller thing and pretty much invited myself to hang out with a group of students from the UK. They were a crack up. I love the accents! We went to get dinner - pizza - and I found out that I actually kind of like anchovies on pizza. Yep, that's right, anchovies. We set off to see the ocean in the evening with a few beers and it was heaps of fun. The sunset was so beautiful. I love the ocean... the Adriatic Sea to be more specific. We hung out for a bit longer and then headed back to the hostel. The hostel in Rimini was really cute... retro wall paper and all.

Day 10 - I woke up and finally met the girls in my dorm. They were really sweet and friendly. I went to the beach and it was so beautiful. I was sort of taking a vacation from vacation. I didn't see any of the sights and didn't carry my Lonely Planet around like I usually do. It was AWESOME. That afternoon I hoofed it to the grocery store and picked up some supplies for dinner - salad and sandwich. Only one word describes this part of my day - hot.
That night was a good example of the downsides of traveling alone. There weren't too many people at the hostel and so I went to their sister hostel which was equally dull. I was pretty lonely, but it is in these times that I find silly ways to amuse myself. Meanwhile I was develloping an incresingly strange sunburn. Strange in that it was only on one arm and patchy. I am really bad at sunscrean applliaction. Oh well, I am working on it.

Day 11 - Well, I finally made it out of Rimini and back on schedule. That morning I headed once again to a train station and got the train to Florence. On the platform during my layover I braved a conversation with a stranger, Kara. Turns out we were both heading to Florence, so I followed her to her hostel and we hung out for the next few days. The hostel in Florence was pretty much a sauna. It was a converted convent, so it was really neat-looking, but man was the room hot.
I have already been to Florence, but wasn't all that impressed, but I decided to give it a second try and I am really happy that I did. A lot of my time there seemed kind of like deja vu, but it was really cool. I liked how small it was, most things were in walking distance. Of course, Florence is supposedly where gelato was invented, so we had to get some and it was pretty good. I am not really sure how much bad gelato exists, though. I realized recently that the only thing I can do in Italian is order ice cream. It would be nice if that was a joke, but in all seriousness, that is all I know how to do.
So after wandering around a bit that evening (and rubbing the snout of a statue of a boar), Kara and I went back to the hostel and I watched the match between Germany and Turkey. It was pretty frustrating, the screen kept going black and I actually missed one of the goals! Ultimately Germany won, which was cool. I am not quite sure how I would have felt if Turkey was the European cup holder... only because the idea of the european continent is pretty obscure.


Day 12 - So the next morning we got up early, Kara earlier than me, but whatever. We had both planned on going to the Uffizi Gallery and luckily for me, she let me cut in line with her. The museum was extraordinary. There were paintings by pretty much every renaissance artist I have ever heard of... not that that means much. In Florence museums are pretty expensive, so I only went to that one. I am happy to have made that choice.
After the Uffizi, we headed to the duomo and we snuck in with a group to avoid the line. Ah, travelling adventures. It was so awe inspiring. The whole church is made of green and white marble and it is enormous. After that, we went to "leather town" or more commonly known as San Lorenzo. It was all so soft and so pretty. Being there made me realize how much I really want to be a professor, just so I can justify buying a cute leather briefcase.
We walked back and admired Florence's bridges and beauty and of course got some more gelato. I was finally able to resist hazelnut and got cheesecake and cookie... not your standard gelato flavors. Back at the hostel, where we were escaping the heat, we both pondered our future travel plans.
After cooling off a bit, we headed up to the Piazza Michaelangelo where we had heard it would be possible to hear some chanting monks. And as you all know, where the monks chant, I must go. Not all of us made it to the top, but I did and it was absolutely breathtaking (the adjectives are just flying out today). The church itself was beautiful and the view over the city from the top of the hill was great and free, so I skipped the climb up the duomo.
After that, Kara and I decided to check out a pizza place that her friend had recommended. It was so great. The pizza maker was right next to the table and he was really funny. He kept looking over at us and giving big smiles and waves. I have found that Italian peopole are generally very hospitible. The experience was awesome. A few days ago I had ordered a pizza and accidentally got anchovies - and loved it! Yeah, that's right, I like anchovies, what are you going to do about it?
We went back to the hostel and I had a beer and watched the Spain v Russia game, that Spain won 3-1. You guys are totally watching the cup vicariously through me... unless maybe you already know who won ;)
That night after the game I went out with a few people from the hostel and had a really nice time. I love meeting travellers from all over the world - everyone had such a different perspective. That night, the hostel was like a sauna at night. It was ridiculous.

OK, so that was days 8 through 12. I will be working on the last few days here pretty quickly, probably by tomorrow evening (at least that is my goal since the internet is pretty cheap here).