Florence and Tuscany :)

A weekend we will never forget:

Florence!

My friends and I planned back in January to all meet for Katie’s (Kitty’s) 21^st birthday in Florence! And although at the time we thought May seem liked forever away, it came and went in a blink! This weekend was highly anticipated and it did not disappoint! Emily flew in from Paris, Sammy flew in from USA, and all of the Madrid girls and boys flew in! We had quite the crew. Luckily, Kitty’s apartment is really big, so we all had a place to sleep….even if it was on the floor.

We landed in Pisa because it was a cheaper flight, so before we trained into Florence of course we stopped by the leaning tower! It was actually leaning. REALLY leaning. After a few pictures we were off to Florence!

Our weekend begins. We arrived just before dinner and all rushed to get ready to grab a quick gelato before we walked it to the top of Plaza Michaelangelo…a famous lookout where you can see a breathtaking view of the entire city of Florence. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to have an AMAZING performer singing his heart out to the crowd.  We even bought his CD and got him to sign it! We all enjoyed each other’s company and our wine. 

After watching the incredible sunset, we went to the famous pizza joint in Florence (Gusto) and ordered $6 pizzas to-go. We sat in a quiet square and all 12 of us ate our pizzas quicker than I have ever seen people eat. After our stomachs settled we walked to the Irish Pub (Jimmy’s) where all of the study abroad students go! The walls are covered in t-shirts and signatures from any university you can think of! We played beer pong, and celebrated night one of Kitty’s birthday right! When it was time to go home, we all fell asleep in an instant after a long day of travel and fun.

The day that we will never forget:

Kenley organized a wine tour for all of us in Tuscany at Tenuta Torciano Winery.  Unfortunately, we all woke up later than we had planned. We wanted to take a train, but ended up having the wrong time! So we all jumped in cabs and were on our way. When we arrived at the winery it was POURING rain and miserable outside, so we opted out of the vineyard tour and started our wine tasting right away.  Our guide, Andrea was THRILLED to have 12 girls as his group for the day.  He gave us an extra special experience and for that we are so grateful.  We tasted nine wines, which were paired with a four-course meal.  We started with a meat and cheese spread, then a delicious bean soup, followed by truffle lasagna, and cookies for dessert! We all enjoyed learning how to hold our glass, how to taste, how to spin our wine, and much more! Andrea was the best.  After our meal, the waiters insisted we stay as long as we wanted to enjoy the lovely courtyard. The rain cleared up and we had the best weather! They kept bringing wine, and we kept drinking it.

During our tasting, we noticed a helicopter land nearby and thought nothing of it.  After holding chickens, taking lots of pictures, and finishing our wine, a man tapped Katie (the birthday girl) on the shoulder.  He asked if she had ever been on a helicopter.  And after Kitty responded with “no”, the man said “well it’s your lucky day”….”I have a surprise for you and all of your friends”.  We did not believe what was happening. It was like we were living in a dream. A perfect day could not possibly get any better. But it did! The owner of the winery took each of us on the helicopter ride of a lifetime.  In groups of four, we went up in the air and saw the Italian wine country in a way that people only dream of! We could see vineyards for miles. It was absolutely unbelievable to share this experience with all of my best friends.  To see the shock and pure joy on all of their faces was too cool. 

Katie celebrated her 21^st birthday in a way we never thought was possible! We will never, ever, ever forget this day, as long as we live. 

We waited for over an hour for taxis to come get us to take us back to Florence, but clearly had no complaints!

And after an amazing day, we still had a full night ahead of us! We freshened up, and all met at Trattoria ZaZa’s for dinner.  Everyone LOVED the restaurant.  After dinner we went back to Katie’s apartment to drink.  However we had a silent party, because we got in trouble the night before for being too loud! So we all whispered for a couple of hours until it was time to go to SPACE, a club in the heart of Florence. Katie’s friend gave us all VIP bracelets, and we danced until we could no longer stand.  We had the absolute best night and completely took over the VIP area.  Some of us stayed until closing at 6am! (not me)

The next morning we all slept in until two in the afternoon. Taylor and I went to get breakfast at RAW and then to get more gelato! We met up with everyone and enjoyed delicious coffee and tea at a cute café nearby.  A quiet afternoon for all of us.  Since Sammy missed our first night at Michaelangelo, we decided to go back! We all bought wine and pizza and climbed back up to the terrific view and enjoyed a relaxing one last evening in Florence with .

Most of us had a crazy schedule to fly home.  Our flight was out of Pisa at 6am Monday morning.  But the last train out of Florence was at midnight.  So we took the train, and arrived to Pisa at 2am. The tram was closed, and there were no taxis available in the middle of the night.  So the 7 of us walked over a mile with all of our luggage at 2am to the airport, only to find out the airport was closed until 4am.  We sat outside in the freezing cold and passed time by playing charades until security unlocked the doors.

After a long, long night, we made it back to Madrid Monday morning, and took a quick nap before class!

We live a crazy life. A crazy good life.