10:30 am, Viareggio – After getting up and eating breakfast at the hotel, we load up the bus and check out of our Lucca hotel. Our first stop is about 30 minutes west of Lucca in a smaller beach town called Viareggio. It is a beautiful day for the beach, so three of our guys actually change into their swimsuits and make their way into the Ligurian Sea! The water is a little too cold for the rest of the guys that brought swimsuits, so most of us wander up and down the beachfront town, checking out the shops and gelato stands.
1:00 pm, Pisa – We got back on the road from Viareggio and continued on our way to Florence. This time, we make a minor detour and visit Pisa. Immediately when we get off our bus, we are introduced to the Italian street-vendors. Equipped with cardboard box tops filled with items like sunglasses, umbrellas, “real rolex” watches, and any plenty of other trinkets for sale, about 10 of them surround us as we get off the bus one by one. A few of our guys are convinced they are getting a “good price” and buy sunglasses, only to attract the attention of more vendors. We eventually get on another bus system that takes us directly to the entrance of the Pisa city center, which holds the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa. For about an hour, we get all the pictures near the structure we can get and wander the streets to find a very late lunch. It almost feels like an amusement park because there are so many people and tour groups packing the streets of Pisa. Many of us stop at the Pisa Café and eat some pizza for about 20 minutes. After coming back out of the restaurant and seeing the Leaning Tower again, it almost feels like a fake backdrop – it’s such an amazing sight.
4:30 pm, Florence – We finally regrouped and left Pisa for the hour long drive to Florence. Once we get into the city, we check into our hotel – AC Firenze. It is a very different hotel from the one in Lucca – a bit bigger and more modern feeling. The best part about our arrival to the hotel is that we are greeted by 2011 Trinity Basketball alum Sam Dworkin (who had been waiting for a while because we were over an hour late getting to the hotel). Sam is currently working in Spain and decided to fly over to Italy to join in the fun. We all get settled into our rooms and meet downstairs for a “rundown” of what was in the immediate area from Rebecca and Marta. Most of the group leaves the hotel to familiarize themselves with the streets of Florence.
8:30 pm, Florence – We have our first dinner in Florence at a place called Rosticceria La Spada. This is where our group is first introduced to the appetizer of duck liver on toasted bread. Let’s just say, some liked it, and some couldn’t stop talking about how brave they were to try it.
