Florence & Pisa Weekend

So here was the plan:

Head out early to catch the train to Florence, check into our hostel by 2pm, look around Florence for the day, sleep, head out Sunday morning to Pisa (to see leaning tower) and other places in Tuscany on the way back to Vicenza by night.

& Here’s What Actually Happened:

We headed out a little late Saturday morning because a few girls overslept and one other girl and I needed our passports back from our director (who borrowed them to copy for records, had them in her room so we had the hotel people let us in). At the train station they told us all the trains to Florence were full until 3pm so we debated and decided to reserve seats on that one from Padova. Since we had time to kill, we took the train to

Padova and looked around there for awhile (there wasn’t a lot to see but looked at some shops and ate pizza). Since it was so late, we decided to check out Pisa and its leaning tower Saturday night and save all the stuff in Florence for Sunday. It worked out well because we had plenty of time in Pisa to take ridiculous pictures holding up the tower, walk around, and ate really good

food at a restaurant. They had a random meal deal that came with lasagna, roast beef, (both tasted like grandma’s!), French fries (weird combo I know), water, and wine (which I still think tastes nasty!). We were full and happy as we took the train back to Florence to find our hostel (hoping that we could still get in since we missed check-in by many hours!) We had really vague directions to get to the hostel so it took a bit and some asking to find it but there was room to stay so it all worked out! My first experience in a hostel was not bad…it the cheapest one we could find and had some not so good reviews online but we risked it. The rooms were teeny with weird bathroom and little cots but it worked for me (better than sleeping outside or on a train). We went out to check out the town at night and found this little restaurant pub place that was cool—we met many people (some from the Livorno & Aviono military bases, a girl that works in Vicenza, and some nice Italian people). They showed us another place to check out for awhile and then we headed back to the hostel to sleep around 2.

To get an early start, we got up and were in line for the museum (Galleria dell’Accademia) where the statue of David along with a bunch of other ancient religious paintings are held. It was cool to see and crazybecause most of the pieces were from the 1300-1400’s! We had a map of Florence so we headed around to find the main sites. There were lots of pretty, old buildings again like all Italian cities. We found the huge palace (Pitti) with gardens in the back but it was really expensive to look around each part so we actually just peered in the gates and played with the pigeons for awhile. It down-poured there, was raining on and off all weekend and a bit cold but my umbrella held up the whole time. We did a little shopping on the tent market things on the streets (they all sell the same main things-scarves, t-shirts, leather: purses, belts, wallets, etc, World Cup stuff, and jewelry). We saw the Ponte Vecchio bridge where the shops line the bridge across the water

selling jewelry and expensive gold…and waffles for the tourists! There were Piazzas (plazas) everywhere with statues andfountains…the Piazza della Signoria had too many statues (one replica of the statue of David), a church, and a fountain. The statues started to freak me out after so many of them! On the way back to the train station, we stopped at the main Florence attraction, The Doumo. It was a huge cathedral with a giant dome—the decorations on the outside were crazy elaborate in marble I think! The line was way too long to wait to go inside so we settled for walking around it. We headed back on the train and got to ride one of the cool high-speed trains (though fast, the inside wasn’t as cool as an earlier one where we got to be in our own little nook cabin with 6 seats and a door that slid shut from the aisle!) That was cool and there was even a cute little snack cart that went down the train aisle.

---This week for work I am down for the 6am-3pm shift in the infant room because the main teacher person in my room is gone on R&R with her husband. Work is getting better as I figure out how the room procedures work and which babies need what when.

---There are a lot of acronyms I am learning from the military base...they use them even when it would be just as short to say the words themselves! MP=military police, CDC=Child Development Center, SAS=School Age Services, R&R=rest and relaxation, PCS=Permanent Change of Station (moving), TDY=something moving temporarily, DFAC=Dining Facility, PX=Post Exchange (store),

Verona

Verona is less than an hour’s train ride from Vicenza so we thought we would head there for the day and see what there was! The plan was just to walk around and see what we saw but we headed out of the train station the wrong way…oops. So we went back to get a cheap tourist map of the city with the key sites to see. Now we were in business…or so we thought. We didn’t really know where we currently were on the map so we just started walking and then decided the best approach was to follow the cute old touristy looking couple I spotted up ahead (they looked knowledgabe, had a map, and were pointing—see picture :) We hung back so we weren’t too creepy and they headed for the main piazza so it worked out great! Hahaha

We saw the ‘Arena’ a huge, old coliseum theater which we paid a couple Euro to go inside. It was so neat! We saw them setting up a huge stage for some sort of Egyptian play/ show later. Next we set off to find Juliet’s house w/ the balcony from Romeo & Juliet…easier said than done even with

a map it was hard to find. I’m glad we did though because the entrance arch walls were covered with little love notes on random scraps of paper and most stuck up with gum! We saw the balcony but I didn’t bother to pay to go up onto it. There were a bunch of other sites to see in the city and we walked past most—old buildings, bridges, and churches. One of the churches was gorgeous and I went inside to look for a bit. We were all tired of walking so took a break and had water and I got a delicious fruit cup they must sell everywhere in Italy! I could definitely get used to people selling fresh fruit (especially pineapple) on every street.

Vicenza-Sunday

On Sunday I got up and had breakfast at the hotel (discovered I like blueberry yogurt!) and then swam and hung out with the others by the pool on base for awhile. Later a few of us went to eat in Vicenza—we found a really cool Chinese restaurant within walking distance. The floor was clear glass with an aquarium below!! We were planning to look around the sites in Vicenza more on Sunday, but it was raining on an off quite a bit in the afternoon/evening so we will wait til another day…

Work @ CDC

Last week we started working in the CDC’s (Child Development Centers=daycare on base). We are just put on the schedule wherever they need us to fill in when staff move or go on R&R with spouses or whatever. We also found out that they can try to be sneaky and use us instead of staff because we work 8 hours a day and only get paid a bit (stipend, housing, plane tickets) compared to what the staff is paid working full-time.

During the first week usually worked in the infant room in the morning, had a short lunch break and then would come back to work in one of the toddler rooms or float wherever I was needed. I liked working with the Pre-K class and even got to help with their graduation rehearsal which was fun…but soon enough they pulled me back to the infant room for extra help! Don’t get me wrong, the babies are cute but intimidating at the same time! I didn’t really know what to do at first but by this week am getting the hang of when to feed them, how the bottle warmers work, whose parents are who, who eats what, and writing down everything (the time they eat, sleep, diaper, and specifically what they eat). It is a bit tedious but can be fun at times. I am starting to enjoy it a little now that I don’t feel like I am always doing something wrong or that I am going to accidently hurt a baby or something. I am a bit disappointed because I have a feeling that I will be in he infant room the majority of the summer as the schedule is looking…we’ll see! People are always coming and going (staff & kids) so you never know!

During the week we are pretty relaxed, working and then just hanging out or doing whatever at night. I went to the library on base and got my own library card and we used it to check out an Italy travel book. It looks helpful and even has a lot of stuff about our city, Vicenza. I guess Vicenza is known for its architecture and a world leading city in the gold industry-they have gold shows here periodically?... The base is still pretty dead—not many people live here right now because just about everyone is deployed and many will get back in December. It is crazy to think that they are in Afghanistan! We met a few guys who had just gotten back 2-4 days earlier from Afghanistan one was on medical leave.

Kayaking at Lake Garda

On Sunday, my roommate Rachel and I went on a kayaking trip put on by the Outdoor Rec program on base. There were 13 people that went--it was an interesting group--2 instructors, a new instructor in training, a few soldiers, a married couple, and 2 wives whose husbands are currently deployed. We left at 6:45am and took a van with a kayak trailer behind and drove to the lake. I think it was only like 1.5 hours to drive.

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake (30 miles long and 10 miles wide in some places). We unloaded and learned the basics of getting in and paddling the kayaks. We were off and going in no time. Because there is a lot of boat traffic, we paddled near the shore and stopped a few times along the route at beaches and rock areas until we got to Sirmione (a town along the lake).

We pulled up our kayaks and because we paddled so quickly, we had about 1 hour until our restaurante reservations. Rachel and I decided to look around the town which was a bit of a walk but very pretty. We came back after a bit and laid on the dock thing and checked out the beach--there were a ton of people laying out to tan and swim--i guess for many Italians Sunday is a family day and many go to the beach. We had a good lunch in the outdoor part of a restaurant close to the shore.

We headed out towards the castle that was built in Roman times...I was surprised when the instructors led us paddling around the castle in the moat, under a drawbridge thing and back out! It was really cool because you could see inside the castle walls where the water still flowed and they used to keep the ships inside until ready to fight! There were lots of tourists taking pictures of us in the moat--they were quite a ways above us on the streets/sidewalks around the castle. We headed back through a boat harbor and had to paddle really fast to get through before more of the speedboats took off! it was a bit scary. We got back, loaded, and drove home. I was surprised that my arms weren't even too tired but it was a good workout!

Venice

* The high school on base had their junior-senior prom on Friday!---We all had the perfect view for watching all the parents take pictures and check out all the dresses because they got on the bus to go in front of our hotel! We also met one woman who's son was going to prom...she was from Waterloo, IA!!

* Friday night most of our Camp Adventure group went out to eat. Afterwards we saw a community event outside a church...there was food and music so a few of us stayed to check that out for a bit. I think the old people were doing th

e Italian version of polka/line dancing! Brittney and I tried it. Then we walked around awhile a

nd then got gelato....because it is so good!

*Saturday we headed to Venice:

-It was interesting and exciting to figure out how to get off base, find the bus stop, figure out when to get off, which train to take,etc. but we didn't do too shabby for the first time! There was a nice English speaker and his grandma who helped us figure out the ticket machines a bit.

-Because we wanted to take the cheaper train, we had to wait in the train station awhile but I was entertained by watching trains and feeding the pigeons bits of the peanut butter sandwich I had brought along.

-Once in Venice, our plan was to walk and wander until we made our way to the Piazza San Marco Basilica (the main plaza and tourist attractions). We saw so many little vendors selling masks, pasta, wine, gondola man hats, etc. The streets were really windy and cool because there aren't any cars on the main part of Venice--only boat traffic around the canals.

-We found the main piazza and took lots of pictures! We wanted to take a gondola ride in the canal but the man said they cost 80 Euro! We said no way and were a little disappointed....until we found a little later a gondola that would take us across the main canal (very short!) for only 50 cents--that was good enough for us (we just wanted to ride one, not really go anywhere)

- It was quite the walk back to the train station after walking for about 5 hours already that day...but on the way back we were in a more residentia

l, quieter area and even saw the University of Venice-Architecture School.

- While waiting for the train, I finally bought one of the fruit cups we saw at the beginning of the day! It was cheap and filled with pineapple, watermelon, and kiwi!

-On the train back we met some guys who visited Venice that day too and were heading back to post as well. We thought there would be more of a chance of finding our way back with their help, but they didn't know any more than us! We all figured out when to get off and the buses back together.

Week #1

This first week has been pretty relaxed so far, we are in training/orientation for the week before we can actually start working full 8 hour days in the CDC (child development center) next week. On Tuesday we finally got our military ID passes so we are able to leave base AND get back on! yay! So since this was pretty exciting, a bunch of us went out to eat at an Italian restaurante down the street--and of course had some wonderful pasta! Later we walked and found a gelato shop but I was too full to have any--I feel that will be a frequent stop for me though throughout the summer!

* I am going to try to learn some more basic Italian...it is similar in many ways and some words to Spanish so I am hoping I will pick it up fairly quickly!

* Living on a military base is interesting--It is like a AMERICAN small town only smack dab in the middle of Italy! It is a bit bizarre. The base includes schools, daycares, a gym, bowling alley, hotel, restaurants, a Target-like store, a library, bowling alley, grocery store, etc....it is probably bigger than my hometown Hawkeye only less residential.

* Working in a daycare is interesting also: there is a procedure for everything and the kids are of course funny and energetic and usually getting into a bit of trouble! It is a bit frustrating so far because I don't know how the staff runs things. Most of the staff is made up of wives of the soldiers--many who are deployed right now.

* I learned that the people on base move around from base to base, country to country a lot and some even say that they don't know where they are from (kids especially) they get a little of the host country's culture, American culture, and also the culture of a military base/family...it's interesting. I think the term is "Third Culture Kids"

This weekend, we are planning to head to Venice--about 1 hour train ride away! hopefully I will have some great pictures to share afterwards!!