running through train stations...

my first week in italy flew by...everyday was jam packed with going going going...my classes end at 1, from there we eat lunch, and then we have some type of afternoon activity...last week, for example, we went to the Uffize Museum with a History professor...it was amazing! i loved having someone tour us around...he knew so much about so much! i could have listened to him forever...but, once again my feet got tired (which i have found is occurring more and more frequently) and amy and i had a lot of travel planning to do...

this travel stuff is difficult at times...well, atleast the pre-travelling stuff...amy and i were very productive though...we had planned to go to poland this past weekend, but do to our last minute planning our trip was going to be beyond expensive...so, we had to come up with a plan B...we shifted some weekends around on our calendars and decided that this weekend we would explore the beautiful land of Switzerland! Amy and went through a whole lot to make this happen...after booking our hostel reservations online for both nights, we went to the train station and bought our tickets...then, the next day we had to walk these two guys (Alex and Chandler) through the entire thing because they wanted to go with us...which is fine (even though frustrating at times) because i'm glad they came...long story short, we eventually got on our train to Zurich Friday afternoon, even though the boys didn't make a hostel reservation...amy and i couldnt do everything...

the train ride took about 6 hours...not bad at all...we played cards and read...we arrived around 10:30 p.m. and easily found our hostel...thankfully, there was room for the guys (but they had to pay triple what we did)...the hostel was really much nicer than i had invisioned...i guess i always picture just, dirty nasty worse than camp disease ridden mattresses...but they were very clean...and each bed had it own little cubicle with a curtain, and a locker to put your stuff in...it was great...our hostel was located right in the center of the "old town"...and it was bumpin'...seriously, there is no other word...there were people all over the place...music was blaring (which made sleeping difficult)...so we decided to go walk around a grab something to eat...the next morning Amy and i woke up early and went to the saturday morning flea market at the end of the River...there was so much junk...we had a lot of fun just walking around...and this old man tried to convince us that the statue of the naked man in the park was actually of him...it was funny...he was kinda crazy...he really might think thats him...we met up with the guys and went to get bikes! the city lets you ride them for free! so we just rode around for a few hours, exploring, falling over and laughing hysterically...but we could not leave Zurich without eating some fantastic truffles right? don't worry, amy and i had our fill...i have finally tasted how chocolate should taste...i could keep talking about our day in Zurich, but i'm afraid a lot of it would just bore you/not be funny to you...so i'll wrap things up...

it started to rain late that afternoon so we headed to our next stop, Luzern, Switxerland...about an hour outside of Zurich...our hostel here was even cooler...very trendy, i guess...i can't really explain...it was just cool...if i had a hostel, it would be like this one...it was raining pretty steadily now, but we refused to let that get in our way...we went to eat thai food at a local restaurant...really good and really cheap...then we went to a bar called Jazkatine which was in Amy's guide book AND my guide book as the best place to hang out in town...however, there was no jazz on saturday night...there was a Swiss vs. Israel soccer game instead...it ended up being fun anyway...even though they tied...

well, the next morning it was still raining...and after visiting the Picasso museum and getting soaking wet, we headed to the train station...but our train never came...too much water on the tracks they said...so, Amy and I were now panicked/mad...Amy and I headed down to talk to the ticket people...some lady told us we had to buy new tickets...Amy and i were not happy...we told her that was unacceptable...and after lots of talking, we got a new lady to help us who actually understood the situation...there was lots of german being exchanged between the clueless girl and the smart one...when we asked what was going on, the lady said "we book new tickets for new train to Bern that leaves in 5 minutes"...yes...we had five minutes to exchange tickets for four people, get all of our bags, and get on said train...if we missed this one, we would miss all the other connecting trains we would need to get to Florence that night! I ran head to gather the guys/bags, but Chandler was no where in sight...he had waited all afternoon until right now to go use the bathroom! i started running to the bathroom, passed Amy, shouted "chandler, bathroom", she shouted back "platform 9" and i continued running...ofcourse there was a huge concert thing going on downstairs, so i had to weave/jump over children and luggage...ran into the bathroom, caught chandler's eye, said "we gotta go!" and then we both sprinted as fast as we could back through the crowd, onto platform 9, and then onto our train!!! we were so lucky...and running through train stations is really fun when you make it to the train and are able to laugh about it after...unfortunately, that wasn't the only time we had to run...but by then, i was pretty good at weaving...4 trains and 7 hours later, we made it back to florence...

well, zurich was good...i'm headed to the duomo now and then to the symphony tonight...love you all...peace

shout outs:
frances: your aunt s-unit loves you!
rebecca: fli flove flou
tiffany's puppies: look out, your mom's got the squirts
etak: ELLO, MY NAMES RIICHAAAARD! I LIVE IN IIREELAND!! so many accents here...wish i could impersonate them with you...soon...very soon..
ferg: please imagine what might have happened if we actually had picked up that baby deer...what a story that would have been
cameron: so, at breakfast, there are never any spoons...so we are all forced to use the huge serving spoons to eat our cereal...and every morning, all i can think about is the fact that "MY SPOON IS TOO BIG!"