Krystal, Amy, and Mandi's European Adventures!

The big plan: Amy, Mandi, and Carsten had been scheming up a little plan. While in Munich, Carsten’s friend, Dirk, hit it off with Krystal and during our final day there, Krystal realized how much she would miss this great guy. Apparently, he felt the same way about her.  So in scheming with the gang, Dirk decided to take the 8 ½  hour train trip to meet up with us in Florence on day 2. While Krystal slept, Amy snuck to the train station at 6am to pick up Dirk and bring him to our hostel. Krystal woke to this wonderful surprise and found that Dirk would be joining us for the remainder of Florence and Rome as well! Unbelievable!!

We had a day trip planned to the Chianti Region of Tuscany and Dirk was able to join right in. We boarded a coach with 20+ other people and traveled 30 minutes outside Florence. We crossed the The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge the still remained from pre WWII) and the Aeno River as well, then traveled through the rolling hills and took in the beauty of Tuscany. 


We arrived at an establishment where we were introduced to proper wine etiquette. We learned of the different kinds of wine, how to hold the glass, smell, taste, and enjoy the wine. We tasted several of the local offerings and enjoyed the fresh olive oils and truffle oils from the region as well. Once we had our knowledge, we boarded the coach to a local vineyard and winery. We were introduced to the full process of creating wine—from the grapes on the vine, to processing, fermentation, barreling, and finally bottling…then we got to the best part—tasting the wines. We did this over a traditional Italian lunch made of breads, spreads, salads, and rice. They desert was cheese served with honey too. This whole day was just amazing as we took in the sights, smells, and tastes that were offered.


Afterwards, we boarded the coach and were brought to a smaller village of beautifully winding paths and cobble stone streets. The rain came back to greet us, but it didn’t stop our fun. Amy was able to find different pasta and Mandi some local favorites as well. We made sure to stop for a treat at the World Best Gelato Maker's shop after shopping too! (We decided that gelato had to replace Starbucks since there weren’t any to be found in Italy) Our trip ended and we took a peaceful ride back to town and returned to Plus Hostel for a quick regrouping then off for dinner. Another traditional Italian pasta dinner then it was off to relax for the night as Roma was waiting for us in the AM!

We arrived in Florence and set off to our Plus Hostel. The train station was located close to the hostel and Amy was able to navigate the coble stone, curvy, unmarked roads again to our destination. Unfortunately it was raining in Florence off and on day one...that didn't stop us though and we were still able to hit the town and see some of the major sites. The first venture was to find true Italian Gelato! The delicious local treat was just what we needed before we ventured into the history in Florence. We made our way to the Duomo. It was located in the center of the city and after a short wait; we climbed the 463 steps to the top and found the most magnificent view of the city: 360 degrees of true Italian beauty. The cathedral itself, Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore, was built from 1296 to 1436 and is large enough to fit 20,000 people! The interior was made of marble in green, pink, and white shades and murals lined the ceilings. So beautiful! We were also able to see Pallazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and some of the other beautiful architecture the city offered. Of course we were able to find our way to some shopping as well. Markets lined the streets for some great shopping opportunities. During our shopping extravaganza we learned quickly what “Aqua” meant too! Since it had been raining, the vendors needed to get the acclimated rain off the roof of their tents and with stick in hand, they yelled “Aqua” and the water came tumbling down. THUS, Aqua = get out of the way or get wet. Lesson learned!

After the eventful part of the day we made our way to a small Italian restaurant that offered BIG flavor. Pizza, Cannelloni, and Lasagna were ordered and shared amongst ourselves over some of the local Chianti wine. With such a long day behind us, we grabbed some wine and headed back to the “hostel” to soak in the pool and enjoy the sauna. (Who said Hostel life was bad?). After a quick trip to the bar to share a card game or two, we all called it a night.