The Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually a bell tower that is part of a cathedral. The tower was not meant to be leaning, but the foundation was not created appropriately so it has never stood straight. The tower is actually sinking and supposedly in about 150 years it will no longer be there at all. 150 years sounds like a long time to me, but I'm an American and most things in Europe are much, much older than my country.
The area near the tower was crowded - it's a very popular tourist destination. You could actually climb up the tower, but we didn't have much time (I think we were there an hour) so we spent it taking pictures instead.
From left: Kris, Neraj, Phil, Brittney, Alyssa (on top), Ruston, Martin, Jeff, me, and Kayleigh
The Cathedral
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
It leans, so you have to hold it up and make sure it doesn't fall over
Selfie!
It started to pour rain just as we were leaving and loading back onto the coach. Thankfully I had an umbrella and we all ran, so we only got a little wet.
We arrived in Florence and stopped at our campsite. Compared to what we had just left in the French Riviera, it seemed very spacious and fancy. Danielle and I roomed with Alyssa and Kayleigh, and we had a little time for some gossip and makeup before leaving for dinner in the city.
We stopped off at a beautiful lookout point to take our group photo - you could purchase a photo for 11 euros, which I think most everyone did. It was a little rainy at that point so it was very hurried, but we got some nice pictures. The actual photo we purchased turned out nicer than the scanned one I'm posting here!
Our beautiful group in beautiful Florence
Danielle, Daryl, and I
After that, it was time for dinner. The dinner in Florence was a group activity, but it was considered an optional through Contiki. I think everyone except Allistair attended. It was a 3 course Tuscan meal with plenty of wine, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
The first course was an antipasti that consisted of a couple of cured meats, a white bean tapenade, and a marinera sauce on crostini.
The second course was pasta - three different kinds! There was a bow tie pesto, a spaghetti with marinera, and ravioli in a very light sauce. By this point you weren't exactly hungry anymore, but there was still a third course - I think it was a couple of kinds of meat and a salad, but I don't actually remember! I think the first two courses really stood out but the whole meal was wonderful. We had lemoncello and an ice cream cake for dessert. I was really glad I didn't pass up on this dinner, because it was delicious and we had a lot of fun, too.
The group at dinner - I think Hercules photo bombed the picture of the 5 friends together
After dinner, we walked over to a karaoke bar called the Red Garter. I'll stop here and say - if you are only interested in hearing about Florence, you should stop here and head to my next post. The rest of this post is about our night out and is really not related to tourism or even related to being a responsible adult. Family, you've been warned.
Red Garter
The Red Garter is a karaoke bar, and a really fun one. I've never been anywhere that included a live guitar and a real stage for karaoke, so this was a first! It didn't seem like a very "traditional Florentine" bar, but I have to say it was a really fun place to go.
I think most of the group got up at some point and sang. I sang "Call me Maybe" with Jhoey and another song with Brittney. I am not usually one to join in on karaoke these days, but the way it was set up you couldn't really tell anyone was singing badly and it was really a lot of fun.
"Call me Maybe" with Jhoey
We had had a decent amount of wine at dinner, and drinks kept flowing while we were there. I had the worst martini ever - it was a dirty martini but it was made with gin. I switched to amaretto sours after that. The group was dancing and having a generally very good time together.
My Contiki besties - Daryl, Kris, Phil, and Danielle (with me)
A few people, including Danielle, left when the coach went back to the campsite - fairly early. Most of us stayed at the Red Garter after that to continue having fun.
This is where the night got kind of weird. Again, read no further if you just want to hear about traveling!
I was careful most of the trip not to overdo it drinking. As you may recall, I drank way too much wine in Paris and really regretted feeling sick the next day and missing out on memories because things were a blur. So in Florence, I had quite a bit to drink but was doing alright - I was at the point where I had lost inhibitions but could still pull myself together if needed.
I had had several people tease me before the trip about how I was going to fall in love with some Italian man and never come back. For the record, that did not happen. What did happen, however, was that Italian men are very assertive and are not afraid to approach you and kiss you within moments of meeting you. Italian men are also good kissers, from what I was able to experience... Let's just say I spent most of the rest of the evening making out in a bar in Florence with two different Italian gentlemen who both urgently wanted me to ride home with them on their Vespas but who were repeatedly shot down because I didn't want to leave my friends and be killed.
YOLO right?
I've had weeks to process things at this point, but let's be real for a second - I had fun, and I enjoyed kissing exotic men on my first vacation as a single woman after a divorce.
But I also felt kind of bad about it afterward. I think that night got a little out of control - I am not the type I do not want to be the type of girl who gets drunk and makes out (for hours?) with multiple strange men in bars. That's old behavior, 21 year old Jill behavior, that I thought I left a decade behind me.
On one hand, kissing is harmless and fun and feels good. It's nice to be touched and it's nice to feel like someone wants you. But that latter part - the "someone wants you" part - touches on a dark place. It's something I need to watch out for as 31 year old divorced Jill, because it's a place that gets me into trouble, especially in moments of insecurity or feeling a bit rejected (both of which I felt a bit that night, truthfully).
Thankfully, I don't think any harm came from that night - unless you count being slightly embarrassed that almost the entire tour group witnessed my trashy behavior and getting teased about it for days afterward.
In the end it was a lesson and a crazy story. And one of the guys added me on Facebook, which cracks me up every time I think of it. I do know that I need to be careful not to revert back to the person I was back in my last single days - that person was a little too careless and tended to do things for the wrong reasons. It honestly scared me a little how easily I slipped right back a decade and started acting like someone I don't want to be at this point in my life.
But what's vacation for if not to try out some local flavors, yes?
At some point in the middle of all this, I had grabbed Alyssa and told her in no uncertain terms that she was NOT to leave without me. I was really concerned that since I was distracted, people would leave and I'd be left behind and not realize it. Sarah had made it very clear to us before we arrived that it was not safe for anyone to take a cab on their own, so I really wanted to stick with the group.
Well, that turned out not to be an issue. I had gone outside with Random Italian #2 and when I came back inside, the bar had mostly cleared out aside from a few very drunk Contiki travelers (and one very drunk Contiki tour manager). It was late at that point, though I had no idea how late, and I wanted to go home. I spent probably the next hour trying to get the remaining 4 people into a cab - no easy feat! We had a very bloody foot, someone who just wanted to sit on the sidewalk, another person who couldn't decide if she wanted to leave, and generally just a lot of challenge leaving. I was not sober but I wasn't nearly as drunk as the rest of them, so I ended up herding everyone into a cab and making sure we got home ok. I guess you could say 31 year old Jill came back later that night. We got back around 4am, which was insane!
None of them remembered getting home so it made for some laughs the next day as I explained what happened. Overall, I'd say I had a lot of fun that night and though things got a little crazy, all I can really do looking back on that entire night is laugh and shake my head.
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