pictured on the side is the famous "piazza di miracoli" -- home to the leaning tower of pisa (bell tower) as well as its duomo and baptistery. everyday on the way to nuclear engineering class we passed through this breathtaking square... along with its large commotion of goofy tourists and pushy street vendors. the tourists love to take pictures, pretending they are pushing over the leaning tower. take a lesson from miguel and have fun high-fiving them on the way to class.

things not to miss in pisa:

• bottega del gelato - located in the central piazza garibaldi near the bridge, the best gelato in pisa, €1,20 for a double scoop. i still have dreams about their pompelmo and fragola flavors.
• the mensa - cheap cafeteria-style eating for poor students. meals from €1-2. we usually went there for lunch in-between classes. a great way to save precious euros and talk to some of the local students.
• superal - grocery store a few blocks from our apartment building. a bancomat (atm) is located conveniently next door. this place has pretty much everything you will need... 12 liters of drinking water for €1, cheap 40s, wine, pasta, fruit, snacks, cookies, etc. they even play decent dance music inside. just try your best to have exact change.

navigating florence is not too difficult -- near the center of town, the red roof of the duomo and giotto's tower can be easily seen to serve as a reference point. it helps a lot to pick up a map anyway (free ones at the tourist office in the train station). the bulk of the sights are north of the arno river, near the duomo, but make sure to cross over ponte vecchio to check out southern florence as well.

not to be missed in firenze:

• duomo/cathedral/tower/baptistery - located in the center of town, these buildings are the basis of the iconic florence sky- line. definitely go into the cathedral (free), just make sure to be wearing enough clothes... no shorts, short skirts or tank tops.
• uffizi gallery - essential renaissaince art thanks to the obscenely wealthy medici family. connected to ponte vecchio near the arno. admission is €12,50, but be sure to make a reservation for a ticket in advance so you can bypass the long line. includes works by botticelli (birth of venus, primavera), davinci, michelangelo, caravaggio.
• piazza del michelango - jenny and i made the long trek up to the top of the hill, but the view is well worth it. a free and stunning view of the florence skyline. we even met a wonderful old man who was a native of florence, and he took us all over and told us amazing details about the city's history and historic churches. having that experience was irreplaceable.

roma. you probably can't make a trip to italy without visiting rome. we stayed in a youth hostel minutes from the colosseum, which provided a good base for walking around the city. rome has more of a city feel, especially compared to the quieter life in pisa. just walking around, it seems like some sort of priceless landmark or incredibly gorgeous cathedral is around every corner.

i picked up a small map from a bookstore (€2-3), which proved absolutely indispensible for travelling around. it made it much easier to plan out routes for walking and put the size of the city into perspective.

don't miss in rome:

• vatican museum - best €8,50 (w/ student discount) i have ever spent in my entire life. this museum houses a seemingly endless collection of irreplaceable statues, paintings, and frescoes. home of michelangelo's sistine chapel ceiling... the museum leads you on a cruelly suspenseful path, ending with the sistina cappella. got a sore neck from just staring at it for so long, and left the museum crying because it is so indescribably beautiful.
• st. peter's basilica - also in the vatican, with st. peter's "square" (which is acually round) right outside. make sure to have acceptable clothes on. features real live dead popes... inside of glass sarcophaguses.
• pantheon - originally started in 200 b.c., this incredible architectural feat has a large oculus in the center of the roof, completely open to the air. specially designed tiles in the floor allow rainwater to drain away. there is something majestic and stoic about the pantheon, and it is definitely worth a visit.
• spanish steps - come out here for some good chill time until the wee hours of the morning. hang out / gathering place for young people, where you can listen to musicians crooning songs with their guitars, chat with other students, or eat roasted chestnuts from the nearby street vendor. police come by sporadically to keep control of the alcohol situation -- making sure everyone is holding their bottles rather than placing them on the steps. bet you've never encountered that in america.
• street vendors - sure, they're all over the place in most of the cities we visited, but if you want to actually buy some of their wares, this is the place. it's great fun to pick up something, look at it skeptically, and bargain down the price with the vendor. commonly sold items include leather goods (shoes, purses, belts, wallets, fake louis vuitton, etc), silk scarves & ties, flags, soccer jerseys, calendars, mugs, ferrari memoribilia, postcards, and all sorts of hokey trinkets you could never imagine.

some other cities we visited were napoli (naples), venezia (venice), cinque terre, and the nearby beach town of viareggio. there is definitely plenty of time for travelling, especially with the three day weekends. the european train system is much better than it is here, so you can get pretty much anywhere you want to relatively affordably. just make sure to either show up plenty early before departure time, or buy tickets just before you plan to leave. i wasted a lot of money from missed trains and having to backtrack to get home, so be careful!