Buongiorno

So, I had a nice little video all prepared and everything (I did it on the train ride to Florence), but the internet at our hostel is SO crappy that I can't even hardly do just this blog post. So, I guess I have a few days to catch you all up on! And I'll tell you what, it's been quite the adventure!

Prague: The remainder of our time in Prague was a blast! It's quite the amazing city! When I left you at the last blog post, the two of us went out to a cocktail bar called Tiki Taky and had SO much fun! We ordered weird drinks, bonded with the bartender, and took these weird photos:

 

Then, the next day Stoil got a hair cut (Czech style)! I was worried that she would cut it too short, but it ended up looking much better. haha!

 

Then, we spent the rest of the day on a walking tour. Our tour guide was super cool and very knowledgeable! We loved to hear her stories about the history of Prague, and she also knew a whole lot about the different architectural styles there in Prague, and it was super interesting to hear her explain the different styles.

Giant clock that does a little show on every hour. The figurines on either side represent the things that people most feared during this time period. They include things like death and greed. The disciples rotate in the two little windows on the very top. It's not too amazing nowadays, but when it was invented, it was quite impressive then. In fact, the officials of Prague didn't want the creator of the clock to make similar clocks in other cities, so they blinded him in the middle of the night. So, to get revenge, the clock maker threw himself into the gears of the clock, committing suicide and stopping the clock for over 100 years because no one was clever enough to figure out how to get it working again.

The is the old Jewish Quarter. It used to be a really dangerous slum, but now it's one of the nicest and most expensive places in Prague. Our tour guide explained to us that the reason every synagogue in the quarter was well preserved was because Hitler planned on using the Jewish Quarter as a museum of the "extinct race." What a sadist!

This is in the old Town Square. I LOVED this place! There were so many neat street performers there, including this guy. We saw him on the way to our Pub Crawl... yes. We did a pub crawl.

 So, the pub crawl was actually a TON of fun! It is said that Prague started the "pub crawl" tourist venue because they wanted to get more people into the nightlife. We sure did have a blast. We went to about 5 different bars with these guys:

 

They were apparently a group of friends from England on a bachelor party. They were so silly with all of their costumes! Also joining us on the crawl was Snow White and his seven dwarfs.

The next day, we went on the castle tour. The Prague castle is the largest royal complex in the world. It's HUGE! and it took over 1,100 years to complete! It was really impressive! These are some pictures from the castle (except the pastry here:)

One of the yummiest treats I had in Prague! It's pastry dough spiraled around a spike, covered in cinnamon and sugar, and roasted over hot coals. YUMMM!!! Only 50 kron ($1.50)

My favorite building in all of Prague! They cover the outside of the building in black stone, then go over it with a white cement stuff, then scratch off the white to reveal the black underneath. Everything here is hand etched! Truly amazing!

The coffin in this chapel is made completely out of solid silver!

These are the doors used for the main entrance into this church. Several kings have walked through here for their coronation. The mural in the middle shows Jesus ascending into heaven. The one on the left is of souls rising from coffins and going into heaven. On the left, is is souls ascending into hell. Very interesting. Also, underneath the right arch, you can see a mosaic of Jesus's crucifixion.

The next day, we woke up at 3:30am! to catch a 5:15 train to Munich, then to Verona, then to Florence. Phew! We only had 15 minutes to switch trains in Munich... and our train was 13 minutes late! We crossed 13 platforms in 2 minutes! Be impressed. If we had missed that train, we wouldn't have arrived in Florence until the next day. But we made it here safe and sound. No worries! :)

Our first full day in Florence, we just wandered around. I feel like I stepped back in time! It's sooo beautiful here!

 I wish I could post some pictures, but the internet suddenly got worse! Maybe I'll be able to post some later on a separate posts. But we went to the Duomo (that cool place in Assassin's Creed), some neat plazas, crossed the river and got lost around there, and wandered back to the hostel.

We did go inside the Duomo, but they didn't want to let me in because my shoulders and knees weren't covered. I had to pay 1 euro 50 for an UGLY cloth poncho to wear around. It was this nasty sea foam green color, but it was worth it to see inside the cathedral. I have a photo of me in it, and I'll post it as soon as I get to some good internet. 

On our way back in the hostel, GUESS WHO WE SAW?! Danny and Elliott! This was the same couple that we roomed with in Paris. They were sitting on the couch in our hostel! We were so shocked to see each other again! How weird! So, we ended up spending the day together today.

Today, we took a free tour of Florence that really wasn't all that great. We did get to see the childhood home of Michelangelo, though, which was pretty neat, and we learned about about the Florentine Medieval history.

Afterwards, Elliott, Dani, Stoil and I stood in line to go up to the top of the Dome. OVER 400 STEPS!!! It was such a hike, but the view was soooo worth it! I'm so sad I can't upload any photos yet for you all to see, but don't worry... they'll be up here soon! I wish I wasn't so afraid of heights... it took everything in me to stand on the edge, but I was practically paralyzed once I got there. hahaha.

We got yummy paninis for lunch and of course had gellato for "dessert." Then we wandered into the DaVinci museum where they had replicas of all of his sketches. It was really cool! 

Then we wandered back to the hostel where we ate a 9 euro buffet at the hostel. We ate SOOO much, so I feel like I really got my 9 euro worth. It also came with wine and a yummy creamy chocolate shake for dessert. Now, we are splitting a pitcher of Sangria and enjoying the cool Italian night air! :)

Hopefully I'll have more pictures for you guys! Until next time...