Day 10: Nice to Florence via Pisa

Pisa
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We’re up at 7, and head down for the hotel breakfast we skipped yesterday. It’s pretty unimpressive, with bread, croissants, and cereal, but there is decent coffee. We’re on the bus by 8:30 or so and Ting is immediately out again, and bobbing his head side to side as usual. I’m actually not tired for once, having caught up on some sleep, and try PJ’s challenge to count the tunnels between Nice and our lunch stop. There are lots of them, and many that are really short. I end up with 120-something, way off from the 191(!) that there apparently are. We cross into Italy and at our first rest stop, we encounter the strange Italian washroom tipping system that we’ll see all over the place. A person sits at a table outside the washroom with a bowl that you are expected to drop a tip into when you use it, the money being for upkeep of the bathroom. At first, we’re not sure what to make of it – do we have to pay? - but a couple people report that they were able to pee for free, so it seems to be optional. Here, a couple guys also pick up the mysterious “Chinotto” Fanta, having never seen it before (http://www.chinotto.com/spuma/images/showimg2.jpg) As far as I know, it exists only in Italy, and from my single taste should never be consumed by anyone – horrible stuff. You’ve been warned.

Walls around Pisa
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Tori asks around about a missing bottle of wine from the bus fridge, and Lamar admits to being the culprit, as he thought it was his. Tori lectures him about the fridge being for crew only and says its ok, but is clearly not pleased. We tell Lamar he’s now in the doghouse with us! On the trip today, we also start brainstorming ideas for the trip T-shirt design, which Ryan eventually finalizes for us, being a graphic artist. Lunch is chicken plus the usual other picnic stuff, and the crew starts up the “murder” game. One person is the murderer and tries to “kill” as many people as he can. The killed person then has a day to “die” publicly in any manner they choose. This goes on until someone guesses the identity of the murderer. Fairly silly, but there are some decently entertaining deaths as the trip goes on.

I announce that I am on the "highway to the danger zone"...

The Leaning Tower
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We get to Pisa about 2:00, and spend an hour or so looking around. The Leaning Tower actually leans quite significantly – more so than I thought. We can’t actually go in, as you need to pay for a guided tour and we don’t have time, but we do get the typical silly tourist photos (see for yourself J). The kiosks have all kinds of “leaning” items – the leaning shot glasses are pretty cool. Everyone is paranoid due to Tori’s pickpocket warning, but probably rightly so, given that people have already been robbed on the trip.

Hope this is ok to lean on..
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We arrive at our campsite near Florence around 5, and check into our 2-share trailers – yes our area of the campground is like a trailer park! Jeff rooms with Lamar while I share with Ting. The trailers are small but adequate, with a private bathroom which is nice. The campground is more like a resort than anything else, with a pool, tennis courts, supermarket, restaurants, bar, disco, etc. etc. The only downside is the stupid “cash card” system where you have to put money on a card, and then pay for everything with it. Bah! Ting later remarks that getting laundry done is like a video game – first pay to get money on card, then use card to buy tokens, then use tokens to run washing machine. We walk around and check the place out, hit the pool for a while, then pick up some beer and wine at the supermarket. The wine prices are amazing to me – so cheap! I “splurge” and pick up a 4 Euro Rose, which is higher than average price.

Ahhh...giant finger!
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We meet at one of the restaurants for dinner at 8, and everyone shows up with booze. Given that there are already a few complimentary ones, the table is covered in wine bottles, until Ben says that we should at least keep our stuff under the table out of courtesy – after all, we should really be buying from them. We have been told this “typical Italian meal” will be huge, so we are all prepared to eat. The first course is spaghetti, followed by penne with ground beef, followed by an entire ham and mushroom pizza for each person, and topped off with a gelatti dessert. It’s all delicious, and the three of us finish it all, but many others struggle. If this is a “typical” Italian meal, all Italians must be morbidly obese.

Yes, we're dorks.
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Pilfering some glasses, we head outside to continue drinking wine. Somehow, Vicki starts us gossiping like junior high kids, with the topic of conversation essentially being “who on the trip do you like?” I answer Michelle, because she’s smoking hot, but that answer certainly changes as the trip goes on.  Jeff picks Kylie – excellent pick considering she’s one of the only ones who brought a significant other, doh. Ting and Lamar cop out and go with the combo of Stacie, Michelle, and Suzie – but it certainly is a good set. Kenny seems to be the super stud, as almost all the girls pick him. Lamar seems to be a popular pick among a couple of the males…hm.

The Leaning Tower
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By this point, I, like many others, am getting rather tipsy. I announce that I am on the "highway to the danger zone", and Jeff says he’s coming with me. We all head to the bar to claim the free shot offered to our group, and resume drinking in the new location. A couple people “die”, which is confusing at first as most have forgotten the game.  I’m having a great time (wonder why?) and chat with a few people. A couple things of note… Liz says I have a “heavy Canadian accent” and makes fun of the way I say “awesome”, which becomes a running gag, although I still don’t get how I say it differently. Lana and I talk about how we 3 seem pretty quiet most of the time – I try to explain that we are engineers and have no social skills, but she still says she is “worried” about Ting and his reclusive ness. At one point, I drop and break my pint glass, eliciting a few “Taxi!” shouts… an indication of the current state of affairs.

Tower and Cathedral, Pisa
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Eventually, we change locale again, this time to the “disco”. The place is full of kids! A bunch of them look 14 or 15…the hell? Some dancing ensues…highlight is Jeff doing the “worm”, which is awesome, but he ends up with bruised elbows and knees. At one point, I check my pocket and discover my camera is missing - shit! I had taken a couple pictures at the bar, so Ting and I retrace my steps back there, look around, and ask the bar staff – no luck. This development has essentially ruined my night, so I go back to the trailer to sulk. Of course, sulking doesn’t last very long before it becomes passing out in my clothes…nighty night.