Sicilia!

I'm going to attempt to sum up this weekend-

Alright so on Thursday Kelly's roommate Kerri's (who I love- so sad she went home today) cousin and his girlfriend came to visit Florence for the weekend so we went out to Trattoria Za-Za, which is always delicious. Then we went to Shot Bar and had some more fun and then we had falafel across the street from Be-Bop. The thing was none of us were packed for the trip and we went to bed around 2:00 when we had to catch the bus at 3:35...it was not good. So Betty woke us up and we quickly threw things into our bags and magically didn't forget anything. 

We sprinted (the most exercise any of us have done since getting here) to Santa Maria Novella and Kelly saw that the bus was about to leave so she stood in front of it with her hands out lol.

We bought bus tickets from a man who appeared out of no where and I can't believe it but we actually made it.

So the flight there was fine, I couldn't sleep because RyanAir seats don't recline and I was sitting between two big men. So anyway, we got to Trapani at around 9 and took a bus to the center of the city. Then we decided to take another bus up to Erice which is a tiny town on top of a mountain- it was the most surreal thing in the world- we were literally above the clouds- it was the highest I have ever been while not in a plane. We could see the countryside and the coast of Sicily and it was truly breathtaking. Then we wanted to go inside the castle at the top and it turned out that it was a restaurant and hotel so we had a great (and surprisingly cheap) lunch where I tried risotto for the first time- it was fab.

So then it was time to take a bus to Palermo where our hotel was- we spent some time finding it and once we realized where it was we all got a little bit freaked out. First of all, there were severely sketchy characters all around saying things in Italian and following us, which was obviously not fun because it was night time. So we got to the hostel and it didn't have a name outside. I looked inside and it was nice so I started to feel better. We went to our room and put our stuff down and then went to get some pizza around the corner. It was awesome- the 7 of us got 4 pies and devoured them...you know, because we're thin.

The next day we went to Cefalu which is a seaside town- we saw GORGEOUS men lying on the beach, which was a definite highlight, I wanted to take a picture of them but I felt sketchy, so I was glad that Kelly did lol.

Quick note: Everyone in Sicily is SO nice and the men are all...tutto incredibly attractive. 

So we ate some more food and did a bit of shopping then we headed back to Palermo. Once again, supremely sketched out by the area we were staying in...for example, we believe that a man threw a bottle/change/bottle cap...(something that made that kind of noise) at us, another character followed us on his bike and yelled things at us. Yeah, it was not so good. I sort of felt like someone was going to grab me and steal me. Anyway, we went back to the same pizza place again and loved it so much...

Okay so here's where it gets interesting/very very had to adequately describe.

We woke up at 5:30 to get back to Trapani to go home (you know, good idea to get back early so that we could study for midterms...would be a good idea).

We got to the airport with no problem but then Ryan Air (aka never again) cancelled our flight and I asked someone what that meant to us and she was like, "I don't know." So we figured it would be better to get back to central Trapani so that we would have access to train schedules and access to an airport that didn't suck.

Betty (thank god someone spoke Italian) called the Palermo airport and found us a flight to Florence airport that left at 6:55 and we made reservations. The flight was supposed to cost 137 euros. Ew. So we really needed to relax so we went and had pasta, bread, beer...good healthy things. We got on the train to Palermo and we had a change over so we got off and I realized, as the train was leaving, that my bag was on the train...OMG.

So I ran and grabbed the handle of the train and screamed, "ASPETTA!!!!!!" (wait...)

Kerri was waving wildly and screaming (thanks :)) and they stopped...I got on and retrieved my bag while Italians laughed at me.

So we got to the airport and tried to pay for our tickets and they told us that they cancelled our reservation after 5...which they NEVER told us. So the ticket price went up to 150 euros. I was pretty much in disbelief at this point.

Anyway, we took the late flight...got back to Florence around 10 and studied.

Betty had downloaded American Idol top 10 men and women so that was fun to watch.

I guess that sums up the weekend- although I don't think it is comprehendible. 

Love you all and see mom and wendy in 2 days! Shannon in 5ish!

Ciao