Pisa November 22, 2006
Our plan today is to catch a train to Pisa (about an hour ride), walk through the historic town, see the famous tower, have lunch and then catch the train back to Florence. I know you’re asking yourself “didn’t they just get off a train yesterday, then why would they want to take another train ride”. The answer is yes we did just get off the train yesterday and the reason is the weather was supposed to be clear today which would make viewing the Tower more enjoyable.
As we sat at breakfast a thunderstorm settled in and we ate to a light show and symphony of the natural kind. The better forecast today seems to be in jeopardy. I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 9 and by the time I was finished the sun had come out. I am told here also that the weather is very unusual this year.
Our train arrived in Pisa at noon and we started the trek across town to the Tower. We crossed the Arno River again here but found it to be a muddy, quick moving stream. We wondered if it was from the rain or if moving to the coast is the reason for the change. Anticipation built as we walked along the road toward the Tower. There’s something about seeing something in person that you have seen pictures of all your life. We had the same feelings as we approached the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Maybe it’s just towers? The bottom third of the Tower was obscured by buildings when we had our first glimpse but the angle allowed us to see the lean. It is quite surprising when everything else is more or less vertical and there stands this white marble tower that is significantly tilted. Then to our great surprise it fell over, naw just kidding, we saw people walking around the top of the Tower. As we made our way on to the grounds where the Tower stands with a large cathedral we spotted a sign that said “Tickets”. After a little investigating we found that for the paltry sum of 15 Euros (US$19) we too could walk up three hundred stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Did we do it……Darn right we did. And it was worth just being able to touch and stand on such an icon. The climb is a little unnerving because you can really feel the tilt inside as you wind your way around the structures stairs that are wrapped inside of the outer wall. The view from the top on this clear blue sky day was fantastic; offering a panorama of the town the countryside and the mountains in the distance. All too soon we were told that our time was up and we descended back to the realm of mere mortals. This is one of those things that you tell yourself “I can’t believe I’m standing here in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”
A nice lunch at a café with a view of the Tower and then we were off to the train station this time taking a different road just in case we might miss something. The afternoon train back to Firenze (Florence) was packed, but we found seats and were soon snoozing to the rocking motion.
Back in Florence we had to track down a bus station for tomorrow’s expedition, but I’ll save that for then.
As we sat at breakfast a thunderstorm settled in and we ate to a light show and symphony of the natural kind. The better forecast today seems to be in jeopardy. I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 9 and by the time I was finished the sun had come out. I am told here also that the weather is very unusual this year.
Our train arrived in Pisa at noon and we started the trek across town to the Tower. We crossed the Arno River again here but found it to be a muddy, quick moving stream. We wondered if it was from the rain or if moving to the coast is the reason for the change. Anticipation built as we walked along the road toward the Tower. There’s something about seeing something in person that you have seen pictures of all your life. We had the same feelings as we approached the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Maybe it’s just towers? The bottom third of the Tower was obscured by buildings when we had our first glimpse but the angle allowed us to see the lean. It is quite surprising when everything else is more or less vertical and there stands this white marble tower that is significantly tilted. Then to our great surprise it fell over, naw just kidding, we saw people walking around the top of the Tower. As we made our way on to the grounds where the Tower stands with a large cathedral we spotted a sign that said “Tickets”. After a little investigating we found that for the paltry sum of 15 Euros (US$19) we too could walk up three hundred stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Did we do it……Darn right we did. And it was worth just being able to touch and stand on such an icon. The climb is a little unnerving because you can really feel the tilt inside as you wind your way around the structures stairs that are wrapped inside of the outer wall. The view from the top on this clear blue sky day was fantastic; offering a panorama of the town the countryside and the mountains in the distance. All too soon we were told that our time was up and we descended back to the realm of mere mortals. This is one of those things that you tell yourself “I can’t believe I’m standing here in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”
A nice lunch at a café with a view of the Tower and then we were off to the train station this time taking a different road just in case we might miss something. The afternoon train back to Firenze (Florence) was packed, but we found seats and were soon snoozing to the rocking motion.
Back in Florence we had to track down a bus station for tomorrow’s expedition, but I’ll save that for then.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 11:48 AM
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