Blogs from Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, Europe
May 20th 2012
Claude was a bit of a weak act - he's French speaking and sung a few Charles Aznavour and also some Spanish songs but I was on the upper circle and I don't know if it was him or the sound system but he was very quiet and therefore not very enjoyable. I walked out after 20 mins and went to watch the football which was more appealing! There was a good atmosphere for the match especially the penalty shoot out as there were quite a few Germans there. It didn't finish till gone 11.00 so there was a bit of a party afterwards and Neil had a midnight feast from the buffet - we were the last people to go to bed I think! We woke up in La Spezia which was a bit of ... read more
May 13th 2012
Ooooohhhh...tonight I was told by la mia cugina Ari' that "stasera" I have finally arrived in Italia; mid-festa! I joined my cousin Arianna for a quick giro (tour) of the Piazza di Miracoli, which includes the "piu famoso" leaning tower of Pisa. Since our destination this evening was the birthday party of a friend of hers, I did not bring much more than my pocket camera, although I have plenty of time to revisit the site to take all the pictures I want...NONE of which, mind you, will be of me trying to hold up the towner from the foreground! ':~P I've included some pictures of some of what this looks like, and I'm pretty sure some of you may have partaken in the very same poses! After discovering that it would cost me nearly $100 ... read more
April 5th 2012
After a hearty breakfast that included lovely fresh eggs, fruit (and cornetti for Jake), we headed back to our car to take the drive to Pisa and visit the famous leaning bell tower. Pisa is about an hour away from Firenze, with most of the drive time getting out of the city and also navigating into Pisa. There were not many tourists at the attraction, which made it easy for us to walk around and see the beautifully kept tower. It is very clean and looks incredible against the backdrop of the Duomo - how can it stand when it leans like it does? We tried to get tickets to climb the bell tower, but the wait was nearly 3 hours. Also, Emily would not be allowed to climb as she is too young at 7. ... read more
March 16th 2012
Today we had another yummy breakfast at the hotel (biscotti with Nutella, stuffed crossants, and a variety of other rolls). I could get used to this. :-) Then we headed to the train station for a day trip to Pisa. After an hour on the train with some chatty Spring Breakers and their oversized luggage, we arrived in the quaint town of Pisa. We opted to walk through the city to the Field of Miracles in lieu of the more popular bus taken by most tourists, and we weren't dissapointed. On our way there, we walked through an open air mall with unique boutiques not found in Florence. Brecklyn found a cute white dress at the store "Prenatal". Then we walked past the university where Andre Bocceli and Galileo studied. The streets here were very narrow ... read more
January 22nd 2012
I strongly believe in not talking about plans until they are set in stone. That is only why I just mentioned that we were going to buy tickets to Pisa. Luckily, everything turned out as planned (doesn’t happen often here!) and we got to spend the day there without a hitch. To describe myself as “happy” would be an understatement. At 9:15am yesterday my 2 roommates and I met up with 2 other girls, one of them from St. Bonaventure, at the MiniMetro station. We took that to the train station, bought tickets from Perugia to Pisa Centrale. They were 14.75E both ways. Not bad! The train took us from Perugia 2 hours north to Florence, where we got off, ran to get a snack, and then ran to another train going to Pisa. The next ... read more
October 24th 2011
Monday, 24th October 2011 Florence was our next stop after Milan. Casa Di Barbano was where we would be spending our next 2 nights in this renaissance city. Our url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d597091-r119858784-Casa_Di_Barbano-Florence_Tuscany.htmlB&B was located within 15 minutes walk from the train station where the owner was already eagerly waiting for us that afternoon. "Welcome to the city of Florence and welcome to my home!" Casa greeted us with her infectious smile. She went on to share with us her love of this beautiful city and suggested the many places we could visit during our stay with them. Indeed if time was never the issue, we would have followed her travel advices. Already in our pipeline were planned visits to the Leaning Tower of Pisa as well as the Space Outlet ... read more
October 24th 2011
Monday, 24th October 2011 On the same afternoon we landed in Florence, we headed straight to the city of Pisa in order to free up time from the following day's packed itinerary. The local train to Pisa Centrale took a good 60 minutes from Florence passing through the charming Tuscany countryside flanked by houses on both sides of the rails. Since train announcements were never made on local trains (kind of surprise given that we were on a tourist route), we had to be extra vigilant in order not to miss our intended stop. The assistance from the Italian lady on board did serve to assure us that we were indeed on the right direction. From Pisa Centrale, the iconic Leaning Tower was another 25 minutes walk north of the station. Completed during the medieval times ... read more
September 18th 2011
Kisse sokaig tartott osszehozni ezt a beszamolot, de vegul csak raszantam magam, mert szeretnek par helyet es ettermet bemutatni, melyeket mindenkeppen erdemes folkeresni :) Augusztus kozepen egy angol baratommal Olaszorszagba latogattunk, ahova mindig orommel terek vissza. Veronaba repultunk, mivel volt jegyunk az Arenaba, es egyuttal megneztuk a varost. Eleg meleg volt (szokas szerint), igy a remek olasz fagyi meg a hideg innivalo sosem volt eleg. Az etterem nevere itt nem emlekszem, valahol kozel az Arenahoz van egy mellekutcaban, es igen erdekes fogasokat sikerul valasztanunk: pizzat vekonyra szeletelt szalonnaval es egy zoldseggel, amit angolul chard-nak hivnak, es lilas arnyalatu salatalevelnek neveznem, enyhen kesernyes izzel. Igazabol mikor rendeltem, nem voltam benne biztos, de nem volt rossz. Persze sok sajttal :) A masik erdekesseg a bocciolo pizza, ami rozsabimbot jele... read more
July 25th 2011
Monday 27th June 2011 An hour’s drive today to Pisa - famous for its leaning tower. Lunch and yet again use of a campsite swimming in pool in the heat of the day however this time fun was had with an inflatable killer whale called – Tim. Early evening a short walk into town to see the famous leaning tower the 'Torre Pendente di Pisa' which is in fact the campanile, or freestanding bell tower of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the low side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the high side. Prior ... read more
