It really does lean....

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My second day in Florence I decided to see the famous leaning tower of Pisa. I was accompanied by my very nice roommate in the hostel named Sylvia. The only problem is that Sylvia is from Argentina and only speaks Spanish. I took three years of high school Spanish which came out retirement that day. We ended up having a great time together. As the day wore on I remembered more and more. What we didn't remember we looked up in the dictionary and what the dictionary didn't have or we were too lazy to look up, we acted out to each other. Quite funny to watch I'm sure. It took us an hour and a half to get to Pisa which is a nice but very small town. As the train pulled into the station, there looming in the distance, was the tower you only see in books on Italy. It felt like a storybook land. Particularly because the area was so closed off and so touristy. The only locals I saw were at the souvenier stands and they spoke English. Nonetheless, its a great place to visit. It sounds more impressive to say you've been there than to actually visit. Once you walk to the area theres the tower and two or three cathedrals and excavation sites. Sylvia wanted to go into the largest cathedral so we visited that and the baptistry. It was very ornate and big. The chandelier hanging in the cathedral supposedly is what gave Gallileo the idea for the law of inertia. Supposedly Gallileo was praying in the church and a burst of wind came in and began to rock the chandelier overhead. I don't know if thats true or not, but thats what the tour guide told us.
I wanted to go up the actual tower of Pisa but it was 15 Euro! That is a ridiculous price, the Vatican was only 12. So I did't go up but I admired from every angle- I didn't think it leaned as much as it actually does. I'm surprised people are still allowed to climb it. Its VERY uneven. There were tourists all over pretending they were holding it up around the base. I took pictures and laughed at them until I decided to do it myself. My hands don't line up exactly but you get the idea.
So that was my day in Spanish. I never imagined that would happen but I loved spending time with someone. Sylvia and I got along so well we went for dinner and gelato after. She was very nice and I'm grateful that I had a friend that day.

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