I'm Leaning In

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I've been here for about six hours and already I love Pisa!
Most people only know about the tower...and that's where you will find the most people! I was surprised at how impressed I was with the tower. It's easy to become jaded about stuff like this. So, after checking in to my new digs, I decided to "get it over with." I walked down a very quiet street, knowing that the tower was very close and wondering where the throngs of people were. The cathedral and tower are enclosed within a wall and as soon as you walk through the archway, bam! The sight of the tower really brought a smile to my face. Completed in 1372, the marble and stone construction with all it's arches and sculpture work is gorgeous in the first place, as are the baptistery and the cathedral which of course take a backseat to the tower. But then it LEANS...and it doesn't fall! It's amazing!
And it seems as if every tourist in Italy is here. A cacophony of different languages melding together, diverse faces smiling. Everyone contorting themselves in various positions to take the BEST tower picture EVER. Holding it up with one hand, one person pushing while the other holds it up, leaning in "gangsta" style, trying to take a selfie from below with the tower behind you that won't enhance your double chin (that was me).
It's funny to me that something as silly as a tower that leans can become such a world wide symbol and known icon, like the pyramids or the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite my aversion to traditional tourism, this place won me over.
But the best part about Pisa is that when you walk away from the tower, it quickly becomes a very peaceful and charming place, which is a relief after Sorrento. There was no escape from fake life there except to my apartment. Here, I sit on the old steps of an old building on a random corner enjoying the shade and a nice evening breeze (it was hot today!) and watch normal life happen. Pisans doing their evening shopping, kids riding bikes...actually lots of people ride bikes here...very few English speakers. A man in the middle of the street is selling produce. I start wandering along the Arno River and realize how old this city feels, how everywhere you turn it's a picture, but my camera can't quite capture it. I find a square teeming with university students beginning their night of potential debauchery (the University of Pisa is one of the top 10 oldest universities in the world and also one of the most prestigious and it definitely has that Harvard-y, Berkeley-ish student thing going). In this same square, I had dinner of pasta and wine (this is Tuscany, y'all) and found my way through the winding streets back to the B&B. Attempting to tackle the Cinque Terre tomorrow! Yippee!

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Photos

Cathedral of Pisa
My first view of the tower...

Selfie!
(No double chin)

Tourists
This makes me giggle.