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Pisa
Look! We fixed it! lol, we have no idea why it doesnt look like its leaning in this picture...Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569
On our way to Florence from Cinque Terre we had to switch trains in Pisa. Pisa wasnt on the itinerary since it just seemed like a silly tourist thing to go see a leaning tower, with nothing else to offer in the town itself. But, since we had to go through Pisa anyway, it just made sense to go see it while we were there. Yup- that tower sure does lean! I read in my guide book that it was originally supposed to have seven tiers, but it had started leaning by the third so they didnt go any higher. Too much sand in the soil. At one point in the 90s it was leaning out over 5meters, well past the critical point. So they fixed it and now its back to something like 4.4meters. Its funny how something like that attracts mobs of tourists. If it didnt lean, no one would ever go see it. The poor architects tower is only famous because he screwed up! Poor guy. Anyway, as we had guessed, there wasnt much else in Pisa. Just places to get food and people illegally hawking their crap. We watched hundreds of tourists take their look-im-holding-up-the-tower!
Look! Its the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Ok. Pisa checked OFF the American touristy list. Time for lunch! pictures with every which body part they could come up with. lol. So lame! Then we went and got food and continued onto Florence.
Florence was a lil bit of a shock after the slow pace of Cinque Terre. There were mobs of people everywhere our first afternoon walking around. They were all sporting their D&G sunglasses- gag. At first we werent too fond of Florence. Just too many people. The next morning we went on a guided walking tour of the historical part of Florence, and we started to like it more. There were a lot less people roaming about so it was much easier to enjoy Florence for itself. We walked by the Duomo, saw the Gates of Paradise made by Ghiberti, learned about Dante and stopped at the best gelato place in Florence, according to our guide. Gelato was made in Florence. I think the gelato there was my second favorite so far.
After that Chris and I made our way to the Accademia, the museum that holds the statue of David by Michelangelo. So, first of all... its Italian Culture Week in Italy. I had no idea until we got here and the guide told us. Apparently
Trains Trains Trains
Takin the train from Pisa to Florence. I got one of my handy guide books right there every state museum in the entire country is free for the week. That means no fees but huge ass lines! We waited in line for the museum for an hour before we realized you could buy reservations to get in at a specific time. The guy in front of us in line bought some and told me how to do it. So I ran and did that. Not free, but saved us another 2 hours of waiting! Geez, the gallery isnt even that big for it to have a 3 hour wait. Just crazy. Anyway,David was amazing. I was telling Chris that you see the Mona Lisa and youre like... eh... okay,, I guess its art. But when you see David, youre like holy crap... THAT is brilliant piece of work. The detail on this ginormous statue is amazing, and it was all carved from one block of marble- a completely new technique for the time. His hands and feet are just so big, and you can see all the veins carved into him as well! I was so glad I got to see it. =)
After that we went to the Boboli Gardens outside the Pitti and walked around a
Florence
The Duomo bit. We were getting pretty exhausted, though, so we didnt stay too long. We went back to our hostel to shower, do laundry, and get food. While eating we met a couple of Aussies and ended up talking away for hours with them. We just had so much in common. The girl was a young newer nurse back home in Australia, and her boyfriend is getting his phD in Environmental Science. I wish we could have gone out with them some more, but they were pretty tired from just arriving from Rome.
Yesterday we took a day trip out to Siena, a medieval city out in Tuscany. The bus drove by all the stereotypical rolling green Tuscany hills with the rows of pointed trees and yellow villas. Siena was really nice. Most of the streets were fairly empty of people. All the tourists were clustered in the center. Siena is a fairly interesting place. Its divided into 17 contradas, or neighborhoods, that have a big rilvalry going. Each contrada has its own designated name, like the tower (which is on an elephant), the wave (often containing a dolphin), the catepillar, etc. Each year they hold the Palio, where the contradas race
Florence
The Duomo horses around the main square. It was neat to walk through the various neighborhoods and see them display their various animals on the walls or as statues.
Okay, so this is pretty cool. While we were waiting for the bus to Siena, we were talking with a small group of people from Arkansas. Mainly this really nice middle aged couple. At one point, the woman had out her Rick Steves guide book and asked which books we were using. So we told them, but I had also read a couple of his books (very freakin useful) and watched a lot of TV show episodes on Europe. So I was very familliar with him. She was saying how they ran into him in Rome. He looked like he was setting up to do some filming, and he signed her guide book for her! lol. So, Chris and I are wandering along a random deserted street in Siena, and we pass a couple Italians getting out of a car and a white guy with a book standing next to it. I did a double take as we walked and Im thinking, "no way... NO WAY... that CANT be him...." I stopped Chris ten
Florence
Lookin down the river Arno towards the Ponte Vecchio (a bridge lined with jewelry and diamond shops) feet later and looked back some more. I asked if Chris thought it was him, but he had never seen the tv shows so he had no idea. Anyway, the guy noticed me staring at him and walks right up to us. In a very friendly, almost shy, voice he says, "You look like someone Ive met before..." and I said, "..Or at least someone who has seen YOU before! Youre Rick Steves!" He was so friendly! He had one of his guide books with him. I asked if he was leading one his tours or filming right now, and he said he was just working on his book. I glanced at the book and it was covered in notes. I was surprised, "You do all your books yourself?" "As much as I can," he said. He asked about our bus ride to Siena and what we thought of the city. He likes to get input from the tourists themselves so he knows what does and doesnt work for people. I was so excited and surprised to have met him that I didnt even think to get a picture with him! UGH! But that made my day. lol. I told
Chris that this must be how Michelle feels when she meets Jimmy from Jimmy Eat World.
Besides just walking around Siena, we grabbed lunch at a local pizzeria. One of the local pasta dishes is pici, a poor mans noodle made without eggs and usually cooked in a meatless sauce. Ours was pecorino cheese and pepper. It tasted a lot like the way we make fetuccini alfredo back home, but very good. We also ate a white pizza with potato and rosemary on it. Mmmmm. We were so stuffed. We really didnt need the pizza, we were so freakin full it was ridiculous. We also went and visited the Museum of Torture, which displays a whole array of torture devices from the Inquisitions, describes how and why they were used, etc. It was a little unnerving to see all the historically creative ways in which you can kill a person.
Anyway, today we leave for Rome, after we make a quick stop at the Duomo. It was closed the other day, so we are hoping to go inside and up to the top of the dome today. =)
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diana
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I got REALLY excited, because all I read was "lined with jewelry and diamond)Then I read shops and got sad.