Pisa

Yesterday Emily and I met up with two other girls and took the train for a day trip in Pisa. It was really inexpensive and easy to get there, but on arrival we were surprised to realize that we had no idea where to go. We all assumed that when you got off the train that the Leaning Tower of Pisa would be chilling right in front of you. Not the case. We asked for directions and started wandering through the streets, stopping at a little pizzeria for lunch. I got marinara pizza again which was superb... as evident in the pictures.

delicious

completely finished

We asked for directions to the tower again and after a little bit of meandering through Pisa we finally found it!

It was a lot smaller than I had though it would be. Very lean-y though! The top actually looks like they attempted to correct it. I read that they began building the tower in the 1100s but stopped working on it for almost a century before starting again, worked for a little and then there was another pause in building, finally they attempted to correct the lean in the last stage of building which ended in the late 14th century. Apparently only 33 of the 180 columns are original, the others had to be replaced and reinforced because the lean of the building. The first thing the four of us did was obviously to take the cliched "Holding up the tower" pictures. Everywhere you looked on the grass people were doing the same and  it looked like everybody was just taking weird pictures with their hands out. They turned out pretty well though!

inside the Cathedral of Pisa

Next to the tower was the Duomo of Pisa and the baptistery. The duomo was much smaller than the one in Florence but when we went inside it was absolutely gorgeous. Guilded coffered ceilings, paintings all over the wall, and a really cool pulpit designed by Giovanni Pisano.  We wanted to climb the tower but the next time available was after we had planned to leave. Maybe I'll do that if Mom, Dad, and Lauren want to when they visit in May.  We took the train back and were home in plenty of time for dinner. Emily and I were feeling a little lazy so we just went across the street to the American Diner and got wraps for dinner.

After sleeping in a little this morning I went to the Baptistery and Duomo of Florence with one of my roommates as part of an assignment for a class. The Baptistery was closed already but we went inside of the Duomo for the first time. Inside it was massive but it was a LOT plainer than I thought it would be. The outside is so intricate and detailed but the interior is pretty empty and simple. It was still interesting to see though.

My next goal is to climb to the top of Brunelleschi's dome and climb the bell tower next to the Duomo.  There's also a chocolate festival in town this week. It's held at Santa Croce which also happens to be one of the leather markets here (the combination of those two things makes it one of my favorite places in Florence right now).  I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet but hopefully I'll have time in between classes tomorrow to go over and get some chocolate. Ciaoooooooo for now.