Pisa

We left for Pisa really early in the morning. The train left the station just after 5 in the morning. We had some trouble at the train station trying to find someone to help us. The ticket office didn't open until 9 and no one really spoke any English. We eventually were able to get on a train that took over over the border to Italy, then switch to another train that took us to Pisa.
Gavin slept for most of the train ride.

We booked this hotel through hotels.com. Usually we have no trouble with them. However, they switched hotels on us and didn't call us until 10 that night to tell us. We were finally able to find out hotel. It had this really nice courtyard they used for the dinner drinks and breakfast.


The Leaning Tower was one of my favorite monuments in Europe. It's actually really pretty, but it's hilarious. It leans so much. We seriously sat and just laughed at it.



Gavin took the more helpful approach to the picture.
I, however, went for a more destructive route.

The Duomo

This shows how much the Tower is leaning.

We toured the Museo Sinopie, which houses the sinpoie frescoes that were discovered underneath the charred remains of the Camposanto's ruined frescoes.

We went to the top of the tower. It was one of the craziest experiences walking up the stairs. You could really tell that it was leaning. Walking back down was even weirder. There were times where it felt like we were walking laying on our backs.

You can see how worn down the marble is.

The view from the top.

I did not really enjoy being up this tower. So, I found a corner to hide in while Gavin walked around and took pictures.

See, I'm hiding. :)

The Baptistery. We thought it looked a little like R2D2.

Inside the Duomo. It was built in 1064 AD.

We loved the mosaic floor.

There were beautiful frescoes on the ceiling.

The Baptistery.

The pulpit.

The Campasanto (The Holy Field and Cemetery). We were the only ones in the entire building. It was really nice. It was built around some sacred dirt that was brought back from Golgotha during the Crusades. It was the burial place for the upper class of Pisa for centuries.

These are the huge port chains from the Pisa Port.

The floor was had several tombs.

The statue of Leonardo Fibonacci. He is a famous mathematician that Gavin knew all about.

Looking over the courtyard with the sacred dirt from Golgotha.

The doors to the Duomo

We also toured the Museo dell'Opera, which has a lot of religious art from Pisa and other Italian areas.

A close up of one of the frescos.

The same fresco.

Some of the manuscripts.

The Piazza dei Cavalieri, which was the cetner of Pisa back when it was a republic. During the 16th century, it became the symbol of the Medici Power.

The Piazza dell'Orologio.

One of the main streets had a market.

The Arno River.

While we were walking around, we found a vending machine for pizza! Where was this all those late nights at school?
We really enjoyed Pisa. There isn't a ton to do there, but it was worth spending the day. We loved the Leaning Tower. We are still chuckling about how much it leans.