Pisa

Another day, another train journey! This time a day trip to Pisa, of leaning tower fame. By now we were pros with the ticket machines, and the strange yellow boxes that must be used to “validate” every ticket by stamping it with the date and time. And once again the price seemed quite reasonable, and the trains were running like clockwork.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Pisa a very pretty and alluring town. On our way to the tower we enjoyed river views as we crossed the Ponte di Mezzo, then strolled along the lovely old Borgo Stretto, with its street musicians and charming restaurants, and through the beautiful Piazza del Cavalieri. The only traffic seemed to be bicycles and horse-drawn carriages, and the streets were all full of greenery and flowers; even the train station had a fountain and gardens out front. We even managed some rudimentary Italian when we ordered cappuccinos at a cafe along the way, and drank them like locals standing at the bar.

Finally we arrived at the tower, which is in the central square, Piazza dei Miracoli. Architectural anomaly aside, this is an impressive and beautiful place, with sprawling green lawns, and a majestic Romanesque trio of cathedral, baptistry and (leaning) bell tower, all clad in exquisite green and white marble. But of course, it's the tower that instantly captures your attention. The extent of the tilt is really quite startling, having increased by an average of 1cm a year since the tower was built. Fortunately adjustments to the foundations in 1998 appear to have finally halted the subsidence, but the top is still more than 4 meters off vertical.

In spite of the exorbitant price of 15 euros each (with no discount here for children), it seemed obligatory to climb the tower, so Jeremy and the kids did so. The enclosed spiral staircase was a strange experience, as we could feel the stone steps tilting alternately to one side and then the other as we wound our way up, almost overbalancing us a couple of times. At the top we were able to walk among the bells, (which chimed on cue for us), and of course enjoy great views of the piazza and the city. We waved to the tiny dot that was Rachael sitting on the steps of the cathedral below.

We ended our visit by strolling around the piazza, then posing for some silly photos with the leaning tower. We actually found it surprisingly difficult to portray convincingly on film, as the lean tends to be offset by the natural perspective of a wide angle shot, but in the end we got a few good ones. Enjoy!