Pisa
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
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Trip End
May 30, 2008
May 26 - Day trip to Pisa. We visit the most famous tower in the world, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower is in a walled compound that includes a giant church and a large baptismal building, all 3 of which share an architectural style, even though they were built over a period of 2 or 3 centuries. The area seems like the biggest single tourist attraction we have been to with hundreds of vendors selling food, trinkets, souvenirs and other junk as well as guys walking around selling fake Rolex watches. I expected to have to pay to get to walk up to the top of the tower but was surprised that they also charged admission to get into the church building. All the rest had been free (except in the Vatican) although some had special sections with special art displays that they charged to get into. Climbing up the tower is very popular, even at 20 Euros per person for a 30 minute visit, and they have to restrict access to 2 groups of 24 at a time. We bought our tickets around 11:30 a.m. for the earliest entrance time we could get, 2:20, then walked around some more and had lunch at a nearby pizza place. I think the experience of climbing up into the tower and the views you get from the top are worth it. When we came back from Pisa we relaxed a while - Lynnette napped while I wrote in this journal - and then had a happy hour with local wines, sausages and cheese we had bought at the Greve Coop, a nice supermarket in one of the nearby towns, outside G & B's cottage with the magnificent views of the Tuscan countryside. We dined at Fagiolari, another delicious meal followed by Tiramisu, with a couple from the LA area, Dennis and Kathy, who had checked into the B&B that day.
