Pisa and Florence, Italy

Finally had a good night’s sleep last night. I’m glad we moved the tent.

This morning we caught the bus down to the station to begin our day trip to Pisa. The train took us just on an hour and when we arrived at 11.45 am we went to the tourist information to see what there was to do. Basically, there is the famous tower and a square around it – and that’s all.

Arno River, Pisa, Italy

So, we walked the 20 minutes through the city and university square until we arrived at Campo dei Moracoli (Field of Miracles). Here, although there are a few buildings, you can’t help to look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower leans an average of one millimeter per year. To combat this the Italians have stacked one side with 600 tons of lead. The lean is so much that the tower is no longer open for the public.

Me, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Beside the tower is the huge 11th century cathedral. It is relatively simple inside, with artworks lining the wall, a large Mosaic of Christ above the alter, and a large 11-columned pulpit as its showpiece. It is also said that the façade covering the front entrance has to be seen to be believed. But, as has been our luck, it was being restored, thus covered in scaffolding. The other connection these two buildings have are Galileo. He used the tower to prove gravity theories and used the cathedral’s chandelier to test his theories on pendulums.

Cathedral & Tower, Pisa, Italy

Cathedral, Pisa, Italy

On the other side of the cathedral is its baptistry. We went in there but didn’t spend long as there was really only the pulpit to see (and it wasn’t much).

We found a restaurant just off the square to have lunch at. Roberta had a good pizza, but my lasagna was small and ordinary.

We walked back through town to the station where a train turned up within five minutes. I slept most of the way home and when we got back to Florence (5.30 pm) we decided just to go back to the campsite. Roberta whipped up another great cook tent meal before we headed to the camp’s bar for a couple of drinks and some cards before crashing around 12.30 am.