July 28, 2007

Pisa, Italy

The trip to Pisa was great.  These were my first tickets I purchased in Italian:  Vorrei un biglietto per Firenze.  I don’t know how accurate my grammar was, but the point is that it got the message across.  Then I checked my backpack at the luggage storage.  It was a short walk into town and we took “those” pictures of the Tower.  I hadn’t thought much of it before the trip, but it all became so real, yet surreal, to me when the Tower came into view.  I was quite stunned by it, to be honest.

Neea stayed behind to see the other monuments (the cathedral, Duomo, and cemetery) and to climb the Tower.  The next tour wouldn’t be until 4PM or something and I couldn’t stay, as I had to be on the train to Florence.  I wanted to make sure I gave myself ample time when I arrived to find accommodations and not wander around for hours or into the night looking for a place to stay.  I’ve heard and read that there were often people who approached tourists with hotel offers at the train station.  I witnessed them in Krakow, Prague, and Riomaggiore, but I always had reservations.  I decided that Florence was a large enough city to have many options and I took a chance.  I made this decision on the train ride to Pisa because I didn’t have a final destination in mind.  I chose to stop in Pisa for no other reason than that it was so close to Cinque Terre.  I made my way back to the train station in due time and after a one-hour train ride, I was in Florence by 415PM.

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