Day 27 - Florence to Pisa

We were up early this morning and had another average breaky before we were back on another train. This time is was a regional train from Florence to Pisa.   No option of first class this time, so we were slumming it like everyone else.

Arriving in Pisa, it was hot. We dragged our luggage through the streets till we found a door with a small sign on it telling us that this was our B & B for the night. Pressing the buzza we got no reply, so we kept trying for a bit before calling the number. The person told us they would be only 15 mins away, so after waiting over ½ hour we tried the buzza again and were let in.

The lady didn't speak English, so we had another lady on the phone translating. Of course this room wasn't ready either so after the lady removed someone's bags we were advised to leave our things here and come back a little later. Very very reluctantly, we took our most valuables and locked everything else up in the hope that no one would steal our things, then headed for the tower.

It was definitely on a lean, that's for sure! So we lined up for tickets to climb up. The tickets were for a time slot, so we got the entry for the other monuments around the tower as well and checked those out before our 1.30 tower climb.

The other monuments were pretty cool. The cathedral even held the remains of a saint, and you could see them too. But we were most excited about our climb to come.

We had to put our bags in lockers before the climb because you weren't able to take any bags up with you at all. We joined the que just before 1.30 and were soon able to go in. Some people were turned away because they still had their bags with them, but we were all good.

The guide told us all about the tower before we were able to go up. It is the bell tower for the cathedral, and it even started to lean during construction. That was about when the original architect abandoned ship. Once they got to the 5^th floor, they realised that they were loosing a battle, so a different architect took on the job and decided to do an Aussie type fixer up and added another 2 floors. He put these two on an opposite lean in the hope to straighten the tower. But obviously this didn't work either. So the tower has a bend in it too.

Once inside it was like a carnival fun house where you don't know what is level anymore. There is a steel pole in the centre at the bottom that is straight, but it still doesn't feel right. As we climbed, we could see where hundreds of people had done the same for so many years as the marble steps were worn right down. As you walked, the lean made you walk to different sides of the steps, so the tread patterned changed depending on the angle of the lean.

After over 400 steps, we were at the first level. You could see out for miles and miles. The angle of the lean was very dramatic from up there and to make it worse for one scared of heights, the fence there to stop your fall was only a temporary one. This freaked me out even more.

Then we headed up to the next floor through a tiny little door. The tight winding staircase took us up to the bell house. They were all different sizes, but all very big. From here the lean was even more dramatic, but at least the fence was more secure. They even had a glass pannel over the hole down the center so you could see all the way to the bottom.

After our tower climb, we found some very poor lunch and found a guy hiring out 2 and four seater bikes. They had 4 wheels and two steering wheels (one not connected), and a roof over the top to keep the sun off. They were only 10euro per hour so off we went, armed with a map and some loose directions on where to go to avoid the traffic. After the first few corners, Clay doing the driving whilst I took photos, we had a handle on it and were having a great time. Dodging the traffic and pedestrians we headed along the route set out for us. We even got to cross the bridges over the water.

After the adrenaline rush, we tripped around the streets a little more before returning the bike. We then thought we had better head back to the room to make sure our things were still there. All good, few!

After a shower and freshen up we headed out for food. We checked out some shops along the way before finding a little restaurant on one of the back streets. There was a sign out the front saying yes, we're open, and the menu looked promising so we went on in. Thinking we would sit in the front room, we both wondered why the waiter was taking us towards the back on the restaurant, but we followed. Through a little hallway he took us then what opened out in front of us was amazing. It was a beautiful little garden area with all the tables set up with candles and trees above. Like a little hidden treasure. 

We both ordered pizza, cause you have to eat pizza in Pisa. We even had a bottle of wine and it was so yummy we not only shared it but drank it all. It was a great meal and great atmosphere and we just sat and took our time eating and drinking and chatting. An awesome way to finish off the day.