Pisa and its Leaning Tower

Following the earlier train escapades, we were all able to uneventfully board the train to Pisa at 4:30 am and arrive in Pisa at 6 am. Being the frugal\poor travelers that we are, we again opted to hike through town to the tower. This was not a horribly long walk but was exacerbated by the fact that we had all our gear with us.

Pisa is quite terrifying... or maybe she was scared at how awful we looked... we hadn't slept in a few days.

Pisa Fortress

After a short stop-over at an old fortress, we arrived to the tower. Let me tell you, the tower is not a disappointment, it really is leaning quite drastically and it, and the surrounding cathedral and baptistry are very impressive.

The tower, which is leaning at an angle of about 5.5 degrees, differs in height by about 3 feet from the highest to lowest points respectively. In 1990, the tower had to be closed as it was increasingly sinking\tilting at an alarming rate. 10 years and many man hours and dollars later, the tower was deemed to safe to re-enter and still had its original tilt.

Keeping with tradition, we opted again to climb the 294 steps to the bell tower. Climbing the tower was fabulous, as you could really feel the slant. Also, once at the top of the tower, the view was fabulous, which was accentuated by the fact that their was nearly no barricades obstructing the view.

Atop the Tower

After climbing the tower and exploring around the other buildings, we decided to stay in Pisa for the night, instead of jetting back straightaway to Florence. This may have been the best choice we made during our entire stay in Italy. We found a great hotel, and at only €25 each located less than two blocks from the tower, was a killer deal. Once checked in to our room, we headed out for a relaxing day the beach. The beaches we found were fabulous, with incredibly soft sand and perfect water. I found it amusing that people were attempting to surf the two foot waves, but hey, they can try right?

Waiting for the bus, after spending a marvelous day on the Mediterranean in Pisa.

A refreshing two hour nap later left us happy, tanner than before and ready to eat. Returning to the tower, we found a nice restaurant where we enjoyed another (and pointably cheaper than Rome) Italian meal.

Brooke snuck the water bottle back to the fountain so we wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous prices for more water at dinner. Slightly sketchy? Maybe, cost effective? Definitely.

All in all, Pisa was my favorite stop in Rome. It is cheaper and has marvelous beaches, oh, and did I mention how cool the leaning tower is?