With only two more days left in Italy, we decided to go on a little adventure to see the tower of Pisa. It’s about an hour train ride from Florence to Pisa, but we are pretty comfortable taking the train to get around. The Florence train station is very busy with cars and busses everywhere, the sidewalks are narrow and crowded. Yesterday, we found a network of tunnels (unmarked so the tourists don’t know about it) which goes right under all the commotion.
From the train station to the tower of Pisa is about a mile, but it’s flat. We were awestruck by the tower, itself. It sits next to a huge basilica and baptistery on a large green. Everything is in marble and incredibly ornate. We climbed the tower which was a weird experience. From inside you can feel the lean of the tower because the steps and the walls slant even though it’s only 5 degrees, although you have no frame of reference. But it’s standing away from the tower and viewing juxtaposed with the basilica that makes the trip worthwhile.
From the tower we saw the walls of Pisa with people walking on the top. Unbeknownst to us when we started up the stairs, the walk is actually nearly two miles long, with stairs at the beginning and at the end fairly near the train station. We were somewhat concerned that the ending stairs were closed, since we never met anyone coming the other way and there was no one else on the wall for the last mile or so. But yes, the stairs were open, we got off the wall, crossed the river, got to the train, and arrived safely back in Florence.
So here’s a little known fact. Tripadvisor tops out at 2,000 restaurants “near you!” The place just below our apartment, Trattoria de Guido is #557 out of 2,000+.
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