Pisa, Florence, and Venice

We took the train from Cinque Terre to one the most famous cities in the world, Pisa.  Pisa is commonly known as a tourist quickie, meaning that it is a quick visit to take a look at the leaning tower, take a picture, and leave.  The fabulous collection of buildings that most people know are gathered on one side of the city and is called "The Field of Miracles".   The Field of Miracles is made up of three sights, the Duomo, Baptistery, and the Leaning Tower.  They all right in a row located on a beautiful big stretch of green grass.  It was refreshing to see so much grass and just be able to lounge on the grass, look at leaning tower, and enjoy the nice sunny day that we had.  So I knew that the tower leaned but I did not realize how much it actually leaned.  Started in the 12th-century, this most famous example of Pisan Romanesque architecture was leaning even before its completion. The 294 tilting steps to the top were closed for years as engineers worked to keep the bell tower from toppling. The formerly clean and tidy area around the tower was turned into a construction zone as engineers used steam pipes to dry out the subsoil and huge weights to stabilize (but not straighten out) the tower Now 30 people an hour can climb to the top.  I took the famous picture where I stick my hand out and pretend that I am holding up the leaning tower.  Unfortunate, my dad along with the pictures of the trip went back to America so it may take a little while before I can post the pictures. 

After Pisa we hopped back on the train and headed towards Florence where spent two nights.  Extra precautions were taken in the train station because the train station is known for pick pocketers.  That night we had a nice meal at a local pizzeria  and walked around the town a little.  Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants along with many college students who study there.  Most people when they decide that they want to study in Italy are usually conflicted with the choice to study in either Rome or Florence.  Florence lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A center of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.  On Saturday we went the Accademia Museum where we saw one of biggest attractions in Italy, the David.  After the Accademia museum we went to Piazza San Marco. Near the Piazza San Marco was University of Gonzaga Florence.  We checked out the school because John may want to study in Florence when he is a junior.  After, we walked though the leather market and mossied in and out of a few shops.  Florence was a fun filled two days including a visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Baboli Garden, and Pitti palace.

Our last stop on the trip was Venice.  I have already been to Venice so I will not bother with going into detail about the city itself again.  The hotel was really cool and our room was a little loft room with a downstairs where there was a couch which was made into a pullout bed for me and then an upstairs loft area leading to a bed for my parents.  There was a huge window that looked out towards the river and we could see and hear gondolas riding by.  That window turned out not to be my moms friend since during the night mosquitoes flew in waking up my mom because they were buzzing in her ear.  She woke up that morning with over 15 bug bites.  I guess she is more popular with the mosquitoes than my dad and I because we woke up scotch free.  We explored the city by getting lost, and then went to Saint Mark’s Square and Cathedral.  Saint Mark’s Cathedral is by far my favorite and in my opinion the most beautiful church in all of Italy.  The entire church is made of mosaic and a crazy amount of detail is put into every square inch of the church.  Look up pictures online and you will see just how detailed the entire church is including the floor.  The next morning we took the train back to Rome had a nice dinner in Trastevere and my parents took a cab to the airport to start in 18 hour flight back home.  We had a great 10 days and I am happy that they made it back home safetly!