Never sleep at all. Janice came over at before midnight, and so did Joanne. Chatted till it was time to go, all the while packing our stuff.
Finally left for Liverpool Street after meeting Ivan and Zhian at Bankside lobby. It was a cool night, not really cold. Anyway, I was in my spring attire, cotton tee and a denim jacket, all ready for a good spring holiday. We walked there, only for Zhi Xian to arrive late. He overshot, but we were all in time for the coach. The trip to Stansted was pretty smooth though, unlike the other time I flew to Glasgow. Anyway, we overestimated the amount of time needed to clear security and customs. Had a good 90 minutes or so to burn before we could enter the gate.
Reached Pisa International Airport at around 9.45am, Italian time. It’s GMT +1, so had to adjust my watch for it. Weather very good, sunny and clear. Had the urge to take off my denim, but resisted it so as to make customs clearing easier. Haha. The customs officer wasn’t interested in us actually, barely chopped our passport. Had to start a treasure hunt within the passport to search for the stamp, only to find a little aeroplane that does not exactly tell you we got in through Pisa International. Their domestic affairs ministry seems to be sleeping on the security job.
The train to Pisa was dirt cheap, 1.10 euros to be exact. An hour’s ride, and we were walking out of the train station. The walk to the Leaning Tower was pretty painless, other than the outrageous traffic in Italy. It was soon a realisation that the traffic is atrocious everywhere in Italy. Anyway, the Tower is just like another monument, but now the creature is leaning on 1 side. The angle is pretty steep though, and we had our fun trying to ‘push’ the tower in our pictures. The climb up the tower cost 10+ euros, and looking around Pisa from the top of the tower wasn’t exactly that interesting as all of us unanimously agreed. Anyway, we paid 8 euros for a entrance ticket to enter 3 monuments around the tower instead. The cemetery, called Camposanto, seemed more interesting. While it’s a regret that it’s still undergoing restoration, it was our 1st glimpse of how widely used marble is in ancient Italy. I even had a picture with the statue of Fibonacci, the famous mathematician. Quite a surprise.
We decided to stop for lunch before going for the other 2 monuments. Zhi Xian and Ivan wanna twang, so me and the 2 girls went our way to buy lunch. Instead of getting lunch, we were enjoying the walk along the market set up within the city walls for tourists. Made me quite tempted to buy a Tower lamp, though it’s a little expensive at 20 euros. Ultimately I did get the lamp, but at 2 euros lesser. I managed to find a stall selling at a cheaper price. I also got a leaning mug, the mug leans like the Tower. Haha. Anyway, we got panini for lunch. 4 euros each. But they taste great! It’s unlike the panini we ate in London, and they stuff a lot more in there. Panini is plural for panino, which actually refers to Italian sandwiches in general.
Went to the Baptistery after lunch. It wasn’t impressive at 1st glance. The architecture was simple, white and doesn’t catch the eye. However, it was only when I climbed to the 2nd level that realisation hit me. Ouch. An old man went into the barricaded centre part of the baptistery, and started singing notes. That was it. He exposed us to the acoustics of the baptistery which it was famous for. In the guidebook, it says that a chorus singing in the baptistery can be heard 2km away. Wow. Talk about simple architecture and terrific audio technology.
The duomo was next. Duomo is the name Italians gave to cathedrals in general. Now this cathedral is very different from what I’ve seen in UK. Other than it being catholic, which means I see more of Madonna and infant Jesus, it’s full of renaissance art. Well, being the 1st cathedral I see in Italy, it’s architecturally better than a lot of cathedrals in England. Maybe because it’s catholic. Maybe because it’s not Anglican. I don’t know for sure. Other than that, the Field of Miracles, or Campo del Miracoli as the entire stretch of ancient city in Pisa is known as, has a very good pitch for Frisbee and I’m sure Chris Yeoh will love to layout there for a few thousand times. I have to give credit to Tuscany’s sunny weather, it provides a good start to a spring vacation.
The train ride to Florence was pretty much uneventful. However, we did find a very nice pizza place with good service somewhere near Piazza del Santa Maria Novella. And one thing to note, almost every church in Italy and particularly in Rome is named Santa Maria. Anyway, back to the pizza place. I can’t remember what’s its name, but pizzas generally cost about 6 euros. More importantly, there’s no service charge levied, though it might be recommended to tip for good service.
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