Pisa I

W found us an amazing little B&B in the center of Pisa.  It was so perfect for us I'd have been content staying there for a while longer.  But we had only one day in Pisa.  This was my first time visiting the city and I wasn't expecting much.  In fact, I was pleasantly surprised.  The area around the leaning tower is beautiful.  It seems that the only photos that make it out of Pisa are of the tower, but the buildings surrounding it are spectacular!!  

E loves to work the map when we are traveling.  Here we gave her the map, 

showed her where we were headed and then let her figure out how to get there. 

Sweet girl. 

Meanwhile, S hung with me. Our flight the night before had gotten in late 

so she was a sleepy bug this morning. 

We knew we were getting close to the tower because the number of street vendors suddenly increased. 

My photos just can't do it justice, but what struck me is how elegant the tower is.  The stone is a beautiful mix of colors.  And, if you've been reading this blog at all, you know I'm sucker for architectural details. 

This is one of the doors on the cathedral, which stands right next to the tower. 

There it is. 

You know we had to do these... 

*sigh* Just look at that!  

Across the lawn from the tower it was street vendor heaven. You want a chotchke with the image of the tower on it?  They have it. Somehow I managed to restrain myself from buying a backpack with a glittering Smurfette holding up the tower.  But if you want one, I know where you can get it. 

See!  There are other buildings around the tower. 

These poor police officers had a never-ending task.  All around the perimeter of this lawn are signs asking people not to walk on the grass.  But there's always a rebel in the crowd.  Eventually one person steps on the grass, then another, then another.  They ALL go out onto the grass and assume the exact same pose (holding up the tower pose, seen that one before?)  And then these poor officers have to blow their whistles and chase the tourists off the grass.  Five minutes later the scenario starts over again. 

Ahem, little one?  There's a beautiful building behind you.  

S didn't care.  She was playing some pretend game that didn't involve history or Italian culture 

or anything related to where we were. 

See this stunning cathedral? 

Now see how our children found the MOST fun thing in Pisa was swinging on these chains? 

This is why I take photos.  Some day they'll say "Remember that city where we got to swing on those fun chains?" And I'll be able to click into this blog and say "Yes, and remember there were some amazing buildings and a leaning tower there too!??!" 

The chains were fun, yes.  But once E realized she could buy herself a souvenir 

she was all about getting over to the vendors. 

I just love this.