7/28 -- Pisa and Florence

Had to catch a 9 am train out of Monterroso, headed to Florence by way of Pisa.  We only had scheduled a few hours in Pisa, with plans to climb the tower.  After stashing our luggage at the train station, we walked the 20-some minutes to the tower.  We climbed up — only 20 flights up according to my watch, so nothing compared to the last two days.  Walking around the staircase (both up and down) kind of threw off the equilibrium, and it felt somewhat wobbly at the top — a cool experience but not one I’d recommend to anyone with vertigo!  After we finished inside the tower, we took the obligatory pictures of our family holding it up, then toured the Duomo (more incredibly decorated walls and ceiling) and Baptistery.  In the latter we were there for a demonstration of the acoustics, which happens every half an hour.  Impressive.  Then we grabbed lunch and learned that our train to Florence was canceled, so we rebooked an earlier train and headed to the station.

We got to Florence and walked to our super cute apartment.  The place is far-ish (20 minute walk, but with luggage) from the train station but close to the river and galleries and the Duomo.  We had dinner at the place right under our apartment (a family owned restaurant, so good), then walked a bit and then more gelato.  It was close to midnight before we got to bed. 

One thing I have noticed in every city so far is how easy it is to recycle.  Every trash area has separate bins/bags for paper, glass, plastic, and trash, and sometimes one for compostable items.  I realize this is also the case in some cities in the US, but definitely not everywhere.  It’s nice.

We’ve also noticed how many people smoke and vape.  That’s less nice.


Bye bye, Monterroso


Steps up the Leaning Tower of Pisa



The top of the tower






It's a super good thing our family was there that day to keep the tower standing!



Julia wasn't too pleased to be filling her water bottle from this statue's nose


Florence in the evening







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