Europe Trip: Day 4: Pisa and Florence

The next morning, we headed out of Rome. We had hired a car which we would be driving to Pisa and then on to Florence. It was a long drive to Pisa, but the Autostrada highway meant that we cruised at speeds of over 150 kmph for most of the time.

Pisa is of course famous for the Leaning Tower.
It is a tricky thing to photograph the Leaning Tower with you standing in front if it. You never know if you are holding the camera straight! And so after a couple of photos where the Leaning tower did not lean at all or leaned more than it actually leaned (it actually became quite hilarious!), we got a good set of photographs.
By the way, you can climb the Tower – it’s just that you need to shell out 15 euros for it. Even then I was wondering if the view from the top would enable us to see the whole of Pisa and it might just be worth it. Then K offered some sound logic, “The only thing worth really seeing in Pisa is the thing that you’ll be standing on top of! What’s the point?” Ha, I think we’d rather roam around the Leaning tower and admire the neighboring cathedral while sipping coffee at a roadside café.

We drove then to Florence and checked in to our hotel for the evening.
Florence is a quaint Italian town with almost as rich a history as the Italian capital. Home to some of the greatest Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo Buanarotti, the town is all art and history.

As the sun went down over the horizon, we headed towards the Ponte Vecchio, the main river bridge-cum-street market in Florence. Sadly by the time we reached, the stores were closed for the day. But it certainly looked like a bustling place in the day. Maybe, we’ll stop over tomorrow.
We made our way next to the Duomo, the main cathedral and square in Florence. Actually, “Duomo” means cathedral church and the majestic building before us went by the more technical name of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It’s a gigantic building with an impressive dome and some stunning engraving and architecture on the exterior.

Our dinner that night was an unforgettable experience. The sights and sounds of the Piazza Republica are still vivid in my mind. We sat at a roadside restaurant sipping wine, listening to street musicians on their guitars and flutes. In the background, was a festively lit merry-go-around that moved along slowly in front of the majestic Republica building. Beautiful.