Day Trip: Pisa

First some news - I posted some random pictures from the trip thus far to my Picasa page. I am at a Internet cafe right now so I didn't have time to pick the best pictures. I pretty much selected them at random, actually. If I have more time in the future, I will upload the rest.

Where was I? Oh yes, Pisa. Pisa is an hour and a half train ride from Firenze. I checked my luggage at the station in Firenze and hopped on the earliest train. I had heard that Pisa is good for a day trip because there really isn't that much to see. You have that one tower and that's pretty much it. I can agree to most of that assessment except it doesn't mention the huge cathedral and domes near the tower itself. Nor does it mention that open grassy spaces that dominate the plaza.

After first arriving, I kicked off my sandals and took a barefoot walk around the grass and snapped some photos. The place was packed with tourists from all over the world, most of them wanting to take pictures of each other holding up the tower. I wanted to take a picture of them trying to hold up the tower while I push them off of their perch. I kept my urges at bay and marveled at the tower. Engineering fail. The structure is ornate and beautifully designed, looking especially good after its recent restoration. I just can't wrap my head around why they continued building after it leaned. They must have knew the foundation was unstable. There was surely signs! Someone definitely lost their job on this gig.

The remainder of the city is quiet and unassuming. It kind of makes you feel bad for the locals that they have to deal with all of this tourist crap. I am especially exicted for my next destination...

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Vienna! I booked an overnight train that departs at about 10 PM. Hopefully I get a meal or at least a free glass of wine. Goodbye for now!