May 9, 2012
The Leaning Tower of Pisa |
I haven’t thought of including Pisa to my itinerary. When Ate Inday (Genivive Salinas) told me that it’s just an hour from Florence, second thought of dropping by before going to Venice was my initial schedule. After finalizing my itinerary, I figured it out that my May 9 was vacant that I can use it in going to Pisa.
Trenitalia and Eurail Tickets |
Right away I checked my Eurail schedule and I
also have one travel day left vacant. I decided to use it then. I checked with
Trenitalia's website and got a round trip train reservation for my Pisa getaway. Train
reservation just cost me EUR 10 each trip since I am using Select Global Pass
with Eurail.
The Tower and Cathedral |
Got a first class accommodation and it was cool. The train departed on time unfortunately we arrived 30 minutes behind schedule. My time in Pisa is very limited. I need to spend one and a half hours only but with the 30 minutes delay, I will only have an hour to make it up. My initial plan of walking around to get to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa was changed to taking a taxi to save time. It was only 6 Euros and it took me fast to see this lovely piece of structure.
The Cathedral |
With time constraint, I immediately feast myself on the fantastic views and took several photos for souvenir. Since I’m alone, I just managed taking myself some pictures when I happen to pass by a couple also taking pictures of them, I offered a hand and in return they took pictures of me also. Thanks to them! I was supposed to climb the tower but I wasn’t able to do it because it will take time. Still I made the most out of my purpose in coming to Pisa, it’s because of the tower. What I did was just to roam around the place, take pictures around and look for souvenirs. There were plenty of souvenir shops. Prices starts from EUR 1 – 50 depending on your choice. You can always ask for a bargain.
The Baptistery |
The tower was made of marble so as with the
Cathedral and the Baptistery. It’s not that tall, it is a seven-floor
building but you can really notice that it’s leaning. If you’ll come closer,
the base was uneven that it’s deeper on the other side and shallow on the
opposite. It was said that during the construction, the soil was not stabilized
as it is softer on one side than the other. Adjacent to it was the Cathedral.
Unfortunately, I haven’t gone inside since I was in a hurry but the church
looked stunning. Same with the Baptistery, I haven’t gone inside too.
I just spent 30
minutes and headed back to Pisa Centrale (train station). I hailed a taxi near the area, good
thing that I immediately got a taxi from there since only few are coming inside
the place.
In the train station,
I just waited for awhile and the train back to Rome arrived on time and we
reached Rome on schedule also.