Pisa 6/8 - 6/11

6/8 –
I took the bus from Siena to Pisa.  The hotel desk clerk told me the trains were ‘on strike’ earlier in the week and are not reliable so the bus would be a better choice.   I didn’t mind it at all as you get to see more of the countryside and lots of little towns close up.  When I got off the bus in Pisa, I crossed the street in front of the bus, found a bench, got out my map and hotel info and took a few minutes to get my bearings.    I realized I was on the wrong side of the street and went to cross again; I looked back and saw the bus was still there and the bus driver watching me.   He smiled and gave me a signal as if asking if I needed help.   I had figured it out by that point, so I waved, smiled and nodded and he waved back and then finally pulled away.  I’m pretty sure if I would have looked lost, he would have hopped out of his seat and helped me.   No one does this on the train.    No one has even ever asked to see my ticket on the train.  From this point on, I’m sticking with the bus whenever I can.    

I arrived at the Pisa airport bus stop around 9:15am and went inside to get two cappuccinos and a bus ticket to Pisa’s central station, which is just a little over a mile from here.  I thought about walking until I remembered how heavy my bag is.   Why did I pack so many clothes?!  Now that I am here and doing all this moving around, I wish I would have stuck to my original plan to only bring a carry on size bag.

You don’t need a full sized wardrobe when traveling for months on end.  The only person who cares what you are wearing is you.  I could wear the exact same outfit every day and no one would fault me for it.  Yes there are fashion king and queens over here, but they live here and have access to a full closet.  And Italians do know how to put together an outfit.  The big fashion trends here are scarves and boots – worn by both women and men.  And men carry purses too, or hand bags, or satchels, or whatever you are comfortable calling them – they carry them.  Everyone carries them.   Now everywhere I go I leave something behind to in order to lighten my load – either at a church or in a ‘clothes for the poor’ bin.  If I haven’t worn the shirt or pants yet at this point in the trip, it is soon to be left behind for someone else to enjoy.  I figure by the end of my journey I will only have one outfit left and then I will be able to fill my suitcase with wine, cheese and other Italy food specialties for the trip back home.   I want my new greeting phrase to be, “Hi, my name is Linda, I’m traveling through your county and this is the outfit I will be wearing.”

After I get a ticket for the local bus and somehow find the bus stop, I still am not sure if I’m at the right place, so I do what I have learned to do so well – ask someone who is standing nearby.  I approach a young guy, say excuse me, ask in my best Italian if this is the bus for Pisa central – he says yes.   A bus finally shows up, I stand there a moment and then look at him, he nods and we get on the bus.  It makes a few stops, but nothing is announced so I’m really not sure where we are.  Then it comes to my stop and the young man turns to me and nods and says “this one”.   I thank him and clumsily get off the bus with my 45 pound dead weigh suitcase.  He was so nice, he got out of his seat and helped me with my bag and then wished me a good journey.   I am so lucky to find nice people in my time of need…

I find the hotel, which is very close to the station and have to leave my bag as my room is not yet ready.  The girl working the desk gives me a map and points me in the direction of the Leaning tower.  I take off to get my first look at the town but first I stop for another cappuccino (I’m addicted!) and a small pasty.   I then walk for over two hours before I finally reach the tower.  It’s not as easy to find as it is buried deep inside the town and you cannot see it over the tops of the other buildings.  No bother, it was a great walk. 

It makes me a little sad to find that graffiti abounds all over the place here.   Stupid people – why must they destroy such beauty things?  I really do enjoy street art, like this piece – it was painted by American artist, Keith Haring.

It’s the people that simply feel the need to deface historical churches, buildings and statues just for the sake of destroying something that bother me.  And here, it’s everywhere.   What inspires a person to deface a master piece?  Do they actually think that their name or profanity laced statement is so incredibly remarkable that they have the right to destroy something that has been around for thousands of years?  Stupid idiots - - -it inspires me to want to knock their blocks off...   But instead I step back and feel sorry for them because they apparently have no ability to appreciate historical beauty.    The poor blockheads, their sight is so limited that they can only see as far as the end of their nose.            

Once I finally make it to the Field of Miracles where the Leaning Tower, Baptistery, and Duomo are it is surreal.  I have seen the tower on TV, in movies, in books and post cards – but to be standing here in front of it, I feel like I am in a dream.   It is a very weird sensation.   I stood still for the longest time.  I keep thinking I will wake up or the phone will ring and I will be pulled out of this trance and be back at my desk in Chicago.  How did I get here?  How am I actually seeing this?  I am blown away by the reality of this trip and I am continuously in awe of my surroundings.   

I could stand there all day, but I’m hungry again – hey, I just walked for hours on nothing but a few small cups of coffee and a croissant!  I decide I will come back tomorrow and spend the day exploring all the monuments.   So I mosey on down the street and snag a table with a view.   Sweet!

Excellent olive oil!

My excellent and very entertaining waiter! 

After refueling, I head back to the hotel so I can check in and recharge.  It’s a hike back and I walk off some of lunch, and that ½ liter of wine, with a long walk along around the town and along the Arno River that runs through Pisa.  It is a beautiful town.

 

6/9 –

I take off in the morning and stop at a local street market to pick up some goodies for lunch; pecorino cheese (my new obsession – and the older the better), focaccia bread and some fruit.  These street markets are making me wish I had a kitchen to cook in… 

I fill up my water bottle at one of the public fountains I pass along the way and I am all set as I head towards the Field of Miracles.   Before I got there, I stumble upon another market – this one was a rock and gem stone market.   I love me some rocks, so I had to stop and take a peak.    

(hmmm - - - that name sounds familiar....)

I am off again and I come to another street market - - - Saturday is definitely market day in Pisa. 

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I come up upon the Leaning tower, I am again taken aback at the fact that I am walking down a street and seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa in my sites. 

As I walk towards the tower, I pass a street artist using spray paints.  I’m fascinated by his technique.

He tries to get me to buy one but I tell him, using my best Italian and broken Ital-English, that I am traveling for a long time and I don’t think it would make it home intact.   He says he likes my accent and asks “are you Australian?”   I laugh and tell him I’m from Pennsylvania and most recently, Chicago.  He says I don’t have a hard English accent that is why he thought I was from Austria.   I take this as a compliment…  I have been in this foreign country so long now that sometimes when I hear a hard American accent it hurts my ears.   I wonder how long that will take to disappear once I leave this place…  But I can’t handle that thought right now so I push it away.  I am here, right now, today, this moment – and that is all I allow myself to concentrate on.   It’s time for a little lunch in the shadow of the Leaning Tower, just me and Pedro.  

I sit in the shadow of the tower for about an hour, eating lunch and doing some people watching.  Everyone is taking pictures trying to make it look like they are either holding up or pushing over the monument.   In watching their antics, it is as if they think they are the only person that ever had this idea.  It is very entertaining.   Soon, thought, Pedro wants to get in on the act as well – so….. 

I have no desire to climb the tower, there is nothing to see on the inside other than the staircase and the building IS leaning, so I am happy just to watch the action from the outside.  I do buy a combo ticket to tour the Duomo, Baptistery, Camposanto Cemetery and the Duomo Museum since I am here to help out Italy’s economy in any way that I can.   I’m thinking my cappuccino and wine consumption alone must be having a positive effect….

The Duomo is another beautiful church – not as much gold as in the Rome churches, but paintings, lots of marble and a mummy in a glass coffin.

The mummy is Saint Ranieri (1117-1161), the patron saint of Pisa.  He was the son of a rich sea trader and was known as a hard-partying, touring musician who one night was inspired to set fire to his instrument and open his arms to heaven.  I’m thinking he may have been one of Jimi Hendricks’ role models.  After Ranieri gave up his partying days, he gave away all of his money, joined a monastery and was known for delivering spirited sermons from the pulpit.  I don’t know why that makes him a saint, but there you go.

The building is known for its special acoustics.   Make a loud sound in the baptism font and it echoes for up to 10 seconds.   A priest standing at the baptismal font would sing three tones within the 10 seconds and make a musical chord.   The 15^Th century architects who built the 250 foot wide dome intended the building to act as a Baptistery and as a musical instrument.     

I did walk up the steps of the second level of the Baptistery to see the view.  There were only 75 steps.  Again, they are steep and in a small enclosed space.  Oh joy! 

Then I visited the Camposanto Cemetery, which is not like a cemetery I’ve ever seen before as all the people buried here are either under tiles on the floor on in a sarcophagus along the walls.  Two interesting points here; one being that the courtyard’s grass grows on “Holy Land” dirt that was shipped here by returning Crusaders from Jerusalem’s Mount Calvary, where Christ was crucified.  It is said that it can turn bodies into bones in a single day.   I decided not to walk on the grass...    The second interesting thing is that this is the only building in the Field of Miracles that was bombed during WW2 and the restoration took 20+ years to complete.  I watched several newsreels that followed the progress and it is amazing what humans can do – both from the power of destruction to the power of rebuilding.   

 A chapel in the cemetery with relics of different saints - yep, bones...

I take one last stroll around the monument area before heading back towards my hotel and the river in search of place to have a cold, refreshing beer. 

I found a great spot, turns out it is the only restaurant on the river. 

It had a great happy hour and I heard the band warming up for later, so I had to stay.  Happy hour in Italian bars always include a spread of food, and as is the usual, it all fresh ingredients.  This one included bruschetta, some kind of tomato spread, pesto spread, olives, pine nuts and focaccia bread.  Beers come in small (piccolo) which is 8-10 oz for 3 euro, and medium (media) which is 16 oz for 6 euro.  Wine is sold by the glass or bottle – the price depends on the wine.  If you get the house wine (which is either made specifically for the restaurant or is a home town vino), you can buy it by the glass (4 euro), ½ liter (8 euro) or the bottle (10 euro).    If you buy the bottle and you don’t finish it, you can take it with you, so you see why I usually buy the bottle…   The band here includes a violin, guitar, sting bass and accordion player.   They made a great sound and, by the crowd’s reaction, I’m guessing it is Pisa kind of music.  I picked up a CD.  I am trying to buy a local band or street musician CD from every town I go to so I can remember this incredible journey through the music. 

6/9 –

My last day here was spent just walking the streets, trying to get lost. 

Found a good fishing hole...

As I was planning my journey, I was told by some friends that three nights was too long to stay in Pisa and I considered altering my trip but am so glad that I didn’t.   Pisa is not just the Leaning Tower; it is a vibrant alive town with lots of paths and streets to walk.  And seeing as I was coming off of the hills and steps of Siena, the flat land was a welcome change.  Here again, every shop I stopped in, every restaurant, bar, gelato place and church I visited, the people were warm and welcoming.   Is it because of their economy?  I don’t know.  All I know is that I am very happy I had the 4 days to spend here. 

Next stop – Lucca!

Ciao~