Pisa and Beyond

On Saturday, I did my first bit of independent travel. Two friends and I took a day trip to Pisa, which is of course the home of the famous Torre Pendente, or Leaning Tower.

It's only about an hour or so by train, and then we were able to walk around the city, it being rather small. The Tower, which sits with the Duomo and Baptistry in the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) is beautiful! All the many photographs I have seen of it cannot really do it justice. It isn't the tallest thing in the world, but the fact that it doesn't stand straight gives it an extra interest to look at. The Duomo was also a beautiful building, as it seems that all Italian duomos and cathedrals.

We took the obligatory tourist photos with the tower, of course (leaning on it, pushing on it, etc.), but more than just enjoyed the perfect, sunny, fall day by sitting on the grass in the square and relaxing. It was a nice day.

On the train ride home, I felt myself feeling like I was going "home" to Florence. Amazing how quickly you can adapt to a place and feel like it is your own.

Sunday, after lunch, a few of us decided to hop on the bus to Santa Croce, a beautiful church that is close to the River Arno on the west side of town. We wanted to go inside to see the graves of several famous Italians whose resting places are there: Galileo, Machiavelli, Dante, and others. There was also a beautiful open courtyard and cloisters, and lots of beautiful frescoes by Giotto in the church. Beautiful place.
Luckily, after the church, we walked across the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti, where there was a wine-tasting festival in the Piazza. Walking a little ways further down the street, we found the back entrance to the Boboli Gardens, the gardens of the Palazzo. Normally it is over 10 euro to get inside the gardens and palazzo, but that day it was free, because of European Heritage Weekend! So exciting, because the Boboli Gardens are absolutely stunning. We walked around and found a huge fountain designed by Giambologna, lots of little meandering paths through the woods, and a hilltop which overlooked the whole city. Afterwards we were able to walk down the hill and go into the Palazzo Pitti, which was the main residence of the Medici family from about the 1400s onward. It is full of their collections of art treasures: statues, paintings, furniture.

Altogether, it was a great weekend. I still can't believe that I'm here in this place, seeing all these things. Florence is practically in my backyard, and every time I open my nice thick guidebook, I read about a new church or piazza in the city that I have yet to see!

So many places, so little time...