Finally we arrive at the walls surrounding the Baptistry, Cathedral, and the Tower of Pisa itself. The area is known for green lawns and its naval power. The lawns surrounding the structures were beautiful. Some were restricted so you could not walk on the lawn. We found one that was not. For a precious lawn, there was a surprising number of dogs!
The pictures below show the large number of people that want to have their picture taken "holding up (pushing down?)" the Tower of Pisa.
Climbing the tower was too expensive. We took a look at the base. I expected dirt or mud. Not the case!
I am captivated by the baptistries we have seen. I need to look up the history and significance of these buildings.
Above you can see the ropes discouraging you from walking on the grass. Below you can see the baptistry, tower, and catherdral together. Around the perimeter are shop keeps selling a variety of trinkets. We were warned about scams and pickpockets. Like any salesman, they seem to know when you are definitely not interested. However, if you express even a little interest, prepare to be hounded!
First stop, the best gellato in Pisa. These guys are REALLY good. I had coconut and dark chocolate; great flavor and great texture.
We are getting close to the site. Take a look at the boat "wreckage".
The playground looked fun, the sign indicated it was open, but it was chained shut. Signs indicated activity, but no ancient boat ruins.
After going in circles for quite a while, we decided that this was the place:
The windows were at least eight feet above the ground. Standing my oldest son on my shoulders he took some pictures of the inside. Seems like there is some work yet to be done at this site!
While on our journey, we came across the site of a boat race. The stages were all set up but there were no crowds yet!
We tirned the corner to the site of a potential summer home of the Medici family. The home was never completed. In its place was a beautiful park. There was a cute carousel, swings, and a small array of trampolines, each a couple feet on a side.
We finally headed back to meet the rest of our extended family. On the way, we stopped or gellato and pannini. I experienced and interesting Pisean dish. It was a flat, baked item rolled out like a thick tortilla. It looked like polenta, but in fact it was a mixture of garbanzo beans and farina flour. I need to find the recipe!
We headed back to our meeting place. We were feeling guilty because we were 10 min late. We had arranged to meet at the shuttle bus to get a ride back to the parking lot for the coaches. However, when we arrived we did not find the rest of our family. We got worried amd it did not seem far to walk to the parking lot. I took off with my eldest to see if we could find the rest of the family at the coach.
We back tracked the path that was taken by the large tour groups. They were easy to spot because they had leaders with flags. After a short wait at the railroad crossing, we finally made it to the coach. Nobody was there! We turned around and headed back.
We came to the same rail crossing. Again the gate was down. It had queued up over 30 people. We saw my wife and brother-in-law in the other side of the tracks. We shouted to them, but were embarassed to yell in English. Se got desparate as we saw the heading in the wrong direction. We finally got their attention. We had been waiting for the train for some time. They eventually gathered their courage, snuck under the gate, and crossed the tracks.
We headed back to the coach and rejoined the family for our ride back to Florence.
