When we found out the Leaning Tower of Pisa was only a three hour train ride from Rome, Kaleb and I out-voted Kory for how to spend our last full day here in Italy. It was so worth it. We caught an express train north and by lunchtime we were having pizza in Pisa looking at the Tower of Pisa (Kaleb’s idea). We climbed to the top of the tower, which proved to be the best thrill so far as it was a very strange sensation. When we were going with the lean, we climbed up steps but it felt like they had no altitude or resistance, but when we were going away from the lean, the climb was extra strenuous. The marble stairs were so worn down from all the tourists climbing the tower for so many centuries, the pattern on each step looked like a contoured tractor seat, and they actually were quite comfortable to sit on. We were lucky there weren’t many tourists in town today, as reservations are required to climb the tower, but we got right in.
We had less than four hours in the city of Pisa but we made the most of it. We had a nice walk from one end of town to the other, as the train station is just inside the walled city on the south and the Tower and neighboring church are just inside the walls on the north. It’s a cute town, extremely old, with a lot of character. The only problem we had all day were non-natives aggressively peddling their wares and following us as we walked along. We finally decided we wouldn’t be Americans, as they could all speak English, so we switched over to our secret language and just spoke Norske as we strolled along and looked at things. It was fun to pretend we didn’t understand them when they approached and we just responded to their inquiries in Norwegian. We got a kick out of it every time as they looked so confused. I’m sure we had AMERICAN written all over us, but our plan worked and they left us alone.
We enjoyed the view of the Tuscany region of Italy as we zoomed through it on the express train heading to Pisa. It has a lot of rolling hills, farm land, and vineyards. Rarely was there some beautiful estate surrounding the vineyards, however. Most of the vineyards we saw had a small camping trailer in the midst of it and some guy out in the field walking around. Either it’s a farm worker’s home or the farmer’s little get-away from his home, I’m not sure which, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. The train went straight up the coast so we traveled through a few touristy towns nestled along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea as well. We had another gorgeous day here, which makes me feel so fortunate since the rest of Europe is getting blasted with cold and snow, but it seems Italy and Spain are being spared at the moment. Hurrah for us. The train ride back went quickly as we bought a deck of cards to pass the time, since it was dark and the view no longer occupied us.
We had less than four hours in the city of Pisa but we made the most of it. We had a nice walk from one end of town to the other, as the train station is just inside the walled city on the south and the Tower and neighboring church are just inside the walls on the north. It’s a cute town, extremely old, with a lot of character. The only problem we had all day were non-natives aggressively peddling their wares and following us as we walked along. We finally decided we wouldn’t be Americans, as they could all speak English, so we switched over to our secret language and just spoke Norske as we strolled along and looked at things. It was fun to pretend we didn’t understand them when they approached and we just responded to their inquiries in Norwegian. We got a kick out of it every time as they looked so confused. I’m sure we had AMERICAN written all over us, but our plan worked and they left us alone.
We enjoyed the view of the Tuscany region of Italy as we zoomed through it on the express train heading to Pisa. It has a lot of rolling hills, farm land, and vineyards. Rarely was there some beautiful estate surrounding the vineyards, however. Most of the vineyards we saw had a small camping trailer in the midst of it and some guy out in the field walking around. Either it’s a farm worker’s home or the farmer’s little get-away from his home, I’m not sure which, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. The train went straight up the coast so we traveled through a few touristy towns nestled along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea as well. We had another gorgeous day here, which makes me feel so fortunate since the rest of Europe is getting blasted with cold and snow, but it seems Italy and Spain are being spared at the moment. Hurrah for us. The train ride back went quickly as we bought a deck of cards to pass the time, since it was dark and the view no longer occupied us.
We ate our last Italian dinner in Italy tonight in Rome near our hotel. I guess one of the biggest surprises I’ve had here is that not once have I smelled garlic! Oh how I love that smell, and not a single restaurant we’ve been in or passed by, has that smell wafting from their establishment. None of the food we’ve eaten has had garlic in it either, so I’m not sure if America has just added that to Italian foods or what. And Italian dressing here is just olive oil and balsamic vinegar – that’s it – they just put it on the table for the customer to mix themselves – no spices involved. So it’s funny to see how much America has been influenced by Italy, but also how much we have changed things. In Italy, their food is much simpler, but I’ve heard, they care greatly about the quality of ingredients. More than once the waiter has told us it was “special” cheese or “special” this or that (assuming they could speak English). So that must be what makes everything taste so good – I’m not sure, but every meal has been incredible and I’ll miss that the most – and also how good (and cheap) the wine has been. We haven’t spent nearly the amount of money I thought we would, so that’s also been nice. I guess Italy is struggling since they converted to the Euro (I know Greece has been ,too). Things used to be much cheaper in Italy than they are today, but for us, having lived in Norway now and almost thinking the prices of things there are “normal” (when they aren’t at all), Italy has been a nice reprieve. Eating out is something I’ve missed doing since living in Norway because it’s just so darn expensive so we don’t do it, but now my needs have been met. The food here has satisfied me quite well and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to eat frozen pizza again.
