Pisa.....
We were up early today waiting for that magic moment when Luca and Michaela open the doors to COFFEE! In America we are accustomed to our brew shortly after our feet hit the floor. Our oversized mugs and stainless steel Yeti travelers are filled to the brim with aromatic, restorative coffee.
Not so here. While they brew a passably strong urn of coffee in the breakfast room, the cups are small. Once I found slightly larger ones on a cart by the kitchen and when I arrived at the table with my coffee everyone wanted to know where I found that cup! Of course, Luca plies his ladies with scratch cappuccino, but one cappuccino does not a lively Susan make.
We are scheduled to leave at 7:45 and breakfast opens at 7:00 so that does not give much time for ladies of my vintage to consume and then recycle much coffee...so only two little cups this morning.
Our driver is Patrizio and he pulls up at the appointed hour in an eight passenger Mercedes mini van. He is trim and dapper in a suit and dark glasses. One just doesn't see any fat Italian men. When we asked him later in the day his secret he confided that he always eats pasta WITH bread......... I don't see any diet book in Patrizio's future.
The drive to Pisa is hardly scenic, utility towers run the length of the autostrada and there are factories, recycling dumps and warehouses. The trip is about an hour and fifteen minutes. As we approach Pisa some of the mountains to the north are scarred with stone quarries. Now it begins to rain.
Pisa is said to have been founded on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea but alluvial sediments from the Arno and Serchio rivers moved the shore west. Currently Pisa is located 9.7 kilometers from the coast.
We pass the train station and cross the Arno into the city center. I remember when friends Chris and Gary took the train to Pisa from Florence last year. If they walked from the train to the Tower they must have really had to hustle.
Everything in Pisa is slightly leaning one way or the other because it is built on sediment. We see the remnants of their luminara festival from Thursday night, the eve of the feast day of their patron saint, Saint Ranieri. There is also a regatta on June 17th. Seventy thousand candles in glass votives lined the Arno and were reflected on the water with a fireworks display at 11PM. Must have been beautiful.
Patrizio pulls the car over and gives a bit of history of the Tower. Built over a period of 199 years the Tower was closed to the public in 1989 after two decades of stabilization studies. Now that certainly sounds Italian! The bells were removed and cables cinched the third level and were anchored several hundred meters away. The Tower was slightly straightened to a softer angle by removing 38 cubic meters of soil from the raised end straightening the structure by 17 inches at the base, its position in 1838. Reopened in 2001 it was declared stable for at least another 300 years....This also sounds Italian!
We mention to Patrizio that it is now time to find a restroom..."Jesus, we should have stopped on the autostrada!" I'm not so sure how things go in Italy but most guys back home take a dim view of pulling off the freeway for bathroom breaks...at least until they hit seventy-five. So he parks the van and we visit a bar and buy an espresso in order to use the facilities, which will likely defeat the purpose of the stop before too long.
It has rained earlier and the streets leading to the complex are still shiny with moisture. We buy our tickets and place our belongings in lockers and head to the Tower. Our entrance is time stamped for 9:45. Once we enter, I was surprised that the interior is hollow. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. We have a straight view up to the open oculus above.
Now it is time for the stairs...all 251 or them. They are narrow. Thousands of pilgrims have worn a depression in the center of the steps which are unfortunately filled with little puddles of rain water. Wet marble is a treacherous surface but going up is not too bad. The risers are only about ten inches high and we can brace with our hands on the side walls.
We stop at every window to take pictures with our phones. Later we will delete each one of them. It is not until one reaches the very top that decent photos can be taken. The sun is out now and the view is very pretty. We explore the bell tower with all the unrung bells, some with the Medici crest.
Our descent takes some time. It is later now and the crowds are starting to thicken. I personally want to thank the crew of Asian kids with earphones and selfie sticks that barreled past Le Nonne on their way to the top, banging into us most rudely. Where is that Italian gesture handout when you need it?
We are soon back on our way to Firenze. Rigmor and I are anxious to get to the Mercato Centrale before it closes at 1:30. I need to buy some liqueurs for Paolo. After a bit of stumbling around we find our favorite booth manned by Emily and Valentina. When they see us, returning after our previous visit with the Italian class, they yell, "Le Suocere", the mothers-in-law!! I bought some treats for my sweetheart and Rigmor also made some purchases. Outside in the market stalls, Rigmor was able to more or less complete her shopping.
There is a huge gay pride parade today and many of the streets are closed to through traffic. Lots of banners showing solidarity with the U.S. over the Orlando tragedy are displayed. Beneath the trio of national and state flags at the Signoria, the city hall, a U.S. and a rather dull rainbow flag are displayed.
The plan for the late afternoon had been to go to Forte di Belvedere with a group on the bus but after lunch at 3:30 we decide we are too tired. Once our Macs run out of juice we head down to the loggia to await our colleagues traipsing in. We had planned to skip dinner but were persuaded to accompany two other ladies across the street for a slice.
When we leave, we can't believe that there is no line outside of Da Tito at 9:30PM on a Saturday so we stick our heads in and ask favorite hostess, Becky, what's going on. It's always hard to get seated here. She attributes it to the long weekend and in typical Becky fashion starts pouring shots of limoncello for all of us, herself included.
Buona Notte... we have tomorrow off!
We were up early today waiting for that magic moment when Luca and Michaela open the doors to COFFEE! In America we are accustomed to our brew shortly after our feet hit the floor. Our oversized mugs and stainless steel Yeti travelers are filled to the brim with aromatic, restorative coffee.
Not so here. While they brew a passably strong urn of coffee in the breakfast room, the cups are small. Once I found slightly larger ones on a cart by the kitchen and when I arrived at the table with my coffee everyone wanted to know where I found that cup! Of course, Luca plies his ladies with scratch cappuccino, but one cappuccino does not a lively Susan make.
We are scheduled to leave at 7:45 and breakfast opens at 7:00 so that does not give much time for ladies of my vintage to consume and then recycle much coffee...so only two little cups this morning.
Our driver is Patrizio and he pulls up at the appointed hour in an eight passenger Mercedes mini van. He is trim and dapper in a suit and dark glasses. One just doesn't see any fat Italian men. When we asked him later in the day his secret he confided that he always eats pasta WITH bread......... I don't see any diet book in Patrizio's future.
The drive to Pisa is hardly scenic, utility towers run the length of the autostrada and there are factories, recycling dumps and warehouses. The trip is about an hour and fifteen minutes. As we approach Pisa some of the mountains to the north are scarred with stone quarries. Now it begins to rain.
Pisa is said to have been founded on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea but alluvial sediments from the Arno and Serchio rivers moved the shore west. Currently Pisa is located 9.7 kilometers from the coast.
We pass the train station and cross the Arno into the city center. I remember when friends Chris and Gary took the train to Pisa from Florence last year. If they walked from the train to the Tower they must have really had to hustle.
Everything in Pisa is slightly leaning one way or the other because it is built on sediment. We see the remnants of their luminara festival from Thursday night, the eve of the feast day of their patron saint, Saint Ranieri. There is also a regatta on June 17th. Seventy thousand candles in glass votives lined the Arno and were reflected on the water with a fireworks display at 11PM. Must have been beautiful.
Patrizio pulls the car over and gives a bit of history of the Tower. Built over a period of 199 years the Tower was closed to the public in 1989 after two decades of stabilization studies. Now that certainly sounds Italian! The bells were removed and cables cinched the third level and were anchored several hundred meters away. The Tower was slightly straightened to a softer angle by removing 38 cubic meters of soil from the raised end straightening the structure by 17 inches at the base, its position in 1838. Reopened in 2001 it was declared stable for at least another 300 years....This also sounds Italian!
We mention to Patrizio that it is now time to find a restroom..."Jesus, we should have stopped on the autostrada!" I'm not so sure how things go in Italy but most guys back home take a dim view of pulling off the freeway for bathroom breaks...at least until they hit seventy-five. So he parks the van and we visit a bar and buy an espresso in order to use the facilities, which will likely defeat the purpose of the stop before too long.
It has rained earlier and the streets leading to the complex are still shiny with moisture. We buy our tickets and place our belongings in lockers and head to the Tower. Our entrance is time stamped for 9:45. Once we enter, I was surprised that the interior is hollow. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. We have a straight view up to the open oculus above.
Now it is time for the stairs...all 251 or them. They are narrow. Thousands of pilgrims have worn a depression in the center of the steps which are unfortunately filled with little puddles of rain water. Wet marble is a treacherous surface but going up is not too bad. The risers are only about ten inches high and we can brace with our hands on the side walls.
We stop at every window to take pictures with our phones. Later we will delete each one of them. It is not until one reaches the very top that decent photos can be taken. The sun is out now and the view is very pretty. We explore the bell tower with all the unrung bells, some with the Medici crest.
Our descent takes some time. It is later now and the crowds are starting to thicken. I personally want to thank the crew of Asian kids with earphones and selfie sticks that barreled past Le Nonne on their way to the top, banging into us most rudely. Where is that Italian gesture handout when you need it?
We are soon back on our way to Firenze. Rigmor and I are anxious to get to the Mercato Centrale before it closes at 1:30. I need to buy some liqueurs for Paolo. After a bit of stumbling around we find our favorite booth manned by Emily and Valentina. When they see us, returning after our previous visit with the Italian class, they yell, "Le Suocere", the mothers-in-law!! I bought some treats for my sweetheart and Rigmor also made some purchases. Outside in the market stalls, Rigmor was able to more or less complete her shopping.
There is a huge gay pride parade today and many of the streets are closed to through traffic. Lots of banners showing solidarity with the U.S. over the Orlando tragedy are displayed. Beneath the trio of national and state flags at the Signoria, the city hall, a U.S. and a rather dull rainbow flag are displayed.
The plan for the late afternoon had been to go to Forte di Belvedere with a group on the bus but after lunch at 3:30 we decide we are too tired. Once our Macs run out of juice we head down to the loggia to await our colleagues traipsing in. We had planned to skip dinner but were persuaded to accompany two other ladies across the street for a slice.
When we leave, we can't believe that there is no line outside of Da Tito at 9:30PM on a Saturday so we stick our heads in and ask favorite hostess, Becky, what's going on. It's always hard to get seated here. She attributes it to the long weekend and in typical Becky fashion starts pouring shots of limoncello for all of us, herself included.
Buona Notte... we have tomorrow off!
Comments
Post a Comment