Pisa

Pisa, the small Italian city known for its leaning tower, is said by many to be a one to two hour stop in a tourist trap. The tower is the only thing in the town, they say. Mama and I, following this advice, arranged our train times so that we could spend a couple hours in central Pisa before catching the remainder of our train to the Pisa airport. Two hours was not enough! Pisa is quite cute. The streets are cobblestone, like most Italian streets, and lead to the interesting shops. We stopped and enjoyed a pizza, pasta, and cappuccino at a small restaurant on our way to the tower. As we left the restaurant, we spotted a piazza lined with the white tents that usually signify an Italian market or fair and had to stop by! In Florence I often tootle through these, admiring the selection of antique silverware (real silver!...well I'm sure there are plenty of silver plated too) and antiques (furniture, books, cameras, jewelry, etc.) There weren't too many items of interest at this particular fair in Pisa, until the last tent. I found the cutest woolen hat - a woven mix of forest green and olive/lime green. It's fun! Once I'd acquired this cap for my collection of Europeanesque items, we had 45 minutes to make it to the tower and back. After stopping a few times for directions from the locals, we made it!
The tower is catty-cornered right in front of the Duomo (main church) of Pisa. The cathedral was absolutely lovely. And the tower (especially knowing a little of its history) was very interesting! We didn't get to enter either the tower or the church, nor could we wander down through the sea of white tents lining the street. We rushed back to the train station, and made it to the airport (on time!) We would really like to stop here again on our way home from Dublin and see the unknown parts of the city....and probably take one of those wonderful touristy photos of mom and I holding up the tower!