We've had a family tradition of traveling south every January to catch a break from the northern European winters. Winter-time in England is very dark and dreary. While Italy isn't exactly warm in January, it is much more pleasant than the UK this time of year.
We had to leave the house around 5am to catch an 8am flight from London-Standsted to Pisa, Italy. Having to wake up and get the troops ready that early is torture. The flight was not bad- just over 2 hours.
(Above) View of the alps during our flight from London to Pisa.
(Above) Jack and Lucas staying entertained during the 2-hour flight on Ryanair.
We stayed at Camp Darby, a small U.S. Army post near Pisa, and only about 15 minutes away from the Pisa airport. It was nice to stay on a base and have access to things like the commissary, base exchange, and cheap gas. On our first evening, we drove over to Piazza del Duomo to explore the famous leaning tower.
(Above) A view of the campanile (Leaning Tower) from near our parking area.
(Above) The plaza where the Leaning Tower is located is called Piazza del Duomo. It has the tower, a really nice cathedral, and a round building called the baptistry.
The hike up the Leaning Tower wasn't bad and didn't take long. However, you couldn't see outside for most of the climb and thus didn't know which side you were on. The steps varied from increasingly difficult to increasingly easy as you ascended, depending on which side of the "lean" you were on.
(Below) The views were spectacular from the top of the tower.
(Above) A view of Harmony and the boys from the top of Pisa Tower.
(Above) Getting the boys to pose was pretty much impossible.
(Above) Harmony and I took turns climbing up. They didn't allow children under 8 years of age. Jack was really disappointed with this and still remembers that he needs to be 8 to climb the tower. Just the other day, in a conversation where we discussed how old he'd be when we return to the U.S., he said he wanted to climb the "tipping tower" when he turned 8.
(L) The cathedral entrance (R) They still had a Nativity scene on display inside the cathedral.
(L) Inside the cathedral (R) The baptistry (which we did not enter- from what we heard, it was a not well-rated museum)
(Above) More shots of Piazza del Duomo
(Above) The Camposanto, which is on the edge of the piazza, is an old semi-indoors cemetery. The black rectangles shown above are each a burial tomb. There were also some frescos on the walls. This building was heavily damaged in WWII, but has been pretty well restored
1 comment:
Cool pictures from the top of the tower! We've always wanted to climb to the top, but the lines are so long in the summer. Actually, in case you ever go back, the baptistry is really cool inside. It has amazing acoustics, you can stand in a certain place and harmonize with yourself singing because the echo is so long. We tried it. : )
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