Saturday 14 August 2010

The Leaning Tower

We docked at Livorno........the gateway to Florence or Pisa.......we decided on Pisa.....it was nearer.....but mainly because we really wanted to see the tower.
And here we found the only cheap thing in Italy......their public transport system.......the 2 buses we travelled on were particularly cheap......as the drivers couldn't be bothered to sell us tickets.......on our return journey we were shovelled in like sardines......we quickly realised this was to stop everybody falling over.......as the driver sped round corners on 2 wheels....steering with one hand while texting with the other......maybe there is something to be said for the UK's draconian Health and Safety laws!!!
The train cost £3.25 return.......was clean, comfortable,on time.....and only went a little too fast!!
Pisa was delightful.......a short walk through pretty streets from the station.........and over the river
to reach the Piazza del Duomo.........which contains the Tower.......the cathedral.......and a pretty tacky tourist market.The nearby shopping streets were wonderful though ......and I bought some lovely baby shoes for my soon to be born grand daughter.
And yes......we did the tourist thing and tried to take photos 'holding up the tower'......with mixed success!!!!

11 comments:

Becky said...

Love these photos and the one holding up the tower is great :)

Kathyk said...

Smashing pics - I remember trying to hold the tower up too!!!

Kathyk

Amy said...

The tower looks to be in safe hands Jacky! My sisters and my brother have all done the same thing so it should still be ok by the time I get there ;-)
I think that public transport sounds like an adventure world wide - hubby had some hair raising experiences in China recently.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Awesome pictures. We tried to do some of that in San Francisco (holding up the bridge and/or the Ghiradelli Square sign) and couldn't get it to work. Nice job!
Rinda

Sian said...

Oh, that's way better than our attempt! I think you did a great job of lining it up. Pisa was one of our favourite stops - it's somewhere I would love to go back to so I really enjoyed having a look at your photos today Jacky.

Elizabeth said...

I always enjoy seeing someone hold up the Tower of Pisa. Lovely photos.

JO SOWERBY said...

my friend has just come back from pisa and said climbing inside the leaning tower makes u feel really sick!!! glad to see it's still being well heldup by that attractive man. did he get paid for standing ther eto do that or was it just goot fortune his hand got in the way
Jo xxx

Anonymous said...

Glorious photos - the quality of light is stunning. Love your description of the bus-ride: makes such a great story in itself!

Anonymous said...

Glorious photos - the quality of light is stunning. Love your description of the bus-ride: makes such a great story in itself!

Jester said...

Great pictures - they make me want to go back to Italy!

humel said...

Oh, fab :-) We picked Florence on the Livorno day, so our only view of Pisa's Tower was a snatched glimpse from the coach window! Great to 'see' it through your eyes xx