Under my umbrella, ella, ella... (Pisa in 4 hours)

Our train to Tuscany... kanootz being nosey

After saying our parting words and gratitudes to Signor Mariano, we went into the Roma Termini for some hot drinks frist, and then our tickets. It took little to convince ate Kholeen that Pisa was a necessary stop. Guess she always wanted to see it too, but when you live here in Italy, it can wait... for this time. We were early for our train so it was easy boarding in. Kanootz even got the chance to nose about when the train engine was being connected to the carriages.

Thank goodness, we shared the carriage with pleasent passengers and mind you, this one's heating was just right. After 2.5 hours, we were in Pisa Centrale where we had the chance to buy some souvenir and more postcards. More umbrella vendors in here... Kheli tells us, they change merchandise according to the weather...From there we caught the Linea Rossa pulman which took us to the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles).

Kheli @ Pisa Centrale

Campo dei Miracolli / Field of Miracles (Pisa)

Before we write any further, we'd like to express disappointment about our photographs. We're a bit bummed because first, it was pouring that day! And then wind chill factor if we remember properly was about 0 deg C. This meant that Niko (our little Nikon S200 point-&-shoot) was the only one on duty. On days like this, Nikky (Nikon D80) gets too shy. Also, the weather sort of dampened the colour of what is supposed to be white marble lined Pisa Cathedral. Still, theye were our personal shots so to us, they're better than any other.

laughter in the rain....

bell fry of Pisa Cathedral

how to wear a rain coat - fabulously!

When we got to the Cathedral site, basically, everything is as it is in photos. As one would expect, there were countless souvenir stalls lining the walls of the city. Kanootz & Kheli found a shirt they liked in here which they couldn't resist. The rain and the cold were such a challenge but never enough to stop us from doing what we came here for - take photos! It was actually quite funny 'cause none of our trick poses worked.

ahahahaha! challenging photoshoot

weather got better

We got so hungry and tried to find some place to eat outside the cathedral grounds. Kheli's preference was Chinese. We also liked the thought of warm fried rice and hot chicken soup. The last thing we'd think of eating in this kind of weather was cold sandwich / tough bread. We waled along narrow streets and almost lost hope when we met a Filipino mother and daughter who directed us to a decent one. It was quiet and clean... and @ 35E for 4 starved travellers, not bad.

baptistery of Pisa cathedral

so happy @ a chinese resto!

Eat my short!

Then we walked back to the bus stop to catch the same bus to the terminal. Along the way, we managed to take a couple of shots of the beautiful buildings lining the Arno River. Our train ride back to Turin was easy and restful, thank God.

Anyway, a bit about Pisa:

hiding from the cold, Pisa train station

More UNO w/ Khols & Kheli

Pisa was a bustling maritime city in the medieval era, rivalling Genova & Venice. Perhaps Pisa's greatest claim to fame is being the birthplace & home of the Renaisssance genius Galileo Galilei who also taught at the city's historic university. The Leaning Tower of Pisa - the cathedral's belfry, is what we'd say a beautiful architectural accident - thus, the name Campo dei Miracoli. next up, Paris...

The EYE... Italian Riviera

Under my umbrella, ella, ella... (Pisa in 4 hours)

Pisa, Italy