Other than that, Pisa was just kind of a cute little city. Really busy, with all different kinds of people.
I stopped at a gelato place recommended by my guidebook and had the "zuppa inglese" flavor... No idea what it was, but I liked it! Although, I don't think I've ever NOT liked the gelato I've had here...
Next I got to an old central square of Pisa, full of beautiful buildings. If I remember right, one of them was the first law school in Italy (or something... really can't remember... something about a law school, though!).
I kept walking toward the leaning tower, and stopped into a really beautiful old church on my way. This one was really different than the others I'd seen- very simple, decorated mostly with stone mosaics. I've seen a lot of churches by now, but it's so interesting to see the differences between them.
I was pretty close to the tower at this point, so I stopped into a little bakery and bought some bread for a picnic. Eating in Italy (or really anywhere in Europe) can get expensive really fast, but buying a few breadsticks here and there has saved me quite a bit of money. So here I got 3 breadsticks: one plain, one rosemary, and one flaky one that tasted kinda cheesy. It's amazing how good the breads are here, especially because they're SO cheap.
As I got closer and closer to the tower, it got more and more touristy. Pretty soon I was surrounded by tacky souvenir shops, which is exactly what I expected of Pisa. BUT I was pleasantly surprised at the tower. It's actually very pretty, and in much better shape than I expected. I guess I always imagined it as an old decaying tower, looking kind of like the Colosseum in Rome. Instead, it's beautiful white stone and doesn't look decayed at all. From up close, it doesn't look very tilted, either. But as you get further away...
There are lots of other really impressive buildings around the tower as well, Including the duomo and baptistery- though I couldn't go inside because I had to catch the next bus to Lucca.
I liked the tower, but I REALLY liked watching tourists take photos with the tower. So, I took photos of tourists taking photos of the tower :)
Then I got on the bus to Lucca. It was a gorgeous half hour ride filled with rolling hills and vineyards.
Lucca is a really neat city. It's surrounded by a very high wall, because hundreds of years ago Lucca, Pisa, and Florence were at war with one another. The wall still stands, but today it's covered with trees and gardens and a nice gravel path for joggers and cyclists.
Inside the city walls, it was a pretty quiet place, largely undiscovered by tourists. That was a nice change of pace from Pisa! I spent a few hours just walking around and enjoying the quiet.
In the northern part of the city is the amphitheater, which is now just a large circular plaza surrounded by shops and restaurants.
I'm not a cat person, but I thought this was pretty adorable... And I have to reblog it for my friend Libby ;)
Lucca has a few beautiful churches, some really nice town squares, and a long street with expensive shops. Other than that, it wasn't really a sightseeing town... More of a place to just relax and enjoy, which I did!
When I got back to Florence I had dinner at this cute little restaurant called Nerone. I think my new goal in life might be to recreate Italian ragu... It's sooo delicious (the wine isn't bad either but I think I'll leave that one to the experts)!
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