Monday, November 29, 2004

Toscana ( Pisa )

Pisa


We left Perugia for Firenze early morning as we hope to spend more time in Pisa. Upon our arrival in Firenze, we took the next connecting train to Pisa which is 30minutes train ride from Firenze. The first time in Firenze was with my Japanese and German classmate.

When we arrived in Pisa, the tourists have lessened and the whole town is morea tranquil and the streets are not so crowded. As we passed by the Arno River (Fiumi Arno), the scene is simply superb and symmetrical. The buildings along the river were colourful and you can see their reflections when you look at the river.

After crossing the river, it takes another 10 -15 minutes to walk to the Campo dei Miracoli ( Field of Miracles ) where the majestic leaning tower of Pisa is located. We were contemplating whether to climb up the tower but were tight on our buget and forgo the experience of walking up the spiring staircases. As usual, aroound us, we could see tourists letting their creativity talents run wild and started posing in various shots like supporting the tower with their last finger or embracing the tower in their arms. Being my third time in Pisa, this place still didn't fail to charm me.

On our way back, we crossed the Arno river again and saw a parade in progress. The pagentry dressed in traditional costumes are from Volterra. The kids as young as 5years old were beating the drums and the flag bearers were tossing the colourful flags into the air and the musical band provided the lyrical tunes as the pagentry paraded pass us. That was my third time seeing such parade and we were indeed lucky to be there at the right time. The first time was at Arezzo while the second time was in Perugia when the folks from Susa came to Perugia to promote their culture.