Maybe the Tower of Pisa is just being italic.

After a good night's rest, I left Florence early and got back to the train station to head on out once again. My first stop is a famous destination called Pisa, of the leaning tower kind. I previously was going to take my time in the trip, but I miscalculated the time I had to spend in Cinque Terre, so I had to get there as early as I could. When I got to Pisa I dropped off my pack in the storage area and then instead of waiting for the bus, I decided to just walk the couple of miles to the Leaning Tower of Pisa so that I'd at least have a chance to see the town. It didn't take too long to get to the famous landmark. While I wasn't expecting anything grand, I wasn't disappointed either since the church and nearby structures were fairly interesting to me in addition to the famous leaning tower. There were of course the massive numbers of tourists (though I was obviously one as well) taking pictures with pretty much everyone of them making the same iconic pose of holding up the tower from a distance. The entire area is full of people, young and old, trying their best to support the poor, pathetic, sagging tower. I wondered who was fired for this SNAFU and failure to pay attention in their Soil Mechanics engineering class. I am proud to say that I was able to completely resist that urge, however it probably had more to do with the lack of any travel companion to aid in that set up and the fact that using the tripod and making multiple pictures to get that one shot would have been a pain. After walking the compound and seeing what I wanted, I headed back for another walk to the train station so I could catch the next train to Cinque Terre.

When talking to some friends that this was the place to experience; so after researching it a bit more and figuring out the logistics I decided I definitely had to go. I took the fast train to La Spezia and then transferred to the local train and got dropped off in Riomaggiore so I could check into the hostel and leave my pack. After getting my camera and water together I headed back to the train station so I could take on the famous trail that connects the villages. The villages along this area are all built into the cliffs with few having any roadway connection, so all trade and goods transport had been via the trails. I took the train to Vernazza and then started the track. Since I only had part of one day to spend here, I wasn't able to do the tougher section between this village and Monterosso al Mare, however the trail I took was still pretty steep and took over an hour to reach the next village. I suppose I can only describe through the pictures the lovely views witnessed along the trail. Each vista was simply picturesque with the colorful villages along the grand coastline. I tried to stop wherever possible to take in the views, but also enjoyed walking along the grape terraces that have been here for a long time. There is a particular section between Manarola and Riomaggiore that is known as a Via dell'Amore, or lovers walk. There is one spot overlooking the cliffs that has a silhouetted sculpture of two lovers and is surrounded by hundreds of love locks. As in Florence the tradition is that a couple would close the lock and throw away the key, forever sealing their love. All I had to offer was a short piece of string tied into a bow, which I guess is as representative as anything else can be.

I was able to hit a couple of geocaches along the way and explore the towns a bit more in depth. when I got back to Vernazza, I took the train to Monterosso al Mare since I wouldn't have had time to reach it via trail. I strolled along the beach for a little while and watched some locals play soccer, umm ... football, before taking one last train back to the hostel. I shared a room with a couple of Aussies and had a good time talking to them sharing stories, especially about some of the places I had visited in Australia last year. It was a pretty exhausting day and like normal, I didn't have much of a problem falling off to sleep to prepare for the next day's events.

I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues that are in all the other museums.

I didn't get my tickets ahead of time, so I had to wait in live for over an hour to get admission to the Ufizi Museum. I was able to keep entertained by not only my music, but also watching all the counterfeiters work the crowd. They were the peak efficiency of being able to pack up and split in an instant using a blanket as their table for the copy handbags so that everything can be wrapped and moved the moment a cop was spotted. There was always a lookout with a cell phone that would be able to signal the group to depart and scatter with the cop showing up at a stroll about 30 seconds later; only to find everyone returning within a minute. The Uffizi did have a pretty extensive collection with several famous pieces. In Florence alone one could witness works created by all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Rafael). Since I was not in the least of a rush, I spent several hours here just browsing each room and level while being lead around by a couple of the useful audio guides.

I wandered around a while more and made it to Santa Croce and then hung around the farmer's market for a while. I sat down to read my guidebook about this church only to realize then that it was the burial site of two historic heroes, Michelangelo and Galileo. Unfortunately when I read this, it was literally just 5 minutes after closing time. Argggg, it would have been nice to pay homage. I headed back towards the Duomo and took the Renaissance audio tour just as it was getting dark. I hit the Ponte Vecchio one last time and sat for a long while as a musician played an Italian guiter and sang some lovely, lonely songs. Apparently there were only two of us in the hostel, so it was pretty quiet, probably reminiscent of its history as a convent. I made a few phone calls using my iPod Touch and Skype before checking e-mail and heading to bed for another early start to the train station. I wanted to get in an out of Pisa as early as I could in the morning so I could have more time in Cinque Terra.

street art

empty hostel lobby

Florence of Arabia -- feminist camelmanship.

After sleeping in a little bit, I headed into the city. I walked around the Duomo of Florence for a little while and then wandered a bit north at random until I reached the time of my reservations for the Galleria dell'Accademia. This is a popular museum since it contains several well know art works, prime among them the statue of David by Michelangelo. It wasn't until I got to the ticket booth until I realized that when I quickly purchased tickets, I inadvertently got one for the Galleria dell'Accademia in Venice. Fortunately the ticket guy let me purchase one there instead of having to go outside and wait another 90 minutes in the stand-by line. The museum really wasn't that extensive in its collections, but I suppose I was already completely spoiled by the holdings of the Vatican Museum. Again I was aided by one of my audio guides where I could enjoy learning a lot more about the works while standing right in front of them. There were several unfinished works by Michelangelo that I wouldn't have been nearly as able to appreciate or understand without having that aid. I found myself think that I was thankful that he took up making works of art from marble and stone rather than ice sculpting. David, of course, was the main attraction and just as I did at other significant spots, I simply stood or sat for a long time just taking in the piece and appreciating the history and significance of it.

After leaving, I headed over the to famous Duomo of Florence. Although many may not, I actually liked the colors of the building and the unique white, green, and pink marble. The inside was of course spacious and grand and even though it cost a few euro, I loved the experience of climbing to the top of the dome. The climb itself provided access to not only some neat, narrow and winding staircases, but also a walk along the interior of the dome that provided sweeping views of the cathedral tourists far below. It did get a little crowded in the passageways, but walking between the two constructed (inner and outer) dome was neat, and the views definitely could not be beat anywhere. Compared to my other vacations of the past, the pace here was much more relaxed and I took the time to just sit and think whenever possible, so what better place than on top of the center of the Renaissance world?

After spending a while here I walked back to the river and just followed it out of the main areas and even stopped to do some shopping at a few booths, picking up a couple of neck scarves as a thank you gift for someone since I saw that it seemed to be quite the current fashion among Italian women. I meandered over to the Michelangelo Piazza on the other side of the river for a nice sweeping view of the historic city across the Arno River. On the way back towards the hostel I had a lovely dinner at a restaurant that was one the river and had a great seat overlooking the Ponte Vecchio.

After dinner I wandered the historic bridge for a while observing as shops started to close down and couple wandered the path. When looking over the side, I discovered my first real example of love locks. I had heard of the tradition previously and knew I would see them on the trail near Cinque Terra, but didn't expect them here. Love locks were apparently a tradition started in Rome where a couple would close the clasp and throw the key into the river to 'lock in' their love for eternity'. The tradition seems to be very much alive today and as I wandered Italy I became much more aware of these locks at almost every romantic location that I came across. A quick search for love locks on Flickr shows this to be popular in many different places of the world now. When I got back to the hostel there was a free concert with some Indian musicians and dancers that put on a lovely performance that made my stay at the Ospitale delle Rifiorenze Hostel a bit more interesting and enjoyable.

lovelocks on the Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi across Arno River

view from Piazzale Michelangelo

Veni, Vidi, Assisi -- I Came, I Saw, I Became A Monk

I got up around 6:30AM and headed for the Roma Termini (train station) to catch my ride to Assisi. When I was doing the planning I found that this made for a great stop on the way to Florence. Once I figured out how to get the train schedule and use the kiosk, traveling was pretty easy. My iPod Touch had a great app called iRail that would allow me to chose the stations and starting times and it would pull up the schedule and pricing. this made planning much, much easier when on the go since as long as I could find an open access point, then I could find what I needed. I fortunately picked it up when it was free last year, however the price is currently $1.99 and would be worth the savings of time in trying to find an Internet cafe when walking the town. The train was definitely a good way to travel as one does not have to deal with security lines, turbulence, or static views. The 100mph train was a pleasure to ride through all the tunnels and countryside.

After getting to the Assisi train station, I dropped off my pack at bag storage ($3) and got a bus ticket to head to the hillside town. this was my first small-town Italy experience and it was quite lovely. After a quick ride in, it was only a short walk to the Basilica of St. Francis. I really liked the narrow, steep streets lined with pastry and coffee shops and restaurants. The basilica itself was nice and of neat architecture as it had two separate, distinct basilicas, one on top of the other. although it was a bit crowded, especially the line to see the tomb of St. Francis, I really enjoyed the different perspectives. I really loved walking the rest of the town to some of the various other churches as I eventually made my way up to the castle at the top of the hill. I wasn't that interested on going inside, but did explore a little bit behind the castle and had a most lovely walk back down to the town on an almost hidden pedestrian path.

I took the bus back towards the train station, but since I had a lot more time available, I stayed on it for the loop trip through Santa Maria degli Angeli. I walked among some of the art and craft vendors situated outside the basilica for a while before checking out the interior. After leaving, I walked about a mile to a spot that had a clear, sweeping view of Assisi so I could get some nice shots. Before finally hoofing it all the way back to the station, I thought I might just see how a European McDonald's compared to the US. I'm sad to say that what they put out is as bad and nasty as what is expected here and I ended up throwing out half the sandwich. So much for the Pulp Fiction 'Royal with cheese' expectation. Overall, I am quite glad that I stopped here for a little while and thought it to be a beautiful place that might have been a nice place in which to hostel for the night, but I wanted to get on to Florence and the photography opportunities that would be there. I got in just after dusk and just had time to take a couple of pictures on my way tot he hostel so I could grab a shower and some needed food.

Watching a young lady paint a picture in her shop window. A great
Renaissance experience.

Looking up the Arco River after dusk.