The Trip: Italy 2016, Pisa
The Story:
When I set the itinerary for the journey, given a week to explore the northwest of Italy, I made trade-offs; that left only an afternoon in Pisa en route from Vernazza to Florence. My dad and I got off the regional train at the Pisa S. Rossore station, close to the Cathedral with a few hours to get to Pisa Centrale. Since it was lunch time we had to try the food truck containing an open-flame brick oven that we spotted.
After our quick stop, we explored the Cathedral. Aside from the sheer volume of Tower selfies being taken, the Baptistry was the most intriguing part of the Cathedral. Inside the Baptistry, I enjoyed the aesthetics of the architecture, and marveled at the acoustics. I then wandered around the exterior of the Cathedral and Tower, taking photos from every perspective I could manage. I then found my dad, and we made our way through the University towards the Arno.
Reaching the Citadel, I scouted different perspectives before starting across the bridge. I turned around for a final look at the Citadel, when a bright red Fiat 500 came into view; as the occupants had an animated conversation, I drew my camera and snapped it . I immediately remembered a favorite shot I took at the West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio with the red pop against the blue sky and muted Citadel brick. That was definitely the most interesting vehicle that passed us on the bridge.
Finally, across the Arno, we stopped at Re Gelato since we had some time before our next train; it’s obligatory, right? My dad and I sat eating a relaxing gelato, watching university students riding their bikes through an old city gate. After around 20 minutes, I was certain we had plenty of time, but pulled out my train reservation for one last check. Oh, no, I had made a huge, tiny mistake. We had 11 minutes to make the 9-minute walk and catch our train. After we hustled to the station, luckily all was well, and we were on our way!
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