Our last day in Florence we were all pretty bummed. Last day meant that we would have to leave this beautiful place, but it also meant returning to the real world and school, where homework lay looming in the background. We tried not to let it get us down though, and we got up early to snap some shots of the front of the Duomo before it got really crowded.
The morning didn't go quite according to plan, though. We had planned on going to this amazing breakfast apertivo that was mentioned in our guidebook, but when we got there, the building had been condemned by the government! doh! Instead, we just got cornettos and wrote our postcards. While wandering the streets, we heard these drums in the distance. We shrugged it off, but then all of a sudden...
...a Florentine parade! These guys were dressed to the nines and played some wicked drums and trumpets (even a few piccolos!). It was funny though - they marched at about a rate of one foot every three seconds. They wouldn't get very far if they were trying to march to war. We still have no idea what this seemingly impromptu parade was about, but we were delighted in seeing such fabulous outfits.
Finally, it was time for Claudia to head back to Rome to study for her midterm the next day and time for Laurie and I to head to Pisa (which is a short train ride from Florence). The train ride was relatively short and rather peaceful, and after 45 minutes, we were dumped out the train and into the Pisa train station. We left and...
...had no idea where we were. Where was the tower?? It never occurred to me that it might NOT be visible from everywhere within the town...
Eventually, we found it, but finding our way there was really quite pleasant. The town had closed down for siesta,and since we took side streets, we had the city to ourselves for a good half hour before being surrounded by swarms of tourists.
It was pretty funny to see everyone pretending to hold up the tower. There are these little stumps that allow for the best perspective, so all along the railing (there's a big, sectioned off grassy field) people looked like idiots trying to take silly shots. Time to become one of those idiots!
The next hour consisted of Laurie and I taking photo after photo of the tower until my camera died. Enjoy!
Poking Pisa
Holding Pisa
A Pisa Hat
Kick it DOWN!
...then push it back up. So heavy!
Now I'm best friends with Pisa
Just kidding, I'm Godzilla!
Taking pictures was a lot of fun, even if it was scary to perch on a three-foot high pillar!
And surprisingly enough (read: not surprising at all), there wasn't really anything else to see in Pisa, so two hours after we had arrived in Pisa, we said goodbye and headed back to Rome!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and I can't wait to be able to take more weekend trips around Italy after Spring Break next week!
