Around the Leaning Tower
August 12, 2007
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Our spontaneous plan was to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa today.
First we stopped in a suburb and spied through our binoculars - wow, the excitement was getting bigger and bigger, especially within my sister and me. The famous Leaning Tower was just a few minutes away, great!
After another short hot drive we found a parking space and squeezed our mobile home between many other cars.
Dad decided we should go first. Not sure, either he finally had to take a nap or he just didn´t trust this guy, who was looking after the vehicles?!
The three of us walked through two or three neat and narrow alleys and suddenly stood in front of the Leaning Tower.
A magnet for tourists
Hmmm, what a surprise! Obviously the tower wasn´t the surprise but the short way from the mobile home to the crowded place was.
It was a great feeling to stand right in front of such a fantastic building that is known for its special architecture and a must for tourists. But, honestly, the tower didn´t seem to be that leaning. ... Okay, our fault because we had to find the right spot and then the tower really looked like the one from our books or TV (no doubt, it was the one and only Leaning Tower), really nice!
After we had formed our own impressions we went on a souvenir hunt, what else?! Of course, not less locals have an excellent feeling for good deals with impressed (and sometimes naive) tourists, so that it´s not too difficult to offer the most amazing souvenir ever. But what would a tourist attraction like the Leaning Tower be without its colourful, crowded and sometimes funny looking stalls? It´s kind of charming.
There were countless souvenir stalls around the tower, which sold typical stuff like postcards, magnets, bottle openers and key rings. So, the hardest decision was to find the best piece for the fairest price. That´s why we walked and walked and walked along the stalls and compared all kinds of souvenirs. Finally, we experienced a happy ending and didn´t even feel too cheated!
When we came back to the mobile home Dad went for a walk to the tower (and we looked after the vehicle). He wanted to climb the tower but after he had informed about the conditions (price and waiting time) he threw in the towel.
You often have to wait for hours to enjoy the pretty view from the tower and so much time was the thing we didn´t have. How many kilometres could you drive within half a day? Quite a lot! All right then, let´s go!
So we left Pisa with a last glace back and landed near La Spezia, where we spent the night later on.
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa
A magnet for tourists
