24 July 2012

Travelday - Pisa

Remember how this blog used to have semi-regular posts about the holiday that The Sparky and I took last year? No? I can't say I blame you, it has been quite a while.
I hit a bit of a stumbling block when my photos from Pisa refused to upload properly, an issue which I still haven't been able to sort out ...
So, in light of both that and the fact that I hope to be able to keep posting while in Queenstown soon (!), I have decided it's time to pull the iPad back out and start posting from it again.
The other problem I have had with posting about Pisa is an issue with what to say ... I want to tell you about how we were offered real coffee from a real barrister on a real machine when we checked in, the hundreds and hundreds of bikes outside the school that we walked past on our way into town, the kebabs that were supposed to be a quick and easy lunch but instead ended up being the best kebabs we have ever tasted (the pita that was made fresh before our eyes and baked in the pizza oven was just the begining), the gorgeous buildings and vibrant university feel in the town, the supermarket with its fun array of delicious foods, the best breakfast buffet of the trip (our accommodation must have been on super special when I booked it for it to have been within budget) and so many other things about our less-than-24hrs in Pisa but somehow it feels a little strange to say any more about them than that. These are memories that mean a lot to us but that don't transfer well into stories when put in writing ... if we even meet up in real life, remind me to tell you all about them.
For the moment though let's just say that, despite photogrphic evidence, we enjoyed Pisa for more than just its tower.

Oh, and if you ever find yourself there and someone asks you to take a photo of them infront of said tower, this is not exactly what they're after ...

13 comments:

  1. I was only in Pisa for a few hours during a train strike. Since Europe is confusing, trains were still running during said strike. But you just had to keep a close watch and take off when you saw one chugging along. So I didn't manage to leave the station and see anything very Pisa-ish:/

    But now, with snippets of stories and some pictures, it's almost like I was there!

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    1. So close ... but yet so far! (I've just realised too that with all of the photos of the tower, I didn't end up posting a good one of it from the proper leany angle!) It was the stories like that about the train service that really sealed our decision about hiring a car for most of the trip ... aside from the fact that in the end for two of us it was actually cheaper too.

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  2. I've never been to Pisa (or Italy either, for that matter!), but it looks and sounds like a great place...and clearly you were there in great weather - check out how blue those skies are!

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    1. It is a fabulous place to visit Ali, if you ever get the chance grab it! Despite all of the other places in the world that we want to get to we still talk about going back there. The weather was totally unexpected, we had been thinking that a European Autumn would be a bit so-so but we didn't have a single bad day, in fact most ended up being uncomfortably hot - with the sky that clear there were few places to hide from the sun.

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  3. Oh!!! Hahaha! At least you can tell it's leaning. I think the person who took my photo in front of it got the whole tower in... :P

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    1. We've been wondering if they went home scratching their head about the zoomed out photo that The Sparky took for them, he was very careful about getting the whole tower in (you know, on the assumption that that was what they were after!) :)

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  4. bahaha worst photo in front of a landmark EVERrrrrr!!!! you could be in front of the Taj Mahal for all we know :P

    I've dreamt of going to Pisa since primary school to see that tower!

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    1. Admittedly it has made for a good story or two since we returned but at the time we were gobsmacked. Of course in this digital age we were able to check it as soon as they walked away and so took a few more photos of the full tower, we just don't have anything with us and the tower in the same photo.

      Despite everything the guide books say about the tower being the only reason to go to Pisa, it is well worth the stop ...

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  5. I've never been to Pisa but got my first taste of Rome recently and it was wonderful. Hehe well I guess it really does lean! Which is a stupid thing to say, granted! :P

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    1. Actually from the angle we approached it on it didn't appear to lean much at all and for a short while I wondered what all the fuss was about ... then we walked around to see it from a slightly different angle and it does in fact lean a lot!

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  6. I have a few awesome photos of Pisa - in fact I have one where the dog looks like Marge from the Simpsons with the tower over his head! (I would attach the link but I believe that is poor etiquette)We loved it there ... just loved it. But then again - we loved Tuscany. Florence Hot Chocolate anyone ... no? You have not lived.

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    1. Well, now I have one more reason to go have a look through your blog posts :) (I agree, I nearly posted a link a few days ago because it would have been much easier than repeating a story, it just seemed a bit self-promoting though).

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  7. well you can sel-promote in my "comments box" if I can on yours! LMAO!!

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