A trip to Western Europe: Pisa, Italy

Before heading to Pisa, Italy, we stopped by Cannes, a city located in the French Riviera. There's not much to see or visit here, so after 30 minutes, we left for Pisa. We arrived at Pisa around noon the same day.

We were very excited on the way there, knowing that we were about to see one of the world's most famous spectacular structures built almost 10 centuries ago, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.


One has to see it in person to appreciate its amazing, strange, and freakishly beautiful building, a sight whose impact no amount of prior knowledge can blunt. Yet it is just a single component of Pisa's breathtaking Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), where the Duomo (Cathedral), Baptistry and Camposanto complete a dazzling architectural ensemble.

We were warned repeatedly about Italian pick-pockets in the area, but now I think it is a little exaggerated. We had no trouble the whole time we were there. Along the Field of Miracles we encountered a veritable gauntlet of vendors, most legal some not so much. There were a handful of street hawkers to sell  Luis Vuitton, Channel, and Dolce and Gabbana knockoffs. On the outside of the wall, there were ton of stands selling cheap sunglasses, key chains and souvenirs.

It startled me when someone yelled "Polizia" and all of the sudden these people scattered and disappeared so quick.

Four buildings were very close together inside a high wall. Summer time is a high peak of tourist season, so the place was packed.

The tower was a lot taller than I imagined, and it seemed ready to be keeled over toward the earth at any moment. It left a strong impact in my mind. It makes one wonder how could it stay that way for so long. And how long more would it remain there like that?

The cathedral is small to compare with many other cathedrals in Europe, but it looks like it was built around the previous millennium. The cathedral walls were put together by large slaps of marble. Its architectural design was a mix of Roman and Islamic cultures.






All of the 4 buildings were built in the plaza in a vast different time frame, that's why each carries its own unique design.

Less than an hour of traveling on our bus tour, we arrived at the beautiful city name Florence. Italian call it Firenze. We stayed in a nice hotel no more than a couple hundred feet from the pretty river called the Arno river.