Greetings from Pisa

On the second day of our stay in Florence, we said: "Let's go to Pisa!" And we went to Pisa. Well, of course, breakfast. Well, of course, some Russians in that hotel - they obviously do not say hello. A bit French, a little Italian from the south, but mostly Americans. In general, they are added in Europe, everything is broken in the old world, to touch the past, so to speak.

Today's weather has changed, the sky has hardened the clouds, sowing heavy rain. I have to wear jeans and sweaters and pull umbrellas from my suitcase. On the way to the station, we looked for a restaurant where we were going to have dinner. Sasha yesterday before going to bed do a study where they cook the best steak fiorentiysky ... Yes, I am wrong to say, that's what it is called: no Florentine, and fiorentiysky from Firenze word, so Italian name from city sound. One restaurant close to the hotel, it works. But we found a way, and there was no restaurant on it, or we did not see it. That's embarrassing.

We reached the station, to argue a bit, which is still better to go: to Siena or Pisa. Decided not to see the Leaning Tower and do the famous photo cliche, trying to keep the Tower tilted at you, it will be artificial and Siena can wait.

Pisa can be reached by bus or train, it takes about an hour. We chose the train, bought tickets at the vending machine at the station.
Traveling on a train in Italy is convenient and cheap, tickets to Pisa, for example, cost about ten euros. the car can be chosen for your taste: You can stay in the car with the smell of garlic, sweat, sweet cloying perfume ... Any desire for your money. At the front of the train there was a more neutral carriage, where we settled.

What an amazing grandpa riding a dream in the car! No where before traveling to Italy did I meet a guy with a boutonnik in a jacket buttonhole on a white day! And at night too. A burgundy or cream-colored jacket, and all men wear hats. You can die of elegance! This is not a grandfather, and not from that journey, but also in elegant hats and ochchchen.

Has arrived. Wow, only one hour is removed, and it's been a completely different architecture and color. Pisa is dominated by yellow.

Attacked by a large number of young people. This is understandable - in Pisa was one of the oldest universities in Italy, in 1343 was founded. By the way, Enrico Fermi - Nobel laureate in physics in 1938, graduated from this university. And the presidents of Haiti and Nicaragua and Pope Clement IX and XII, Leo X, Paul III and Urban VIII. Periodically, the University of Pisa ranks first in the ranking of higher education institutions in Italy, 30th in Europe and the 300th in the world!

And the Arno River is wider here than in Florence. Because of him, then, by the way, we do not like floreytintsev in Pisa - Florence is located upstream, and all the impurity of the big city sailed directly to Pisa. Of course, there are enough reasons for hatred, but who is friendly with whom then?

In Leaning Tower of Pisa, we found unexpectedly. They saw the remains of Roman luxury and wanted to continue straight, because they saw a sign on the road: "All directions." But accidentally look to the left, and here he is, my dear, standing in all its crooked beauty! Something like a picture of the old Flemish Tower Babel brush.

We did not climb up, the view from down to the tower, I think, more beautiful than from the tower. Save power for the Duomo in Florence. Who cares to ride 18 euros, tickets can be purchased at the box office to the left of the tower, if you stand facing the Duomo, with your back to the tower. Starting in a group of 40 people, wait a long time, especially in the tourist season, so it's easier to book tickets on the Internet, two weeks before a visit to Pisa.

All tourists without exception try to make a famous shot with the tower held! So do we. Sashka snapped me somehow soon. Well, more or less successful. And I still do not understand what he wants from me. The hand is too low - does not hold the tower, then the angle of the fall is not the same ...

I'm tired, and we're back. But then Sasha is very upset, saying that just because of this photo and go to Pisa. In short, we come back, because dreams must come true. We tried every angle of the camera, repositioned from all sides, and finally, with the help of eight Italians who did not speak English at all and screamed all over the area, gave us totally contradictory instructions, I made the coveted image.

Little known and less known facts about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

• It is the third oldest building in Pisa after the cathedral and Baptism. Built as a bell in the cathedral in 1173 and completed in 1372. It is clear why for so long, the land there is too soft. By the way, with a large number of regular towers - they were in Pisa at the beginning of the 12th century nearly ten thousand, no bell. The money for its construction is inherited to the citizens of Pisa Berta in Bernardo.

Cathedral of Pisa

• Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only tower that fell in Pisa. The Duomo in that neighborhood deviates 25 centimeters to the north, and the chapel - at 51. But this does not make sense compared to Pisa, which "falls" by 3.9 meters.

• In 2004, the entire cultural community of the world was amazed and angry. The English edition of the Moscow Times printed an article that Russia launched a humanitarian assistance program for the recovery of Pisa. From Odessa, Tashkent and Dushanbe trains will be sent workers who will erect skyscrapers around the cathedral and build a parking lot near the Tower of Pisa. Just then we guess to see the publication date - April 1st!

And our program is finished, you can go home, that is to Florence. Yes, in the circular square on the road from the station to Leaning Tower of Pisa, not reaching the river, there are two cafés round the practical. There is very cheap and tasty, you can take panini with various kinds of homemade bread and parma or chamonchik to choose from.

Just show it to the slice of ham you like and you cut it thin and pile up between two slices of bread. And you can pile up parma and cheese on a wooden board, take bread in a snack, and drink it with wine. We drank the panini with cola. Delicious, but brutal combination. Give hiccups, go to the station.

On the way back they ran to the controls. A serious and impressive man explained to us that just buying tickets in Italy is not enough, you still have to punish him on the platform. But he did not punish us, he wrote a little on the ticket and hoped for a good rest.

To this day, everything must proceed!