Pisa

Monday, March 23 we took a train out to Pisa for the day.

Of course we all had to take the classic Pisa picture of us holding of pushing the tower.  It was fun that everyone else there was doing the exact same thing!

We were amazed at how much it really does lean!  It's incredible!

We walked along the road next to this square and couldn't get enough of the views of the tower and the cathedral.

We walked around the old wall of the city as well and then back around to the other side of the tower.

Once more Glenn was too young to climb to the top.  Cheryl again volunteered to stay at the bottom with him.  She remembered climbing it when she was young when Paul's family traveled here when they lived in Germany.  So Paul and I got to make the climb together.  

We were amazed at how we could really feel the lean when we were climbing.  Even the stairs showed which way the tower leaned--based on how the steps were worn.  As we wound our way around and around and up and up, the steps changed which side they were worn on.

Up on top!!

With the bells!

After our climb, we went across the square to visit the cathedral.  The detail on the outside was beautiful.

And the interior matched in beauty.  Isn't that ceiling amazing?!

Another beautiful image of Christ.

And then we went into the baptistery.

We got to climb to the second level--and we got a great view of the cathedral--and the tower peeking behind.

And despite the signs telling people to stay off the grass, there were lots of people hanging out.  Glenn wanted to play and run around on the grass for a bit.  It's been awhile since we've played on soft, clean grass.

After our sight-seeing, we wanted some lunch.  Paul found a place with his phone that had good reviews.  It mentioned an outdoor back patio seating, so we made our way there.  When we got there however, the man said the patio was closed.  Um, okay.  So we sat inside and looked at the menu.  He came back, not a minute later and asked what we wanted.  We said we'd need a few minutes to look it over--and translate it.  He looked annoyed and said they were closing soon, so we would have to hurry.  Since we didn't get the best reception and since the food that others were eating didn't look that great, we left.

We made our way closer to the tourist stuff and got three different kinds of pizzas.  They were fast and good, so we were happy with our new choice.

Then we took the train back to Florence.  We grabbed some gelato on our way home.  We had been to this shop before and they had really yummy flavors, so we were happy to go back.  We liked the cinnamon and the fruit ones.

That night Cheryl and Glenn made a little canopy for Glenn's bed.  He was so cute sleeping in it.