There were two reasons I wanted to head to Pisa during my last few days here.

The first, I’ve wanted to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever since Katie, Zack and I made the attempt last year during vacation/Kara and Giuseppe’s wedding. We had, let’s say, issues finding it and decided it was best to head on to our villa. But the woman walking in front of our slow moving car with her iPod and shopping bags was lovely!

The second, I haven’t seen Pisa in its best light the last few times I’ve been there and I wanted to remember it differently. I felt I wasn’t giving it its fair shake. Turns out it’s a very nice town! And really quite quaint and pretty. As long as you go when the sun is up and people are around of course.

But I was on a clear mission today. I had the directions of how to get there from my favorite train station and was off! I only took one picture on my way as to not waste time. I needed to see this damn tower!

About 20 minutes later, I saw the duomo from a few blocks away. I was close. And then there it was. I got a bit of a thrill from it! These days, it doesn’t take much. :)

I had a perfect sunny day with blue skies. Those against the white of the tower and duomo were really pretty.

I wandered off for lunch and found a small place for a good plate of pasta and some red wine. On my walk back to the train station, I stopped for some gelati. It had been so long!

Even the train station was a pleasure to be around today. There were musicians playing, people out and about, the fountains on. It looked like a new city compared to the one I kept having images of. I’m happy I changed that.

The outing lasted about 3 hours which was just enough. I headed back to Empoli for some pre-dinner snacks and what’s become pretty much a daily nap. Not sure if I’ll be able to manage a full day when I get back!

One more full day before I board the plane back home.