Welcome to the land of the 'tilted'

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Pisa was our destination today. We stopped at a fancy cafe just before leaving by train. Cafe Rinaldini has delicious macarons and brioches. We would come here everyday if it were in Trento. It's too bad that the lady could not make such a large decision at my behest.

The walls in Rinaldini were pink!

White chocolate cake with a jam of berries inside

Tiramisu!

Berry explosion!

Now, about Pisa. The city well known simply because of an 'error' in architecture. Personally, I think that the very fact that his structure still stands is proof that he was actually a genius (Bonanno Pisano, scientists say that it could very well stay like that forever).

Tuttomondo (all the world) mural by Keith Haring in Pisa

We thought that there was not much to see in Pisa except the leaning tower but we were surprisingly wrong. We loved the city as soon as we stepped into it. The broad roads, artistic structures, wide open piazzas and the planned greenery all brought about an immediate excitement in us, to know what else was in store for us in this city. We reached the river (the same Arno river) and were surprised to find a small church (Santa Maria della Spina) just by the river. It had a gothic facade that was like a stranger to the houses nearby. It was such an odd location to find a church in our opinion, but since it was built in the 1200s our opinions have no weight.

The Spines (Spina)

At any moment now, a father shall appear

The city reminds me of when I visited Monza last year. The city has its own vibe and it is infectious. We reached a beautiful piazza (Piazza dei Cavalieri) that felt royal and we were priveledged to witness the grandeur.

I think our first thought about the leaning tower was that it was shorter than we imagined (just 58 meters, to give you a comparison, the Big Ben is 96 meters). However, do not be fooled by me and my view, the leaning tower (Torre di Pisa) and its surrounding architecture (the Duomo) is picturesque. I think that it might be because of the green grass (that is forbidden to walk on and thus well maintained I must add) encompassing the area. The wide open space really allowed us to take it all in at once. We enjoyed the sight and tried best to bring out the tilt of the tower in comparison to other objects in its vicinity. The area was overflowing with tourists but it was not evident.

Piazza dei Cavalieri

Torre di Pisa (the leaning tower of Pisa)

You can see the tilt of the tower compared to the normality of the church

We were done around noon and proceeded to get some souvenirs at a wonderful shop on via Santa Maria (sorry I don't remember the store's name and I could not find it online). We then left to have an early lunch. I wanted my friend to taste some authentic mughlai (of the mughals) food from India and thus we wandered into a restaurant called "Gandhi". The butter naan (a staple in my heaven) and the murg shahi korma (chicken curry basically) was delicious and my taste buds home for a time. We ended with 'proper' tea (for me at least) which has elaichi (cardamom) and milk (an unimaginable concept to Italians). The punjabi music and the atmosphere was exactly like an Indian restaurant back home. I should be paid to advertise for restaurants and cafes!

Mmmmm Curry and Naan

Now, although we did not want to leave this beautiful city, we had planned to head to Marina di Pisa (a half hour away with the local bus). After a detour (yes we got lost) on the way to bus stop, we ended up in an even more beautiful part of town (near the wall). The bus ride through green hills and valleys is the image I have and many others think of when Italy comes to mind. And now, we have finally seen it.

The people here are so very kind. We had asked the bus driver to let us know which stop the beach was closest to and as asked, he told us when to get off. The driver told us to go straight and we saw a narrow pathway that looked abandoned. We steeled ourselves to go to the beach when we heard a "Vieni, vieni" (Come, come). The driver was still there with his bus doors open for us to reboard. He explained to us (in Italian, after asking us how much we knew of the language) that that particular path might be frought with unknown dangers and since we were both girls, he decided to take us even further to a more general and open (safe) part of the beach. Here is when I must inform you that we had only paid for a ticket to Marina di Pisa and the destination he was currently taking us to was Tirrenia (a few kilometers away). The consideration/kindness of the strangers in this state of Tuscany catches me by surprise every time I am on the receivers end simply because there is literally no profit for the giving party.

As he rightly pointed out, Tirrenia had more people as compared to the deserted pathway. We thanked the driver and left to lay our eyes upon the beautiful vastness of the Ligurian sea. We walked along the cold and windy beach to soak in some sunshine while we dreamed of a life by the beach. Wind surfing is extremely popular here (considering the temperature of the water, I did not think people would be inside the water at all).

"We will be back in the summer" is what we decided synchronously.

The beach.

A few hours passed as the waves crashed against the shore and we walked and invaded through the multiple properties along the beach.

It was fascinating to see how each "hotel"? purchased and modified their 'part of the beach' for the enjoyment of their customers. We did not find a single soul inhabiting these properties though (it was not the summer after all). We got a bit jittery when we could not find a single soul for about 2 hours (so much for the consideration of the bus driver) we decided to 'return to civilisation' and walked perpendicular to the beach (after bidding it farewell of course) to the main road (through some private property, we're sorry!).

We were feeling a little peckish and therefore decided to investigate the nearby restaurants to compare prices and the choices of fish. However, to our dismay, we slowly came to the realisation that every eatery only opened from 11-14 (lunch/pranzo) and 19-23 (dinner/cena). We concluded that they all relaxed on the beach in between these hours. We finally found a cafe and interrogated him about the city. He advised us not to be hopeful for food at this time. Therefore, we decided to head back to Florence a little earlier than planned.

We decided to choose a traditional Italian restaurant to have some Florentine pizza. After checking places that would not be very busy at this hour (after 7 PM) on Google, we headed to a street past the train station. We checked each pizzeria on the street (in case Google missed one) for the variety and price range. We finally found a place that did not seem to have people inside (from the outside). While we were checking the menu outside (remember what I mentioned to you before?), we hear a "Buona sera!" (Good evening) from inside, it was interesting how interested they were in potential customers. That is always a plus for any restaurant I think. We decided to head inside even though it was not our list. We made the right decision because the majority of the seating was far in the back of the entrance. I ordered a six cheese pizza (I have only seen 4-cheese pizzas, Quattro formaggio before). I did not regret it. It was only when I was almost done with my meal did I glance and notice the name of the restaurant. It was on our list of the best places to eat pizza (Trattoria Pizzeria Nerone). We were lucky that fate brought us here. One more place ticked off our bucket list for this trip!

Back to the hostel we went after a satisfying meal. On the bus I saw a girl that looked very similar to a model I happen to like (Lauren Tsai). She was from a different country (Korea) but close enough. Kamsahamnida (thank you in Korean) for entertaining my questions! We had been informed that two more girls would be in our room tonight and we hoped that they would be plesant people. To our surprise, the room was just ours even when we arrived at 10 PM. We slept in peace...

Until...

<Talk about a cliffhanger! Our journey continues...Click here...>