Pisa: a place of terrible engineers and bike rides through the countryside

Alrightyyyyy who’s ready to hear all about to Pisaaaa. As you already know from reading the title Pisa can be broken down into two parts: the terrible engineers part and the riding bikes through the tuscan countryside part.

Part 1: The terrible engineers of Pisa

So growing up, I don’t know if I wasn’t listening or my teachers somehow failed to mention this but the leaning tower of Pisa is NOT a structural phenom that leans on its own. It’s actually quite the opposite, over the past 10 years or so there have been several attempts to straighten the tower out so that it doesn’t fall and kill people. Here are some google pictures to show some methods of straightening out.

Like how they didn’t straighten it completely out though?? Gotta keep the the humans coming back to see the unskillfully engineered leaning tower right? Not only was it failed to mention the lack of proper engineering but my elementary education also failed to mention that there are two other leaning bell towers and the main cathedral is also a little lopsided. Hahaha okay I really should cut these people some slack because a) if I tried to build a tower on harbor it wouldn’t have made it 6 stories tall and b) hey I mean at least they didn’t give up building when it started sinking 3 stories in.

While the leaning tower was cool and all I actually liked the cathedral and camone (cemetery) much better. There were some of the prettiest frescos and sculptures, I was shocked.

Part 2: Bike rides through the countryside

So here’s the funny thing. After going to Venice we pretty much just assumed that we are pretty spoiled in Volterra (a very small medieval hilltop town) and wouldn’t love super touristy places but Pisa was a different story. Our trip to Pisa was supposed to be a quick day trip to see the city and various monuments. We had 6 hours to see everything and this all seemed perfectly reasonable. Once we got there we walked around for an hour or so when a couple friends and I realized that we actually liked it here and wanted to stay the night. I did some quick searching on airbnb, made a couple phone calls, figured out the bus systems and then we were letting our teacher know we weren’t going to be taking the train back to Volterra with them.

So we finish up at the the leaning tower of Pisa and head straight for the bus station. Miss the first bus but luckily made it on to one 15 minutes later. I’d just like to paint this picture for everyone: 4 college aged kids standing on the side of road in farmland. Oh and you can’t forget that we didn’t have any luggage. Our bed and breakfast hostess, Naomi, was so sweet and picked us up from the bus stop. As we drove away the buildings slowly turned into fields and fields of greenery. Once we arrived there was the sweetest looking farm house sitting in the middle of these fields. Naomi explained that this was her father’s organic farmland and that she had the vegetables we requested waiting upstairs. Yeah so here are some pictures of some of the better moments of my life thus far:

After being shown around the house we ask where the closest grocery store is so that we can buy just the basics like ya know clothes for tomorrow, a phone charger and some groceries. Naomi informs us that is too far to walk but she might be able to find 2 or 3 bikes. Without fail she somehow finds 4 bikes for us (??? only in italy does somehow magically produces another bike out of nowhere) Now this is where the magic really starts. It was too dangerous for us to ride bikes on the roads so we had to bike THROUGH THE TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE; just awful right? Hahhah no way I literally thought I was living a dream. We somehow make it without getting lost and make it to the coolest store I had ever been. So you know how at airports these have those conveyor belt things, well they had those but they were slightly elevated so that you could take your shopping carts on it. The grocery store also had an H&M attached so we got $7 t-shirt dresses for the next day and matching pj sets that $21. Yes, they were worth the investment.

As we walk out of the grocery store the sun has started setting. We hope on our bikes and head back though the farmland as the sky turns from pinks and purples to dark blues. We can’t stop laughing because this is one of those moments that will never really feel real. Things like the fact that we are literally dripping in sweat or that my bike doesn’t have breaks don’t even phase us. I just kept leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I can say that this is one of those moments that I felt pure bliss. Once we get back we all shower and start to make ourselves dinner. We meet the sweetest couple from New Zealand and spend the rest of the night talking about all our travels, our careers and how much we all miss breakfast foods. The next morning we wake up for sunrise and walk through the fields. We eat the best tomatoes I have ever had for breakfast, pack up and start our journey back to Volterra.

All smiles even tho this bike doesn't have breaks

Ahhhh I can’t stop smiling while writing this it is bringing back so many memories. My biggest dream in life has been to spontaneously travel and I can say it has successfully happened :)) so thanks for reading about all my adventures friends

Miss and love you all lots

gabi

Hello hello family and friends! Italy is better than ever and I would love to share my experiences with you all. By submitting your name and email you will get notified whenever I post :))

Pisa: a place of terrible engineers and bike rides through the countryside

Part 1: The terrible engineers of Pisa

Part 2: Bike rides through the countryside

You'll hear from me sooooon

Submit a Comment Cancel reply