July 15-16 Florence -> Pisa -> Cinque Terre

J U L Y 15:

Florence. Stayed at the Hotel Andrea (about 1/2 mile from the Bahn). We were on the 4th floor and had a great view.

• We did a 7-mile walking tour hitting most of the highlights of the city, including all the main plaza´s (piazza). Took pics of the Duomo Santa Croce, a replica of the statue of David, hit tons of open markets for fresh foods, and walked over the old bridge on teh River Arno (see pic).
• Several outdoor cafes with musicians serenading.
  

• Rick Steves suggested a tiny no-name gellatto shop in a small vallage-like neighborhood on the other side of the river. We actually found it but it was no longer in service.
• But, we were right at the base of the Giardino gardens and then hiked up to Fort Belevedere where they were preparing for an open-air night concert.
  
• On the way back we got a might bit confused and ended up walking several extra miles back to our hotel. Streets move out like spokes on a wheel from the Duomos (cathedrals) and we sure got twisted around.

J U L Y 16:

Left Florence 8:35am, and arrived in Pisa 11:30am.

Deposito bagagli (left baggage/packs) at terminial. Bus to Campodei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). Inside the city walls,next to the Duomo (Cathedral) is the bell tower. Appropriately named Leaning Tower of Pisa. Seen in books and TV, but amazing to see F2F. Will post pics later.

200 ft tall, 55 ft wide, 14000 tons.

5 degree tilt. Doesn't seem like much, but sure is noticeable (15' off axis).

Built over 2 centures by 3 architects. 1173AD original build (base layer) but noticed leaning after 5 years.

1272AD next layering, but tilted backward.

1372 top belfry, also tilted backward. Unstable ground, and continued to lean.

1990: dried soil with stteam pipes and buried 600 tons of lead with cables. Didn't work.

Then drilled 15' holes and sucked out 60 tons of soil. It actually straigtened a little, and stopped progressing the leaning.

On to the Cinque Terra (upper Mediteranean called the Ligurian Sea). Arrived in La Spezia by 1:30pm. 8 minutes to RIOMAGIORE, the first of the 5 tiny coastal sea towns. Stayed at a hostel called MarMar. View of town and sea. Room mate (Sam) is from Boston. Graduated from Harvard and will begin teaching this fall. He will be a superb teacher. Amazing insight for such a young man.

Other room mate was also from Boston. He went to Iraq out of HS and served 3 years. He's now touring the world to put it behind him. Amazing stories (another blog for this). He shared many stories that tells us what many folks already believe. No reason to be there, leadership has no idea or plan of what in the world is going on. He stated that seldom do they know who the enemy is, and numerous civilians have been killed. He also stated that numerous shooting of our own soldiers occurs as every is always jumpy and fires at pretty much any noice if they feel threatened. He stated things are currently escalating out of control. Many of the big 'reconstruction companies' are making millions of dollars over there and are tied directly to the current leadership. Part of this young mans task was to drive these people between their projects, so he heard a lot. Many of his buddies who were injured are having serious issues getting treatment upon returning and are shown little respect from their branch of the service for 'not re-enlisting.' He is just happy to be alive and out of there.

Boat ride to Porte Venere. We still had 5 hours of sunlight so decided to take a boat ride over to Porte Venere. It takes about 30 minutes and was so much fun. They explained the history of the region, the topography, and we went right by the cliffs and caves where they filmed that memorable scene in the Guns of Navorone. Lots of tourists over here, but well worth the trip.

Gorgeous evening, great local food, and a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is a hiking day.