This is our last morning on the ship. As I write we're sitting in port in Civitavecchia, north of Rome. We have to be off the ship at 8:30 a.m. to catch our coach to Rome, where we have one more night before we fly home. This has been quite a trip and I've seen a lot and had a great time, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss our flat and garden and coffee pot and washing machine (in that order).
Yesterday we woke at the port of La Spezia, on the coast of Tuscany. Dave and I boarded a chartered coach to Pisa with a guide and a group of passengers, in order to take a quick look at the leaning tower. When we pulled up outside the square where the tower, cathedral and baptistry were built, I told Dave, "It looks just like it does in Bugs Bunny cartoons!"
And then I looked back at my post from almost 20 years ago, after my last trip to Italy, and realized I made exactly the same joke back then. At least my brain is consistent.
As on my previous visit, I didn't climb the tower. For one thing, it costs money. Also it seems inherently unwise to ascend a building that looks so fundamentally off-kilter. I mean, my rational mind knows it's not going to fall over at the moment that I'm inside it, but that doesn't mean an animal instinct doesn't tell me, "Don't go in there!"
So instead we settled into a cafe on the piazza, where we had a good view of the crowds and could watch the light change on the tower and cathedral.
We also admired the quartet of hunky Italian police officers keeping an eye on things.
Afterwards we took a brief tour of the older parts of town, rolling around in a "trolley" (which was really another mini-train, like the one we took in Messina). We crossed the river and saw some of the more noteworthy buildings, and a few sites that were heavily damaged in World War II.
And then we headed back to La Spezia, where we had lunch on the ship overlooking the colorful container port. I was so entranced with this view that I went up on the top deck and took pictures at a couple of different times, catching the light as it changed. That big MSC freighter eased up to the dock with the aid of a pair of tugboats as we watched.
And now I have to go pack. Coming to you tomorrow from Rome!
In your photos it doesn't have as much lean as I see in comic/cartoon pictures.
ReplyDeleteYou have had a wonderful trip, even though you make the same jokes 20 years later!
ReplyDeleteWhen in Rome!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you could appreciate the art in the containers. I climbed the tower in the 70s. So cool. And no guardrails when you stepped to the edge. Not so cool. The stairs awe worn from side to side in the spiral. I loved that.
ReplyDeleteYou really are having a Grand Tour.
ReplyDeleteNot only because of the leaning but the height and looking out from the top are already making my knees tremble, so I wouldn't climb the tower either!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the shipping container photo; beauty is all around if we just look for it.
Brains constantly amaze me. I sometimes read back parts of my old journals and see similar bits of humor that I would still write about today too.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a tribute to pr that a failed building gets famous and earns its keep. It doesn't look as leany as I expected.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a massive trip, quite long and packed. I can see some lying down when you get home.
You have really been on the move. Enjoy your last days and wishing you safe travels home, Steve.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking us along on this wonderful Mediterranean tour.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it is the perspective from your position, but the trees on either side of the tower look like they're leaning too. Those are quite the views!
ReplyDeleteI did not realize the Tower was part of a whole complex. As part of a cathedral complex, what is it's purpose? Is it actually used for anything other than tourists?
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited Pisa so I love seeing your photos. I went back and visited you older post and had to laugh at your comment about traffic in Rome being insane. That was my very first observation about Rome on the cab ride from the airport to the hotel. That was what my dad would call a "white knuckle" ride.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to decide if I'd go up in the tower or not. It does seem rather precarious - & even if I didn't think it would fall, I think *I* might fall from vertigo inside that thing!
ReplyDeleteAll told this has been a wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they've hidden some steel inside the leaning tower to ensure no fallout. Like you state, the lean brings thoughts of, what-if? It does look questionable to me. Tell me the structural steel is installed for safety and I'm good to go.
The piazza looks beautiful. The adjoining cafe makes a perfect time to watch the world go by.
Those containers are colorful and really do speak to me!
Have you seen container homes? Building a custom container home overlooking the sea would be amazing.
Safe travels.
I wouldn't able to handle climbing the tower. Physically OR mentally.
ReplyDeleteThat cartoon comparison gave me a good chuckle, plus your brain staying consistent over twenty years is pretty impressive. Skipping the climb makes total sense because looking at that tilt definitely triggers a gut instinct to stay on solid ground. Sitting at the cafe to watch the crowds and admire the local police sounds like a much better plan anyway. Those changing light photos of the container port are beautiful, but now the real work of packing begins. Wishing you a safe coach ride to Rome, hopefully your home coffee pot is waiting for you soon.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you didn't climb the tower. What a story you would have had.
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly seen some great sights.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time in Rome and safe travels home.
All the best Jan