Occupy Pisa

I am currently writing this on a restaurant patio looking at the Duomo of Pisa but unable to see the Leaning Tower from where I am sitting. So I noticed that no one talks about the Duomo of Pisa but I would say it is just as impressive as the Leaning Tower. I mean we all know what the Leaning Tower looks like, but the Duomo and the statues around are also quite worth taking a look at. The unfortunate thing about checking out the Leaning Tower by yourself is that you can't get one of your own funny pictures of you holding up the tower. Oh well. And as I was typing that, the girl that is staying in the same room as me in the bed over at the hostel just walked by but we never exchanged names so I couldn't call out to her. She is Australian and loves Italy and was actually in Ivrea last year so knew all about where I had just come from. As we were comparing skin tones from original to how much we had tanned she accidentally flashed me and she said "now that can be the highlight of your day when someone asks you". I thought that was a clever response so I have included the story for it. Anyway, back to writing about Pisa.

Pisa is cool but really small. When they say "you can do Pisa in a day" they weren't joking. I traveled from Florence to Pisa in an hour on the train and walked down the shops and area to arrive to the Leaning Tower about a mile and a half later. When you first see the Leaning Tower, it looks kind of fake. Cause it's a crooked building. You know? But it's completely real. You can climb up it too but I didn't want to. But I did go inside the Cathedral and found it to be beautiful. The paintings weren't as doomsday as they are in other churches. The architecture is really cool too around the building.

Walking back to the train station I walked by the university and of course took pictures of the graffiti. All around the university the theme of the students at the University of Pisa was "Occupy Pisa, Occupy Italy, we are the 99%". From Bologna to Pisa, I am sensing a theme of frustration, a theme of wanting more out of life but being stagnate. I'm sure much of us, especially the recent graduates out there can understand.

Around the Pisa area, there are tons of little shops like a flea market if you want to buy something touristy. I saw a Snoopy tshirt of him holding up the Leaning Tower and thought of buying it for my sister but decided against it. (Sorry Ani.) Also, I had discovered this shopping area after I ate but did see small restaurants from all over where I could have gotten my Mexican craving taken care of. DARN! Speaking of food and money...

Last night I bought food for breakfast and dinner to save money and eat my lunches out. I tried to survive just on chips but...I haven't found any I like and don't want to spend my money trying to find a brand of chips I like. I got yogurt and chips and tomatoes. OH and I finally saw grapes at a sidewalk store but didn't buy any cause I had my tomatoes already. Next time.