It was the second visit to Pisa for me and I was looking forward to it, considering that during the first one I only got to see very little for lack of time plus I wrongly had my mind already made up that the famous Leaning Tower was the only thing to see, so that was the only thing I really saw.
This time, I prepared myself a bit more beforehand, finding out that during my previous visit I missed all the rest of the architectural and artistic sights of the city.

Time To Fly Out!

Pisa was to be our first stop after leaving England. We were really excited to start our adventure and to finally begin sampling the tastes of travelling after months of preparation and planning.
We got there with an early morning flight that didn’t let us rest the night before, yet despite the lack of sleep we went straight into the city and started to wonder around.
Luckily getting into the center was a piece of cake, we didn’t need to take a bus or a train because Pisa Airport is within easy walking distance to the center, it literally took us about 20 minutes on foot.

Did you know that the Pisa Airport is named after Galileo Galilei (Pisa Galileo Galilei International Airport), the famous scientist and native of Pisa? I personally didn’t, me and Dale learned it only once we were there. I’m Italian, it’s true, but there is so much that I still have to learn and discover about my country.

Anyhow, once in the center, after having drunk a powerful Italian espresso coffee to gain our energies back, we decided to walk without any particular destinations in mind & without a map to hand.
We soon realized we made the best choice because the best way to see Pisa is walking the streets – as the city center is very small – giving you the best way to enjoy the sights along the way, and also, the jovial atmosphere.

Awesome Views for Our Eyes

It didn’t take us a lot of steps to accidentally bump into the stunning whiteness of the monuments that stand amongst the grassy green carpet in the ‘Piazza dei Miracoli’ aka Field of Miracles.
Here we saw the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Cemetery and of course the Leaning Tower.
We went back there several times over the next few days, at different times of day and night, to make sure we were taking all that beauty in. There is an incredibly atmosphere of youth & excitement that fills the area from the many students on school trips, backpackers ticking off the bucket list & coach tours doing their rounds.

Make sure you check out the famous acoustics in the Baptistery, the sound goes on for ages. In fact while we were inside a member of staff tried to get everybody’s attention to be silent (it is a sacred place at the end). She just sang a chord and harmonized herself by changing the note of her voice every few seconds. It was beautiful!

Still more to see

Not yet satisfied and still craving for sights, we walked through the Renaissance-style ‘Piazza dei Cavalieri’ (or ‘Piazza della Carovana’), through ‘Corso Italia’, under the arcade of ‘Borgo Stretto’. We also ended up in a characteristic fruit and vegetable market at ‘Piazza delle Vettovaglie’ just before slowly walking along the River Arno, which we found out to be especially spectacular at night with the lights from the lamps, and the bridges and houses reflecting on the water.

There are many more monuments, churches and museum we could have visited but the fatigue suddenly kicked in and we realized we needed to rest.
Pisa is a real compact city, easy to get around and to visit. It’s a centre of art, ancient history and culture.
Pisa is a one-of-a-kind destination for anyone who, like us, wants to start an exciting journey and explore the surrounding areas too.