Early Tuesday morning we set out for another day trip adventure, this week to Pisa and Carrara.  I was really looking forward to seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Although I know that these trips are based on the architecture of the cities, I am also interested in the most touristy of things that these cities have to offer – lol!

Our day started out great until we arrived in Pisa and I realized that Nick did in fact want me to grab the extra camera battery.  Whoops!  So needless to say this blog post will include lots of iPhone photos, which if I do say so myself, didn’t turn out half bad.

After a short introduction of the city as we stood in The Piazza dei Miracoli, we climbed the 260 +/- stairs to the top of The Tower of Pisa where we had an amazing view of the Cathedral and Baptistery.

We didn’t spend much time at the top, as we needed to move along to our next tour, which would be of The Cathedral. But then again there also isn’t that much to see, as the area of the Tower was not that big and the town of Pisa is not much other then the Tower, The Cathedral and The Baptistery.

Alter – The Cathedral of Pisa

Pulpit within Cathedral

View of Cathedral from Baptistery

I still can not get over the detail within these massive structures.  The thought and care that went into them is just amazing!  I couldn’t imagine if this had been the church that I grew up in, Katie and I grew up in a church that was essentially a glorified barn – but I wouldn’t change that for the world  🙂

After a quick look around The Cathedral we made our way over to the Baptistery, while pretty plain interior detail compared to the other structures we have visited, except for the alter and baptismal font in the center of the building, it is more amazing that construction was started in 1173!

We had a nice lunch in Pisa prior to departing for Carrara, Nick and I ventured off with Guidi to a little cafe outside of the city walls.  We all enjoyed a beer and I had my first carbonara of the trip – not as good as I hoped it would be, but still fulfilling!

We arrived in Carrara about 45 minutes after leaving Pisa.  We stopped off to pick Luca up, who arrived by train.  He stated that he had not been to Carrara since he was younger, and was excited to make the trip back.

Our view along the drive to the marble quarries

Aqueducts within the mountains

We were able to take a tour back into one of the Marble Quarries, which was pretty interesting if I say so myself – although a little chilly 🙂  To be standing in a mountain of marble and learn how the five individuals who work the long shifts within the caves extract the marble was fascinating. Since I am convinced there is no way that I will ever be able to have nice Italian marble counter tops in my house, I snagged a small piece of marble to remember the experience by!

Nick successfully made it through the slippery caves on crutches – we only have one close call

Caves of Marble Quarries

It was a very nice day, and we were all happy to get home to a wonderful meal prepared by Cristina. The students have started leaving for their independent travel week, so once again it will be quiet around the villa. Silvia will return from the States on Tuesday, and Nick and I have an appointment to get our fingerprints taken at the post office.  I believe this is our last and final step for our Italian residency paperwork.  Guess if we want to commit any crimes we should do it before Tuesday. 🙂  On a positive note, next week I will be entering my final week of my Health Law class and then will have a week break before starting Health Care Ethics!  I can’t believe that I have three more classes and I will be done with my Masters!  Woo Hoo!