Treking to Pisa, Biking in Florence, and our Last Italian Pizzeria

What a beautiful day it was for our day trip to Pisa.  It's considered such a "touristy" thing to do, but since we ARE tourists we fit right in.  Seeing the tower and the Basilica up close is truly stunning and climbing a leaning tower is even better!  Mr. Margene navigated us to Pisa S. Rossore station instead of Pisa Centrale which meant we had a little 5 minute walk to the Field of Miracles instead of the 30 minute hike from Pisa Centrale where many unsuspecting tourists get lost.  Mr. Margene is the perfect navigator don’t you know :-)

Luckily we had timed tickets which put us right in front of the line…right in front of an Alabama fan who spotted Jackson’s UT Volunteers hat.  Obviously there was some friendly banter going back and forth before we began our climb.  Yes, the tourists were out in full force today both in Pisa AND in Florence, too.

After our very enjoyable climb and lunch and some shopping it was time to head back to Florence where we had some free time to relax or shop or just take a nap before our bike ride this evening...OR you could watch the impromptu medieval parade complete with jousters in the square just below our window.

Our bike time in Florence finally did arrive and was met with a few sprinkles, but the actual rain never came.  Florence is full of cobble stone streets and biking here is a rather jolting activity – at least for tourists.  The locals zip in and around everywhere.  But when a group of 18 comes barreling through people stop and take notice.

We biked on both sides of the Arno River, over one bridge and back down another.  Every cobblestone we could find we biked across it while learning some interesting history along the way.

The bike journey ended just in time for our dinner reservation for our very last “real” Italian meal of pizza and pasta.  The owner actually took Mr. Margene and Mrs. Mynatt into the kitchen to show them how the restaurant’s pasta is actually homemade.  I don’t think any of us doubted its authenticity, but it sure made the owner feel better!  It was a very nice meal for some pooped students and chaperones.  This day was perfect, and I don’t think it could have gone any better.  

Tomorrow is our longest travel day of the trip.  But it takes us to our very sweet little alpine village of Murren high up in the Swiss Alps.  Denise Fussell, our very dear friend at Chalet Fontana tells us that everything is prepared and she’s looking forward to seeing us again.  Your students won’t believe the vast difference between city life and alpine life.   In case the kids don’t know it yet, the Lauterbrunnen Valley and surrounding alpine villages of Murren, Gimmelwald and Wengen will probably be their favorite destination of the entire trip.  We look forward to breathing fresh mountain air and seeing the wispy waterfalls from the peaks.  They’ll be amazed at the deafening silence.  We’ve even planned an extra day here at this destination just because it’s so amazing.

Lastly, I doubled checked the tickets and we are INDEED in First Class tomorrow all the way to the Swiss Border.  We just hope somebody doesn’t forget to attach our carriage to the train tomorrow ;-)  Good night from Florence!