The Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Our daughter Bella has wanted to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa ever since we found out we were moving to Italy. It’s been on her bucket-list. 

Well, over the summer, we had to keep postponing and canceling her birthday party for various reasons. I asked her if she’d rather go on a trip instead of having a party, and she was ecstatic! So, we asked her BFF and her mom if they’d like to do a girls’ weekend to Pisa! And this was that trip, PenPalz!

Since the flights via Ryan Air is so cheap (like $30 round trip), we initially were just going to fly up in the morning, and back in the evening. But, we ended up flying (about 1 hour 30 minute flight) around 2 pm, and came home the next day around 11 am. We were in Pisa less than 24 hours, and it was so fun!

We giggled like kids non-stop. Bella and her BFF had the best time. We got gelato 4 times in that short period, climbed the leaning tower of Pisa, walked through all of the Square of Miracles, and then walked through the city of Pisa. 

It is a smaller city, and most people just stop-through Pisa. Maybe they take the quick 10 minute taxi ride to see the tower, but I don’t know many other people who have actually climbed to the top or spent much time in Pisa. It was SO cute, such a nice city, and rich in history!

The tower is on an angle of only 4.5 degrees, falling because of the ground that sunk in after they had built the first 3 stories. They spent much time during renovation trying to straighten it, and they did, from about 5 degrees to the current 4.5 degrees. They estimate it to last for at least another 200 years. 

But when you climbed the tower, especially on the lower levels, you could FEEL the lean. It was crooked. It was weird! The 250 steps up to the top of the tower (which is the bell tower for the beautiful church next door), was an easy climb with a beautiful view of the city. 

After walking through the cathedral and doing some souvenir shopping, we headed over to the other part of the city for dinner and more shopping. We found Galileo’s supposed birth place, a nice toy store, and a delicious place for pasta.

I love that throughout Italy each region has different offerings. We got different pasta than we get in Sicily. We enjoyed a lasagna Bolognese (which we had for the first time in Bologna, not far from Pisa) which is a pasta with no red sauce, it’s amazing. We also enjoyed plates of tuscan beans, i know, random, but you’ve got to try them if you’re ever in that region. Plus, the wines of Tuscany are different than the Sicilian wines. 

Overall, our trip to Pisa was a total blast. Eating and drinking our way around the city made for such a fun time, and climbing the Leaning Tower and taking all kinds of silly photos was so memorable! If you ever go to Pisa, climb the top of the tower! You don’t need much more than a day in Pisa, but it is totally worth a quick stop!