We went to Pisa because of the leaning tower. Now we can confirm for you that it looks weird and actually leans that way. We didn’t go up into the tower because it would have cost us 18 euro each, so we just stayed on the ground and watched literally every single person stretch out their hands for a photo.

We went into the Duomo, which was actually really cool. The inside was super ornate, almost as cool as the basilica at Notre Dame. There was tons of art, including some fabulous pieces showcasing the beauty of natural breastfeeding. Stephanie made sure to point out that two-at-once is technically called “tandem” breastfeeding.

My favorite part of the Duomo was that there were at least three prominently displayed dead people: two saints and a holy roman emperor.

There’s more to Pisa than the Tourist Lawn where the tower and duomo are located (well it’s actually called the Field of Miracles). Anyone will tell you that Pisa has been a hallowed ground of learning since the foundation of the university as a law school in 1112. What they don’t tell you is that it looks like Arkham Asylum. Graffiti is something of a tradition among the students. The circle A stands for anarchy, I think.

Eating in Pisa

We had some good eats. Since Pisa was our first stop in Tuscany, we immediately loaded up on some delicious meats. By accident, actually! We really didn’t mean to order this crazy tray of salami. I think I tried to get foccaccia for snack, but they nodded and smiled and brought out this tray to our intense pleasure.

We ate aperitivi for dinner at a microbrewery, which apparently is a growing trend in Italy. Expect more Italian beer to show up in… Europe (the Americans will get them only after they stop drinking that watered-down mud they call “coffee”). The snacks that came with aperitivi at this microbrewery were delicious pieces of toast with Indian sauces. Beer was surprisingly great. Like actually great.

We got accidentally trapped in Pisa a couple extra hours the next morning because I am bad at catching trains. So here are a few bonus pictures! Note the mysterious fighter jet parked in someone’s backyard.