Our weather luck continued to
hold. This morning we woke to brilliant
blue skies and cool temperatures (not sure exactly since all we get is temps in
centigrade and I’m usually to lazy to do F=9/5C+32). We walked through town today
along the coast road
until the Parragi’s bay
then took the Pedonale per Portofino, a foot trail that climbs above the coast road that ends up in Portofino.
along the coast road
until the Parragi’s bay
then took the Pedonale per Portofino, a foot trail that climbs above the coast road that ends up in Portofino.
Along the road we saw numerous groups
of Saturday morning cyclists
and gorgeous estates, most of which seemed to be closed for the winter.
and gorgeous estates, most of which seemed to be closed for the winter.
As we approached Portofino we began
to get some glimpses through the trees,
and began to understand why this is the playground for the rich and famous.
The harbor had numerous enormous sailing yachts which I would guess go for several million.
and began to understand why this is the playground for the rich and famous.
The harbor had numerous enormous sailing yachts which I would guess go for several million.
As we descended into the town, we
passed the Chiesa San Martino with architecture similar to the church we saw in
Montarossa with the alternating stripes of marble and serpentine.
The square (not really square)
centered around the port and had loads of high end shops and restaurants.
There was a strange art museum and after seeing some of the offerings that could be viewed from outside, we elected not to go in.
Instead we walked up to the Castello Brown which was perched high on a hill overlooking the town.
Castello Brown was a medieval castle that became the residence of Yeats Brown, British consul to Genoa, in 1870.
The castle had furniture from the late 19th Century, but mostly, it afforded fantastic views of Portofino and the Ligurian Sea.
There was a strange art museum and after seeing some of the offerings that could be viewed from outside, we elected not to go in.
Instead we walked up to the Castello Brown which was perched high on a hill overlooking the town.
Castello Brown was a medieval castle that became the residence of Yeats Brown, British consul to Genoa, in 1870.
The castle had furniture from the late 19th Century, but mostly, it afforded fantastic views of Portofino and the Ligurian Sea.
The ferries to Santa
Margherita Ligure were still running, so we decided to check out the area from
the water (and save our energy for later).
The trip was only about 20 minutes.
The trip was only about 20 minutes.
After disembarking, we walked around the town a bit
and found a great alley way filled with small shops and markets,
and more importantly, patisseries.
After sating our sweet teeth (is that plural of sweet tooth?) we headed back to the hotel where we hopped in our new Ferrari and found we didn’t all fit, so we traded it back in for the truck.
(This car was actually parked in front of the hotel when we got back.)
and found a great alley way filled with small shops and markets,
and more importantly, patisseries.
After sating our sweet teeth (is that plural of sweet tooth?) we headed back to the hotel where we hopped in our new Ferrari and found we didn’t all fit, so we traded it back in for the truck.
(This car was actually parked in front of the hotel when we got back.)
Back to reality- We headed
southeast to Pisa, about an hour drive.
Although everyone has seen pictures of the leaning tower, they cannot
prepare you for the actual structure. It
is quite enormous and really, really leaning.
Finding a parking spot was
a challenge, especially since we were not in a Fiat 500, but Dave did an
admirable job. We found a spot a short
walk from the tower that we weren’t sure was kosher, but there were plenty of
other cars around.
The street was covered in peddlars selling all sorts of worthless junk. The majority of them were from North Africa and all seemed much larger than us. One guy in particular came up to the car as soon as we parked and began his pitch. We told him we weren’t interested, but he was persistent. Finally, we offered him a business proposition I’d seen in the movies. We’d give him a euro now, and if our car an its contents( our tandem and tools) were there when we returned, he’d get 2 more. I figured we could always get a new bike. (rather than keep you in suspense, dear reader, I will tell you now it worked! Car and bike present and accounted for)
The street was covered in peddlars selling all sorts of worthless junk. The majority of them were from North Africa and all seemed much larger than us. One guy in particular came up to the car as soon as we parked and began his pitch. We told him we weren’t interested, but he was persistent. Finally, we offered him a business proposition I’d seen in the movies. We’d give him a euro now, and if our car an its contents( our tandem and tools) were there when we returned, he’d get 2 more. I figured we could always get a new bike. (rather than keep you in suspense, dear reader, I will tell you now it worked! Car and bike present and accounted for)
Tower of Pisa is more accurately
referred to simply as the bell tower, or campanile.
The Pisa tower is one of the four buildings that make up the cathedral complex called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli, which means Field of Miracles. The complex includes the Cathedral,
the Baptistry,
a graveyard, and now, a museum.
The Pisa tower is one of the four buildings that make up the cathedral complex called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli, which means Field of Miracles. The complex includes the Cathedral,
the Baptistry,
a graveyard, and now, a museum.
The tower is 60 meters (180’) high
about a third as high as the Washington Monument, and was a miracle of medieval
engineering, probably the tallest bell tower in Europe. Construction began in 1173 and took about 200
years until it was completed. It was
built to be vertical, but began tipping soon after construction began caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one
side to properly support the structure's weight.
The tower was tipped about 10 degrees
until the 1990’s when engineers corrected the tilt partially (to around 5
degrees) and improved its stability.
Visitors can now climb the 297
steps to the top of the bell tower safely (we hope). The stone steps up the spiral staircase were
interesting in and of themselves.
A curved depression was worn in the center of each stair from the myriad footsteps over the past 2 millennia.
Also, walking up a spiral staircase is dizzying enough, but when you add to this the constant change in pitch due to the tower’s lean, it is downright disorienting.
A curved depression was worn in the center of each stair from the myriad footsteps over the past 2 millennia.
Also, walking up a spiral staircase is dizzying enough, but when you add to this the constant change in pitch due to the tower’s lean, it is downright disorienting.
Views from the top, though, were
impressive.
The top of the tower contains its
seven bells tuned to the musical scale.
We were praying that the bells didn’t peal while we were up there. Deafness after that could not be ruled out.
The most famous story about the
tower relates to Galileo’s gravity experiment.
He purportedly dropped 2 cannon balls of different masses and showed
that they dropped at the same speed.
There is some question as to whether this really happened. The only source is Galileo’s secretary
(apparently not very reliable).
Our car guard seemed content with
his 2 euro tip for not stealing our van, and the drive back to Santa Margherita
Liguri was uneventful.
Dinner was Italian food, again.
Couldn’t find a single Indian restaurant in all of SML.
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