15.11.10 Pisa

the leaning tower of pisa!  we’ve reached Pisa at about 9am.  there’s already quite a crowd.  we are lucky to arrive earlier (as about 20 mins later, came a huge group of CHINA tourists)

background info: the Piazza del Duomo (“Cathedral Square”) is a wide, walled area at the heart of the city of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as one of the main centers for medieval art in the world. partly paved and partly grassed, it is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Duomo, the Leaning Tower (the cathedral’s campanile), the Baptistry and the Camposanto.

the Piazza del Duomo ("Cathedral Square") is a wide, walled area at the heart of the city of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as one of the main centers for medieval art in the world. Partly paved and partly grassed, it is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Duomo, the Leaning Tower (the cathedral's campanile), the Baptistry and the Camposanto.

the Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, stands opposite the west end of the Duomo. It is the largest baptistery in Italy.

the heart of the Piazza del Duomo is, obviously, the Duomo, the medieval cathedral, entitled to Santa Maria Assunta (St. Mary of the Assumption).

the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa.

Piazza del Duomo with many shops selling souvenirs

the leaning tower of pisa

we have our lunch stopover at AutoGrill, an Italian-based, multinational catering and retail company, the world's largest in the travel dining sector.  this turkey cutlet is nice.

dessert is nice too.

we are supposed to spend the afternoon in a factory outlet 'grabbing' past seasons Prada, Gucci etc. BUT they are closed on Monday in November!! Sob sob....

so, after a lunch stopover at a highway restaurant, our kind tour leader brought us to a local shopping centre for walk around before retiring to hotel for the day.