Pisa
Full disclosure: Pisa never really appealed to me. The first time we did Italy, we probably could have fit it in between 2 cities, but we didn’t even think of it. And of course everyone yelled at us and said we missed out, it was so great, it’s the best, etc…but I was still lukewarm.
However, this time around, Pisa fit right into our plans, as we took a train from Milan to Pisa and on to Rome. (PS, the train went down the Amalfi coast and was phenomenal scenery, just amazing beauty). And honestly? Pisa is cool for a half-day. Anything more than that, in my opinion, would be better spent in Rome or Florence or Venice or probably even Milan.
The leaning tower, aka the only reason anyone knows where or what Pisa is, is surprisingly cool. As you can tell by now, I pretty much expect everything to be lame, and then I’m amazed by all of it, and the tower was no different.
It’s gorgeous. Like, that’s really it. It’s this beautiful bright marble and is just such a pretty building, lean and all. It was impressive, and once again, it was cool to see something so iconic. And no, we did not get the stereotypical “Look at me, I’m pushing the tower over” photo, and I was embarrassed for all the 234567890 people who were taking that exact photo.
At the time, I had a freelance gig on the side, and I fondly remember sitting against a wall in the shadow of the leaning tower, tethering my phone to my MacBook, and getting a couple quick projects done. It was just one of those, “This is too cool to be my life,” moments.
We also dropped by the baptistry, which is right next to the tower, and is also incredibly beautiful. We did NOT climb the tower, as I didn’t really care to do it with our heavy bags, as well as the stiflingly hot weather and the 800 mile long line to get in. Did we miss out? Maybe. Do I have regrets? None.
After just a couple hours in Pisa, we were ready to rock. We bought a bunch of groceries and hopped the train for Rome. It was 100% worth doing since it fit into our schedules, and definitely something I’m glad I saw.
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GEAR
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Since this trip was 5 years ago, I truly have no idea what you should actually take. But here’s a few of our always-take-on-trips stuff:
Hotels.com gift card: Every now and then you can get $50 for $40 on Amazon, which we always do when the deal comes up. We know we’ll use it.
My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through heaps of countries with no problems yet.
Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.
International Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 4 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.
Double Wall Plug USB Charger: Probably not essential but with so many things needing charged (both phones, camera, laptop, etc), it’s nice to charge 2 at once. And they charge super fast. We use at home and abroad.
Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Our car had a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever).
MacBook Air: Since we had to travel so light, it was nice to have a tiny but powerful computer. I ran the business from the road with no problems.
