Going to have to break up the next three days into two posts each…..
We started off the day early (again!); off the ship at 7:45 to meet our guide and the other family we were sharing this shore excursion with. None, zip, zilch, nada, no shore excursions this trip through Carnival; they are a) too crowded and b) too expensive. They do offer the benefit that the ship won’t leave without you, but, we’ve always been back at least an hour early and are fully prepared for the small chance that disaster could strike and we miss departure.
Anyway, first stop is Pisa. We have tickets to climb the tower at 8:30….
It’s Sunday….so traffic is non-existent and we arrive in plenty of time (but not too much time….it’s a good think we met our guide at 7:45 not 8 like we had planned!). Get our tickets, get in line, walk to the top of the tower. I did not think the steps were that bad. Cpher was ok, Suzanne had to stop a few times BUT, it is hot today; in the 90’s. This is ten to fifteen degrees above the average high and does not bode well for the next few days. Matthew scrambles up to the top, but doesn’t look good either. He did not have breakfast, and hasn’t complained of any problems this morning…..
Bells at the top of the Leaning Tower. They do not ring.
Pano de Pisa
I took this photo randomly…no real reason other than he was standing there enjoying the view. I wish all he was doing was enjoying the view……more later.
Cpher on the other side of the tower. The lean is pretty noticeable here; I’m trying to shoot straight across…
And then a shot looking down across the tower at the lean…
Last shot before we head down….
Get ready to go down, go over to where Matthew and Suzanne are and Matthew says he doesn’t feel too good….Suzanne touches his stomach and can feel it heaving around. Tell him let’s try and get downstairs….and he gets three steps and is sick all over the steps.
I have a towel in my backpack (I’ve been carrying at least fifteen pounds of stuff around this trip…mostly water!)…so, do my best to clean up the mess (and it is all water; he’s had nothing else to eat since last night) and we get downstairs. Ugh.
Pictures presented in the order they were taken in; yes, I did not get a picture of the full tower until very late in the visit. I’m actually walking back from the bathroom where I did my level best to rinse/clean the towel out.
This picture did not turn out well….I stepped in and snapped the shot after Mom and Cpher spent some time trying to get the shot. Woman in black up there is way ahead of where the limits of people should be so ruins photo for everyone else. Cpher frustrated by repeated attempts (Suzanne was having Cpher move…the way to go is for the photographer to move until you get the right effect…)
Oh well.
One of the other benefits of non-Carnival excursions is that you can, if you are motivated, get off the shop and be where you want to go and have 30 minutes to an hour there before the busses catch up. We were done with Pisa well before the busses even arrived, and headed out for Florence next. Matthew not good but ok; sleeps on drive and there are no further problems for the rest of the day. Briefly considered taking him straight back to the ship via taxi but he said ‘no’……..
