March 12, 2012
The Jenson family came out to visit us J Dave, Deanna, Ashton, Savannah, and Landon. They were also joined by Dave and Deanna’s niece, Aubre. What an adventure we had, just on the first day…
They flew into Pisa from London, and we drove up to Pisa from Perugia to meet them at the airport. After the Jensons got a rental car we all drove closer to the center, and we took a shuttle bus to just outside the Field of Miracles in Pisa.
We grabbed a quick lunch...
...then it was off to climb up The Leaning Tower of Pisa J
We had to climb to the top, and it was interesting because it was very slanted and you could really feel it when you were walking up the stairs around the tower.
The ladies that were our “guides” were really pushy, telling us we were late and we needed to get to the top because we only had 20 minutes. I was surprised because it was 15 Euro per person, no discount for kids, so I didn’t think we should be rushed.
It was such a gorgeous day and the views were fabulous.
This was looking down into the tower as Danika was walking down the stairs between two of the bells (the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower for the Duomo next door)
The Field of Miracles is three buildings: The Leaning (Bell) Tower, The Duomo (Cathedral), and the Baptistry. Oddly enough the Baptistry has the dome, and the Duomo doesn't.
Once we were down, we took more pics!
Yes, I actually took this picture... It was such a gorgeous day.
Family Christmas Picture?
Danika and Jason were so excited to see Ashton and Savannah. The kids had a blast together.
Of course we had to take the funny pictures. Ashton really looks like he has a hold of the thing.
Jason looks like he is in pain just trying to push it over.
I am the lazy one, so I just use it to lean against J Isn't this why it's called the Leaning Tower??
After buying some souvenirs, we set of for Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre on the Ligurian Sea coast. I think we were all surprised at how great our accommodations were. They were right down at the harbor. We had a lovely time exploring the harbor as the sun was setting. The kids climbed on the rocks for at least an hour. They even found a pretty large octopus in one of the tidepools.
After unpacking, we watched the sunset...
We had dinner at a place that was a stone’s throw from our apartments, La Lanterna The food was incredible. I had stuffed pumpkin ravioli J
Fell asleep to the sound of the sea lapping against the harbor rocks. What an incredible day…
~Mary
This reminds us of what we did. You guys are on the same paths... We were sad to hear about the landslides. We were lucky and got to do all 5. We remembered the cemetary. You guys are having the trip of a lifetime.
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