pisa

Ponte di Mezzo

Our European trip was originally just a business trip to Pisa to attend an international conference … but we do not have little dreams mate.

We travelled Europe on a December (Gaaah!! I swear it’s not easy but lets talk about it next time) for a 3-day conference where we will present our research papers. My friends and I, being risk takers and living-the-life type of people, decided to stay and stroll Europe for 2 weeks which started in Pisa, Italy.

Manila > Shanghai > Paris > Florence > Pisa

My boyfriend (Pao) and I departed from Manila a day earlier than the rest of our friends and arrived at our apartment in Pisa after more or less 30 hours (we waited for almost 12 hours in Paris for our flight to Florence). It was a very tiring trip but thanks to Pao for sacrificing his sleep to look over our stuff during our layover in Paris (because he knows that if I fall, he falls ). When we landed to Florence, I thought its gonna be a tough fight since Italians have a strong culture which means less to no english for us. Luckily, I was tipped to ask everything at the airport and get a map (of course, always get a map in case my phone dies and my offline map with it). Photos below summarize our entire trip, cuddle, eat and watch. 😉

Lets skip the travelling scene and let us look at the beauty, peace and pizzas of Pisa. Let me start by appreciating our minimalist apartment which is literally located in the main shopping street of Pisa – the Corso Italia. It was a busy street with restaurants and fashion boutiques and there can be artists too (if you are lucky). I can almost compare it to Myeongdong of South Korea minus the street foods and the colorful Koreans <3. Actually Pao theorized that “window shopping” came from this part of the Earth, he may be wrong.

Meters north from our apartment which is also the end of the shopping street is the Ponte di Mezzo which is a bridge crossing the Arno River with a good panoramic view of the old buildings of Pisa. For early risers, the Tuscany sunrise is a very fulfilling experience also (see first photo below).

For the first three days, we’ve been passing back and forth to this beauty and everytime we cross, I never fail to take a photo. The venue for the conference is the Polo didattico delle Piagge dell’ Università di Pisa which means “two bridges away from where the photo was taken” in English. We’ve encountered rough roads before finding the venue because the university is everywhere and Università di Pisa is not a good address.

Business Days…

There’s not much on our first three days, we just routinely wake up at 2:00 AM (9AM in Manila), eat breakfast, shiver, attend the conference, shiver, lunch out at some Pizzeria, shiver, eat dinner, make our presentations, and redo everything. The lowest temperature that we experienced in Pisa is -5 degrees celsius but it may not be colder compared to 3 degrees celsius with a chilling wind.

Who wants to hear about the conference? The conference is fine, we’ve encountered people who authored journals we’re citing, there are good papers but I dont think I will go further about the conference in this narrative.

When the conference concluded, the vacation began.

Vacation Days…

From our apartment, we walk our way to the leaning tower (there is no riding in Pisa, it’s better and more touristy to walk and be amazed by the buildings and vintage of Pisa). It is also easier to walk in Pisa for a shorter travel distance since you can pass through narrow alleys where you can shop til you drop. If you failed to get a pocket wifi for connection, make sure to download your offline map and Viola! you can go anywhere as long as you have the energy.

Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa)

The leaning tower is located behind the Pisa Cathedral in Piazza (plaza) de Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo. It is the 3rd oldest building in Pisa after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. Yes, the Piazza is really a tourist attraction because situated here are the three most famous buildings of Pisa.