To Pisa..

Travelling from Florence to Pisa on a blue-hazy day

I felt I was in Tuscany topiary heaven.



Miles of clipped greenery destined
for beautiful Italian gardens.

We passed corn fields and vineyards

and fields of sunflowers.
Unfortunately the flowers were past their best,
their seeds ripening in the sunshine.
A lovely road trip to Pisa..

and there it was, in all its glory..

that so familiar leaning bell tower of the Cathedral of Pisa.
Look too long and vertigo sets in!

Josie and I agreed it is indeed a stunning tower.
The pale stone and a filigree look reminds me of a wedding cake.

and the cathedral too is beautiful.

An awesome place is Pisa, like Florence, on the banks
of the River Arno.
Both Florence and Pisa have a proud history of merchant shipping on the Arno.
Old battles between the two cities still live in the hearts of the people of Pisa.
"Do not drink from the River Arno" said a Pisa Guide rolling his r's
with angry tones and gestures of disgust..
"Its waters come through dirty Florence!"

Italian has to be one of the worlds most beautiful languages.
So expressive and musical and passionate.
We can thank Dante, the power of Florence and the Medici, and of course the Renaissance,
for the Florentine Italian becoming the standard throughout Italy.

I remember my first time at Auckland University being entranced by the signs
showing the way to the School of Romantic Languages.
Knowing what I know now..
I wish I'd studied there myself!

Oh to speak Italiano!
I say.. with grand inflections and waving my arms in the air!