Jul 17, 2005 - Falling, Falling...........CRASH!

We tested the Italian Autostrade again as we sped from Nice (near Antibes, France), through Genoa on the way to Rome. We agreed to drive like Italians and have a quick stop in Pisa to see how the old tower is doing. We then camped nearby at a horrible seaside resort and were in good position to arrive in Rome early the next afternoon. The bonus of travelling on Sunday...everyone was at the beach, the roads of Rome were dead quiet. But about Pisa, where the tower is the main attraction, yup, it leans alright. Started leaning right after it...

Sep 20, 2004 - Continuing the journey

Well here we are again. Today we are off to the Vatican. Aldo drove us as close as he was permitted, Maritsa said when we disembarked that we had a short walk to join the line of people wanting to enter the Vatican. Well it was some line taking us nearly an hour to reach the entry point. When we were close to the entrance we were given audio equipment so that we could follow Ned's expert commentary. Once past the security chech point Ned spent some time explaining some of what we were about to see and especially the history of the Cistine...

Jun 11, 2004 - Trip to Pisa and Viareggio

Pisa was very nice. The Leaning Tower was cool but the line to go to the top was an hour and a half and it cost 15 euro. So we didn't go to the top. It was funny because there were a lot of people taking the "holding up the Leaning Tower picture" and they all looked crazy with their arm stretched out holding up thin air. After Pisa, we took a 45 minute bus ride to the beach town of Viareggio. It's weird having to pay to go to the beach. And there are what seems like a million beach chairs and umbrellas layed out across the sand. The water...