WHEN IN ROME...: Pisa + Bologna

PISA

While still in Florence, we took a day trip to the small town of Pisa. We got to climb to the top of the leaning tower of Pisa! It was definately interesting and sort of odd walking up the spiral marble staircase of the tower. It was almost as if you were on a ride at a carnival! As you made your way up, one side would get steeper and more uneven and then alternate as you made it to the other side. After making it to the top, we got a great view of the cathedral, the baptistry and the town. We all took turns taking the infamous tourist picture of 'holding up the leaning tower' (good laugh!) We also got to see a modern apartment building in Pisa but to our surprise it had been abandoned for some time.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Looking up at the Tower of Pisa.

(!) Travel tip: Do not visit Pisa on a rainy Sunday! No opened shops, no people in the streets! Always bring a good umbrella (not one from the umbrelli guy), you will definately need it during the rainy season!

BOLOGNA

Bologna is a beautiful small town known for its arcaded streets. We started our journey in the outskirts of the town to see a reconstruction of Le Corbusier's installment at the L'Espirit Nouveau (1925, reconstructed in Bologna in 1977). As we walked further into the center of town, the more beautiful the architecture got! The richness in the classical facade's of the buildings were simply breathtaking. Our sketching assignment was to further analyze the different arcades that lined the streets in the town center. A bunch of us decided to climb up one of the two Towers in Bologona. After climbing the Duomo in Florence and the Leaning Tower in Pisa, we decided the 498 old wooden stepped tower would be nothing! Little did we know what kind of adventure it turned out to be! (we were so high up, it was actually snowing!) From the top we got a great view of the urban fabric of Bologna and the surrounding landscapes (mountain ranges were beautiful!!)

Le Corbusier's installment at the L'Espirit Nouveau