graaavy drippings: european bonanza part deux

after hanging out in hot as hell rome for 4 grueling days, we were more than happy to leave. we hopped a train north and stopped at pisa on our way to florence. i must say i was quite astonished by the dilapidated state pisa was in. the train station is located across town so we had to make a 20 minute trek to the landmark the city was renowned for, the leaning tower of pisa. how appropriately named wouldn't you say? going there, we took the sidestreets in an attempt to experience the local flavor and coming back to the train station, we took the main path that tourists typically take. both paths were caked with bird doodoo and seemingly abandoned buildings. in fact, this was the closest i felt to being in a real ghost town if i were to ignore the tourists. even walking among the decadent shops that line the main tourist passagement, i couldn't help but feel that the town's soul all but floated away long ago. the sole reason for living in pisa is to support the tourism there, not an uncommon trait of italian cities as i shall see later.

here's di huggin her pisa

has anyone ever scaled pisa in one giant step before?

towards florence we went after a lazy pisa afternoon. upon arriving, di and i walked around a huge market square, around the ponte vecchio and down to the duomo. the buildings were exquisite, the scenery beautiful, and the ambience lively and full of culture. florence is widely regarded as the birthplace of the renaiissance which is evidenced by the sheer number of artists who lived here including Leondardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello, three out of four of the teengage mutant ninja turtles. florence had the best gelato and the best italian food i've tasted while trekking through italy. the david by michelangelo was the most spectacular work of art i've ever seen. period. it was far more grand than i expected, mainly due to its sheer ginormousity, but also in part to the jaw dropping detail in the musculature, proportions, and vein/artery system. i couldn't help but feel a sense of chillaxness that accompanied the great capital of the arts.

the duomo. attempt to depic scale.

medusa murdered bcuz of a bad hair day

the byootiful ponte vecchio. notice the multiple bridges along the water

no ponte vecchio would be complete without diane to grace it

click to zoom on this picture to see the artistic detail in this dome. nuts sack crazy!

click to zoom on the picture to see the perfect artistic imitation. i'm not gay.

what is there not to like about florence?

we left florence a couple of days later to arrive in venice by train. it was another beautiful city minus the ambience that permeated florence. it was real cool to see a whole city on water, with no cars, no pollution, no noise, but also, no good eateries, no interesting architecture, and a square where flying rats (ie pigeons) are adored and fed regularly. after marveling at the concept, my feelings about the place quickly turned into a dull boredom. thought i must say, it was very relaxing to sit by the water and fall asleep. the interesting thing about the city is that like pisa, it's entirely supported by tourism. most of the original populace left the town long ago so all the buildings i've seen were abandoned. kinda eerie standing in an alley totally surrounded by buildings with boarded up windows. there is so much potential and it's all deteriorating.

st. mark's square replete with pigeons