Europe Trip Day 2: Pisa and Rome

Big Picture

Hello! This is part 2 of our Europe trip in 2013. In this post, we continued our Italian exploration with an excursion to Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower, as well as going to the capital Rome.

  • Part 1 Flight, Zurich, Florence
  • Part 2 Pisa, Rome (this post)
  • Part 3 Vatican, Rome
  • Part 4 Venice
  • Part 5 Salzburg
  • Part 6 Neuschwanstein
  • Part 7 Paris
  • Part 8 Zermatt
  • Part 9 Luzern

Pisa

We started early.
We arrived in Pisa at 8:09 AM.

We started early, woke up at 5 AM which was quite easy since our normal biological sleep clock was still pretty much there. We took a Regionale Veloce train to Pisa at 7 AM. This train was definitely a lower class regional train and thus should not be compared to Frecciarosa! It was decent although quite full. Pisa Centrale was a small station, and the city itself was cozy and definitely much calmer than Florence. I don’t know whether that’s just me or because we arrived early in the morning. You can take bus or walk to the tower of Pisa, but we chose to walk since we could take a look at the city (also because we didn’t know how to take the bus, can’t speak the language, etc).

Inside Pisa Centrale
Inside Pisa Centrale
01-pisa centrale
Outside Pisa Centrale

We kept our bags in the left luggage office, every train station had one, just look for the Deposito Bagagli office, and they can store your baggage for a small fee. Directions to the Leaning Tower of Pisa was easy. Just follow the flocks of tourists! It took around half an hour to reach the tower from the train station.

Souvenirs sold in the Deposito Bagagli office.
Souvenirs sold in the Deposito Bagagli office.
Seeing this miniature-like building on the way to the Torre (tower).
Seeing this miniature-like building on the way to the Torre (tower).

The tower complex was small, besides the tower there was a baptistery, and two other buildings. It was possible to climb up the tower, definitely with entrance fee, however our timeline was quite tight so we didn’t climb up. We got very creative with our photos though 😀

The map of the complex.
The map of the complex.
We had to take this pose, right?
We had to take this pose, right?
Me attempting #Henrying on the tower of Pisa. That hashtag was very popular back then.
Me attempting #Henrying on the tower of Pisa. That hashtag was very popular back then.
Leaning Dome of Pisa...
Leaning Dome of Pisa…

Train Pisa-Rome

Fast forward.. We returned to Pisa Centrale station shortly before 12, took our baggage and board the Intercity 505 train that goes directly to Rome. Our coach was divided into compartments, with a long corridor on the left side of the coach. Of the four trains we have ridden, this train was the worst one I think. The coach was said to be air conditioned, but it seemed like the aircon wasn’t working. The compartment itself was a little cramped as well, since ours was full with three other people. We realized afterwards that this InterCity train was a regional train, which travel slower although it was direct to Rome. Regret that we didn’t make a detour to Florence first and then taking the high speed Frecciarosa trains! The scenery was quite beautiful though, since we crossed the countryside.

Panini means bread. Bibite means drink. We managed to order some sandwich and drinks using our broken Italian. The lady was so amused with our skills and she replied us with her broken English!
Panini means bread. Bibite means drink. We managed to order some sandwich and drinks using our broken Italian. The lady was so amused with our skills and she replied us with her broken English!
Departed from Pisa Centrale with InterCity 505 at 11:13. Destination: Roma Termini.
Departed from Pisa Centrale with InterCity 505 at 11:13. Destination: Roma Termini.
Our compartment in the InterCity 505.
Our compartment in the InterCity 505.

Rome

We arrived at Rome around 2:30 PM , and looked for our hotel. Our booking was on Hotel Termini at via Giovanni Amendola 77. However, the check in was to be in Hotel Piram at via Giovanni Amendola 7. A little bit confusion ensued while looking #7 and #77 although it was on the same road! Furthermore when we reached Piram, we were transferred to another hotel two streets away which was Hotel Regina Giovanna at via Nazionale. After much hassle we finally arrived at Regina Giovanna – a good hotel within an old building, and self service (you were given key to the front gate of the building, should you came back very late).

We don't have any photos of our hotel - this photo I believe was taken on Via Nazionale. I particularly liked the paved street.
We don’t have any photos of our hotel – this photo I believe was taken on Via Nazionale. I particularly liked the arc-shaped paved street. (I’ve only seen asphalt street over my whole life!)

We had a very late lunch again (4:30 PM) – it was second consecutive day we forgot to plan our lunch in the train journey! The restaurant we ate was at Via Dei Serpenti – I ordered roast chicken and potato, Nico ordered spaghetti salmon, and Yosef pasta something. Sorry no photos for the food because we were too hungry back then!

Walking our way to the Colosseum. If my memory served me correctly, this is via Dei Serpenti.
Walking our way to the Colosseum. If my memory served me correctly, this is via Dei Serpenti.

Afterwards we took a walk to the Colosseum and Roman Forum beside. For me, to be able to see the real Colosseum that once only visible in my childhood geography books, or TV; I can’t help but felt grateful inside! The Colosseum was already past the opening hours then, so we decided to go back there 2 days later. We found out that the Roman Forum was already closed too, so we walked to the city.

The Colosseum is HUGE. The people on it made a good scale on how big this building is.
The Colosseum is HUGE. The people on it made a good scale on how big this building is.
Selfie with the Colosseum.
Selfie with the Colosseum.
Not sure about the route of this carriage. Maybe to explore the city.
Not sure about the route of this carriage. Maybe to explore the city.
Foro Romano (Roman Forum) in the neighboring area.
Foro Romano (Roman Forum) in the neighboring area.
The sunset made a dramatic effect on the shot. We walked towards that building with the horse statue on the background afterwards.
The sunset made a dramatic effect on the shot. We walked towards that building with the horse statue on the background afterwards.
I like the sky color!
I like the sky color!

I can’t accurately remember our route, but I recall we did some photography at a palace with Julius Caesar statue in front of it (from google search it seems to be Piazza Venezia). We skipped dinner again, and went for another gelato at some street with stairs. I do remember I bought a limone (lemon) gelato, which I strongly not recommend you to buy, since it was too sour. Cold and sour. We traced our way back to hotel and that wrapped our day 2.

Took a few shots to get this right. No tripod and cold hands didn't help either! Thankfully it resulted out quite nice!
Took a few shots to get this right. No tripod and cold hands didn’t help either! Thankfully it resulted out quite nice!

Map

This map shows our route on day 2:

[googlemaps https://mapsengine.google.com/map/embed?mid=zqhRkBxZnUgU.kuSNT6d28Dw0&w=640&h=480]

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