We woke up to our alarm this morning at 5 a.m. I was feeling lucky to have not still been awake at that point. For whatever reason (too much caffeine from a couple scoops of sorbetto yesterday, the heat, a nagging mosquito, noise from the street, or a slight stomach ache) I didn't manage to fall asleep until around 4 a.m. But we had an early train to catch so we showered, packed up and headed for the train station.

Functioning on a single hour of sleep is not something most people do well . And I'm pretty miserable at it. I told Bryan a play-by-play of my sleepless night as we walked to our train. We got on board and I promptly fell back asleep. I woke up every time the train would stop and then dozed off again, until two men came and sat in the seats across from us. Unable to stretch my legs out any longer, I yawned and looked out the window. It was just towns, but Bryan said it had been pretty vineyards, hilltop villages and fields of sunflowers while I slept. I believe him, because we have seen similar views riding the train elsewhere around Italy. :)

We got off at the second Pisa station and walked a couple of blocks to the leaning tower. There was a field of green grass (something we haven't really seen anywhere else in Italy) called the "Field of Miracles." There were walls surrounding the area, a dome (the baptistry) and a church. And of course, the leaning tower itself. We were there early enough that other tourists were scarce. I had Bryan take a picture of me in the silly pose that everyone does. I figured Dad would be proud. :)

Then we started walking back to the other train station in Pisa. I was feeling pretty exhausted. So I started reading all of the signs I saw with my best Italian accent to stay awake and amuse myself. "Pasta-ree-ah! They sell pasta. Paneria. They bake bread. Pizzeria. That's an easy one. They make pizzas." And so forth. There were at least four more stores that ended in "ria." Good times. I have to get all the enjoyment out of Italian that I can, because this afternoon (God willing) we will be in France.

This was the tired start of a long day. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day as well. We arrived at Pisa so early in the morning that it was still very quiet and rather peaceful. The leaning tower is really set in a beautiful place and would be worth visiting even if it wasn't famous for being askew.