Local traditions and culture in Pisa

I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but one of the very popular things to do on the Piazza dei Miracoli apparently is to have your picture taken at an angle that makes it look as though you're pushing the tower. While this may seem like a good photo opportunity, I thought it was even more funny to take a picture of said people with their hands pointlessly up in the air :o)

The exhibition, which is held in the Convent of Santa Croce is dedicated to the production of white and red wines from the province of Pisa. A rich and complete exhibition on local wine production and everything it entails: tastings, accompaniment with traditional cuisine and the promotion of Pisan gourmet products.

Last weekend of November.

When traveling in a country where english is not the main language I try to make an effort to speak the local language. Italian is a beautiful language and it isn't very hard to pick up the basics. I got a phrase book and a CD, which I put on my i-Pod, to help me learn some phrases. And while I was shy about trying to speak the language at first, by the end of my 2 weeks there I was ordering meals and ice-cream (gelato) all in Italian!

So here are some helpful phrases to get you started!

Hello/Goodbye (informal): Ciao
Good Morning: Buongiorno
Good Afternoon/Evening: Buonasera
Good Night: Buonanotte
Yes/No: Si/No
Please: per favore
Thank you: grazie
That's fine: Va bene
How Are You?: Come sta?
Open/Closed: aperto/chiuso
Entrance/Exit: entrata/uscita
Where is...?: Dov'e...?

and...
I didn't understand: non ho capito
Do you speak English?: Parla Inglese?

The authorities, all over the world, struggle against non authorized graphites which, more or less, deface many facades over the town, sometimes even those which belongs to the important buildings or monuments. It seems that nothing can stopped this individuals who, very often, make incorrible damages to the objects of their desire.
This is an mocking graphite towards the owner of this house which says: "nice wall!!!, congratulations". It is even not funny, nort at all.

Perhaps it might look irrelevant for a tourist tip but I think it is very useful and important. When strolling around, sometimes for hours, we all have certain needs but not always easy to do it. Among many other things, which one town offers to its visitors, public toilet is probably the rarest one. When in Pisa, you wont have this problem because the public water-closet is handy, situated under the loggia in Piazza XX Settembre.

When you are in Pisa there are many touristy places to eat. However, if you just go down any of the side streetsthat lead to Pisa you can have a nice pizza for about a quarter of the price of eating in the touristy area.

Everywhere you go in Florence (and Italy) you will see very cute little cars!!

And not only are they cute, they are sensible too - particularly in a city like Pisa that has narrow streets and limited parking - the smaller the car the easier your day to day motoring is.

Now, just make sure you don't do too much shopping though....

; ))

Well of course, seeing all these strange movements by the other tourists at the Campo dei Miracoli, I also wanted to have such a funny picture.

But that is kind of a disadvantage on travelling alone, you always have to ask someone, Mister, lease can you make a picture of me?

But thanks to digital photography, where it is possible to see the result immediately, three shots were sufficient for a decent picture.

That way it looks as I am holding the Tower from falling.