Pisa is a charming but TINY little place. The only main attraction (that interested us at least) is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It took us no more than 45 minutes to walk to the other end of the city and back. Pisa reminded us a lot of Florence actually.
Before seeing the tower, I completely underestimated how much the structure is leaning. It's leaning so much that I have no idea how it's survived for so long. And there are people at the top of the tower!
Mandatory tourist pictures
See? Doesn't it look like Florence?
Since there was nothing more we wanted to do in Pisa, we caught a train early to Monterosso of Cinque Terre. Monterosso al Mare would have to been the most "touristy" of the five villages with restaurants and souvenir shops dotting the shore. We then took a three minute long train ride to Vernazza, the village we were staying at. After thoroughly exploring the town with still sunlight to spare, we headed over to Corniglia before the sun went down. We decided to save Manarola and Riomaggiore for the next day.
Since seeing remarkable pictures of the place, I've been dying to come see Cinque Terre for myself. The quaint fishing villages, sloping terraces, and colorful houses took my breath away. Come see for yourself.
The food, especially the seafood, was wonderful. The fish we ordered was grilled to perfection.
