Our love story: Part 16

I'd like to interrupt my little story to dedicate this love story's chapter to Emilee, a reader I've never met but who sent me a kind and encouraging email about my writing that made my day. Thanks, Emilee!

Guess what guys, it's been forever since I did a love story chapter. Things at my house have been kind of crazy with kids, life, and my husband looking for a job. Oh, and a severe chocolate shortage. I don't know what my problem is, but when I go to the store chocolate doesn't sound good, so I don't buy it. Then, five minutes after arriving home, I need chocolate. Does anyone else have this problem?!

I'm getting sidetracked, huh. Okay, on to Part 16!

Me and Liz. See what a good friend she is? She's totally carrying both of our bags. The cables attached to the building are behind the baptistery (that large building to the left of the tower), so you can't see them in this shot.

We finally arrived in Pisa. I was so excited to see the Leaning Tower. When I was in high school I'd compiled a list of adventures I wanted to complete. This was back in the day before the term "bucket list" had been created. I had things on my list like, "ride in a Dodge Viper," "go in a helicopter," "eat fried grasshoppers," and "see the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

So this moment was a pretty huge one for me. But first we had to get to the Leaning Tower.

Note: I still haven't gone in a helicopter or eaten fried grasshoppers. But the year before, some great friends lined up a ride in a Dodge Viper for me for my birthday. It was everything I'd dreamed of and more. Fast cars are pretty divine.

The walk from the Pisa train station to the actual tower is kind of long. You'd think those Italians would have built a terminal closer to a central tourist attraction. But maybe they thought the distance would be a good economy boost for all the store-lined streets that must be traversed? Anyway, we walked and walked those streets.

Marco and Toby wanted to stop for nutella covered waffles. What? Were they serious? Who wanted to stop and eat when the Leaning Tower was (hopefully) only a few blocks away? I nixed that idea and told them we could eat waffles on our way back.

It was hot and as we trekked through the streets I got thirsty. I don't know how much water we drank on our trip but I'm pretty sure the grocery stores made a killing off me buying mineral water all the time.

I wanted to see the tower, I really did. But I kept getting sidetracked by all the things I kept seeing along the way. Old buildings right next to newer ones. Arches, street signs, bicycles and teeny cars whizzing by. The above photo is typical of what it was like traveling with me. Marco and Toby were always in the front (see them under the arch?), Liz tried to stay with me, but her natural walking speed was faster than my meandering, gawk-at-everything-I-see pace. So I was usually behind everyone and Marco and Toby got a lot of rest stops while waiting for me to catch up. In a few days they'd figure out how to get me to pick up my pace.

A postcard I sent to my little sisters. They were 7 and 5 when I went on this trip.

And finally, there it was. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. And yes, it was indeed leaning! I was ecstatic. I was also curious as to why there were steel cables attached to it. I hadn't seen any photos of the Leaning Tower being held up with man-made help before. I thought it stood on its own. The cables were rather detracting and a bit anti-climactic.

Marco explained, "The tower was leaning too far and engineers learned it would eventually fall over. So they attached those cables and are pulling it back the other way. They've already taken over 100 years off the lean!"

Toby and me in front of the baptistery.

He seemed excited about this fact, but I was worried those Italians might straighten the building out too much. I mean, who wants to see the Straight Tower of Pisa? It needed to stay leaning! But Marco reassured me the experts knew what they were doing and would eventually take the cables off.

Note: They did take those cables off! I'm not sure when, exactly, it happened. But when our family visited Pisa in 2015 the cables were off and the tower was still leaning. Phew.

There was just one problem: we couldn't enter the tower. Because of all the engineering involved with stabilizing it, no visitors were allowed entrance. It was a total bummer, but standing next to the Leaning Tower was better than nothing.

Another note: I still haven't been in the tower. When we visited last year, the rule was only those 8 and older could enter. So Marco and our oldest trekked up into the tower and the younger kids and I stayed down below. Last year was, remarkably, Marco's first time in the tower. Even when he had served his mission there he hadn't been able to gain access. So I guess that just means I now have a valid excuse to visit Italy and eat gelato Pisa again. Right!?

So we sat on the huge grassy area and stared at that gorgeous building. Well, we tried to sit on the grassy area and then some Italian guards came and told us we couldn't sit on the grass. I guess getting nice grass is difficult for Europeans and they wanted it to stay that way. And, really, the grass was the nicest we'd seen.

Most of the grass in Italy is similar to crab grass we have in Utah. And you know what they do here with crab grass? They kill it. It's considered a weed because it's so sharp and uncomfortable to sit on. That grassy area in Pisa was the nicest grass we'd seen (or ever see) in all of Italy. Too bad they didn't want people to enjoy it.

After taking in the Leaning Tower, we started our trek back to the train station. At this point, I was tired and totally in need of some chocolate. So I was much friendlier toward the idea of a nutella-covered waffle. And guys, that waffle was divine. Wow. So delicious that when Marco and I took our family to Pisa last year, I sat all of our kids down and demanded they eat chocolate-covered waffles. The children didn't complain.

By the time we reached the train station we were beat. Walking around two cities in one day had tired us out. No card games were played on the train ride back to Florence, we just dozed in our seats. We'd need that rest because the next day would be a long one.

When we arrived in Florence, Marco and Toby bee-lined it to a Pizzeria. I swear, those two would eat Pizza for every meal, if we let them. I'll admit, the pizza was pretty good. But I told them the next night we'd need to eat something else. There was pasta in Italy and I hadn't tried nearly enough of it.

The next day I'd get my pasta meal. And something else, as well. :)

Stay tuned!

Part 17