Saturday July 10

We woke up and drove to Pisa
Fun street people … offering to help park the car … I took the time to teach my companions about how there can be accomplices down the street. Example: person one stands near car … after we leave, checks out what is inside through the window (thank goodness for hatchback cars with that rolling cover over the back luggage area … hides the contents). I had taken pains to say outloud “well, we have everything valuable with us” to my companions … he rather gave up … but there can be someone down the street that can alert a thief when you are starting to return to your car.

While Pisa has an incredible museum … the main focus is the Piazza di Miracole … Miracle Square with, of course, THE Leaning Tower. After the obligatory photo op and oohs and ahhhs
We bought some artwork made right there by young people … nice …. Spray painted Leaning Tower on pink sky ….

Stopped at McDonalds (!) for a weird chicken sandwich …. Actually I love to do that as the menus at American restaurants are always so unique when abroad. And next door was a department store!
I LOVE to stop and shop there … great weird everyday items … a way to purchase a souvenier that is both practical and memorable anddddddddd cheap! At least half the cost of a purchasing the same item in a little shop.

Tonight, we stayed overnight in a hotel near Monteriggioni.
I chose it because there is a really amazing medieval festival there and only happens once a year. While we are here! The town is set up on top of a mountain … it is one of the last FULLY walled towns left in Italy. The festival is at night for a very good reason! There are men re enacting battles with swords that are lit with fire … real swords, real fire …. Jugglers in jester costumes balancing benches, knives and more, merchants with handcrafts and more. Like a renaissance fair … except everything is REAL. They had their own special currency which was recast from the medieval coins
Imagine how cool to be in a real castle town with this festival
Everyone was in costume, in fact, you can rent or buy them …
Did I mention there was a man selling … harpsssssssssss
I played a little for him and offered to tune them
It brought a crowd for him so it was fun to participate smile

The teenager stayed at the hotel to watch tv (no joke) can you imagine missing this amazing event?
I drove her mom C as close as possible to the festival and parked … about 4 fields away … did I mention I have to be losing weight this trip from all the walking
C got upset her leg hurt and didn’t want to sit down with strangers I gather … she didn’t mention to me at all her leg hurt … and just said I’m leaving.
She disappeared at 1130pm into a crowd of 100s maybe 1,000 and headed down the castle road in the dark. I spent an hour searching for her and finally found her. I know her leg – ankle hurts but my goodness how childish ….
Still … I got her a few souvenier coins and even drove her daughter up to the top the next day for lunch in town … so she didn’t miss the experience of a castle village.