Pisa, Italy- February 7, 2009

We awoke to a gorgeous, sunny day...our last day in Italy. We loaded the car and got ready to check out around 10 am. The check out was an omen of things to come today. The landlord we had talked to on Tuesday, Frederico, was gone already and his mother checked us out. We were charged WAY too much for gas and electricity usage and then charged an unexpected cleaning fee on top of it all. It was still a good deal for the condo, but it left a bad taste in both of our mouths. And, it was hard to argue with someone who barely spoke English. We paid, and left somewhat frustrated.

On our way out, Kevin stopped at a cemetary I had often looked at on our way to Florence. It looked like something out of Romeo and Juliet to me. The grounds were covered in white marble crosses. It was beautiful. I took alot of pictures while Kevin and Weslee waited in the car.

We decided to head to Pisa and see the leaning tower before we had to return the car and catch our flight home. We got to Pisa and got lost. We had a hard time finding parking, and all the while, the sky was starting to darken. Rain was once again threatening our sight-seeing. We finally found a place to park and headed up to the ticket counter. Weslee wasn't allowed at the top of the tower, so we took turns hiking up to the very top.

Kevin had me go first so that I could get shots of the city and cathedral before the rain clouds moved in. It was so cool to look down so far and see Weslee chasing the pigeons down the sidewalk. Kevin had me wave from the top so that he could catch me on video. The coolest part about climbing up the tower was that it felt almost like you were going down-hill on the side where it was leaning, and then it felt like a very steep hike on the side that was tilted up. It had a sense of vertigo about the whole thing. The marble steps were heavily grooved and if you didn't watch where you were going, with the vertigo and everything, it was easy to slip and fall.

When I got to the top, I leaned against the railing (I'm still a little afraid of heights, and my stomach was turning flips) and watched all of the tourists below taking pictures on the lawn, pretending to "hold up" the leaning tower. Vendors were crowding the streets selling pizza and other snacks, pictures, souvenirs, and umbrellas. And all the while, the baptistry and cathedral stood like white giants looming out of the very green grass below. The wind wildly whipped my hair into my eyes and mouth. It was exhilarating.

I got to stay on the top for half an hour before it was Kevin's turn. Kevin handed Weslee to me, and he made the hike up. While he was up there, it began to sprinkle. Weslee LOVED it. He ran around, jumping in mud puddles, and splashing after the birds. By the time Kevin came down, Weslee was wet to his knees, but very, very happy.

At this point, we decided that we'd tour the cathedral. While we were inside, it began pouring rain. Our time was almost up on our parking meter, and we had no other choice but to run out into it. We were drenched again, by the time we made it to our car.

Tom-Tom still wasn't working. The narrow streets weren't allowing the satelites to pin-point our location. We guessed our way out of there...and luckily made good choices. But, we had a bigger problem on our hand. Italian siesta had closed every gas station between the leaning tower of Pisa and the airport. We were at a quarter tank and were supposed to turn the car in full. Apparently, the Italians have never heard of "pay at the pump". We finally decided to just take the car back and pay for it (and oh, did we ever pay for it) there.

By the time we got to the airport, we were wet, tired, and feeling irritated with the financial dealings of the day. We felt swindled. But, there was more yet to bear. The lady at the check-in counter...we'll call her "Nazi Lady", informed us that our carry-on bags were too heavy and would have to be checked in. Both of our bags were over the weight limit by a couple of pounds. We tried to rearrange, but their policy wouldn't let us...and there was a long line of weary travellers behind us. It wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't decide to rip you off if you have to check a bag. It cost us about $60 to check those extra 4 pounds of stuff in. Yikes. And, to top it all off...she was so pushy, we forgot Weslee's diapers and wipes in the carryon. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to remember my wallet and passports.

As we angrily stepped away from the counter, and through the security check-out, I remember Kevin saying, "Hope Weslee doesn't go poop". Less than an hour later, I was trying to salvage a diaper in the women's room. Still steaming that Nazi lady wouldn't let us get the things we needed most, I tried to clean the diaper as best I could (it wasn't too bad, actually...but it seemed horrendous at the time) and put it back on Wes. We got on the plane without speaking much and Nazi lady took our tickets, making my blood boil all over again.

Once we settled into our chair, it wasn't so bad. In fact, I was able to laugh about everything that had happened. We joked with some of the other passengers on the plane that perhaps Ryan Air wasn't such a good deal after all, and that paying a little extra for another airline might make up for the inconvenience and lack of customer service on this airline. We all chuckled for a little while.

When we landed, I can honestly say I was ready to be home. At the time, I really wasn't missing Italy at all. Maybe that's why it's taken me so long to write this blog update. I didn't come home "glowing" from my experience, even though the experience as a whole was wonderful. I came home feeling swindled and angry. I came home never wanting to return. How silly is that?

Now, with a few weeks between me and Nazi lady and Federico's mother...I can look back and feel blessed. I can look back and love the olive groves and grape vines again. I can think of the wonderful food and the amazing architecture. I can think of sitting snuggled under the blankets in our condo with Kevin at my side, reading good books, eating strawberry gelato, and hearing the frogs croak outside. I can think of how the sun made the hills sparkle with magic. And, the parts that didn't go so well have turned into part of the adventure, part of the story-telling, part of the fun of our journey.