To be or not to be a tourist?

I would like to apologize for my lack of photos. I haven't been carrying my camera with me and though all the visual memories are in my head, they are not something I can share here. A little dated, here are some pictures of Pisa last weekend. I think Pisa is kind of a silly place, it is as if they built the campo a put it there just for world tourists to come to. I was particularly amused by the sea of people taking the famous 'holding up the leaning tower' photo. I think they looked like they were all doing some form of tai-chi. It was my first experience with a famous tourist site and I am not going to lie, I was not impressed. So yes, I have seen the leaning tower, but I didn't pay the 15 euro to climb up and I didn't buy a leaning shot glass from one of the dozens of vendors along the sidelines.

View of the Arno, Pisa

Yes, it is still leaning, yes it is still standing.

My non-tourist weekend, though much less sunny, was far more interesting. Friday I wandered down Corso Cavour and the Scale di San Ercolano all the way to the Medieval Garden with stops at all the historical churches along the way. The walk all the way back uphill was worth the treasure of the gardens (one of those moments I wish I had my camera). Saturday I rode the newly opened minimetro to the Saturday market where I bought a great cheese and some dried fruit. However, I could have purchased anything from pots and pans to shoes to a roast pork sandwich, discount shampoo, or a live chicken. I need to go back another time when it isn't raining. This noon we went to the monthly organic market where we sampled (and bought) some wonderful goods. The vendors were all there and eager to talk about their products. The man I bought some wonderfully creamy, strong cheese from had a picture of him with his herd of goats displayed proudly next to his cheese wheels. We were there around lunch time and they were all huddled together around steaming bowls of legume soup and hearty bread, a kind of rural idyll in the middle of cosmopolitan Perugia. Ashley bought some great red pepper relish from a group of nuns and we all spent a long time smelling one woman's array of handmade olive oil soaps.

This is my kind of Italian experience, leave the leaning tower to the world-landmark baggers, they can have it.

On the other hand, there are certain things that I know I need to see, so in my plans I am trying to strike a balance between the two. My art history trips to Florence and Milan will take care of a great deal and I have weekend in Rome to plan that involves the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Collections, and the Villa Borghese. But I am more looking forward to the pizza workshop tomorrow night and the wine tasting in a couple of weeks. Maybe I should be seeing Italy, but I would rather be living it.