Pisa: The last of my Italy photos...
The famous leaning Tower:
The Church next door:
Since marble was expensive, it was often scavenged from other buildings:
Another example of scavenged marble:
And a view that you might not have seen before:
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Marble is exceptionally hard to carve, so they sure did leave the old markings on.
Thanks for coming by!
I actually didn't take such a picture, nor did my husband! I saw many people doing that, but it was a hot and muggy day, and I had zero interest!
It's still worth seeing and it's a beautiful piece of history but I could help but think "god this has sadly become a kitschy place 
" Nice pics though, brings me back to our visit there some years back. I like the last one, did you have an HDR setting on your camera to capture that?
That's the baptistry? Wow. Yeah, pretty elaborate!
Glad you enjoyed these...
I'm really happy that you've enjoyed these...
Glad you enjoyed them!
Did you go up into the tower?
I remember being quite disconcerted going up the stairs at a slant. Also, when I was there years ago, you were allowed to go out at any level and walk around without any railing. It felt very vertiginous close to the edge!
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What have you done to my picture??? And is that a flying saucer???
Well done!
No, I didn't go up into the tower..........it was too hot, and I just had zero energy.
I can believe it felt vertiginous!
Italy ... 
Now that I'm home, and can look back at what I saw, and photographed, I can truly see...
It was a very strenuous trip. And Italy is gorgeous!
without whose use one doesn't/didn't get to heaven. (I THINK that's the story!)
THANKS for the pics, CalPeg.
So I was told, upthread...
I should probably fix it, but I hate the little red line of text that announces you've made an edit.
Glad you enjoyed!
We were aghast when we discovered that our tour would come this close to Pisa, and still not visit.
So, since we had an extra day, we decided to see it ourselves.
We were so glad we did.
I hope someday you'll get the chance to go there yourself...
They were a bonus for me...
The tower is nice, but its main claim to fame is the lean. I did think it was handsome, but if it had been built properly, it would be just another tower.
I did enjoy seeing all of the buildings!
Thanks for sharing these and all the rest of your "Peggy Does Europe" pics! 
Seriously, it's been great sharing your experiences from the camera's perspective. 
I get to relive my trip, without exerting myself, and you come along for the ride too!
I like what you call it: "Peggy Does Europe"! 
No pics of Peggy holding Pisa up? . Hope you are having fun, Peggy.
On edit: someone already mentioned it. Have you posted other pics?
Nope, none of those, lol!
We came home July 9th...
On edit: I have posted other pictures; check out my Journal for those...
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I didn't really pay that much attention to it until I read "Pillars of the Earth".
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When I lived in Germany, I always wanted to go to Italy, but the Army placed
FREQUENT travel restrictions to there because of all the Communist rallies they
would hold in the 70's.
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It must have been a blast AND wonderful.
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And I probably would have gained 5-10 lbs eating my way across the country.
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Thanks for sharing your travels with us.
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I'm so glad you've been along for the ride...
Now that I'm no longer exhausted, I can really appreciate what I saw. I did gain probably at least 5 pounds while we were there, sigh...
But the trip was worth it.
But the fault is in the building, not in my camera placement!
I have only ever visited Naples Italy. (Napoli) But the food was wonderful there, as was the wine.
Any plans for visiting Tokyo? 
I want to go back to Osaka some day!
The food and wine were great everywhere we went.
My husband and I tend to be Euro-centric, so I doubt we will ever visit Japan...
I hope you'll get back to Osaka some day!
It sounds like a great trip, and I haven't been to Italy in decades. I did see Pisa, though, so nyah nyah! I just wish I could remember it...
I think I qualify.
I probably should think (quickly) about doing that. But if I were to go back to Italy, I'd like to go back to Florence. With a side trip to Orvieto, of course. The place where the monks served us dinner with the food and wine they'd made. I was sorry I had only two cases of their wine shipped home.
You could definitely extend your trip (RS helps with stuff like that) and put in some time in Florence. You might be able to stay in a monastery when there (I once considered staying in a convent that hosted travelers, but I don't know about the wine thing). One thing I SHOULD have shipped home from Florence was the olive oil...it was so superb I wanted to pour it into my glass and drink it!
If I win the Powerball I'll buy a house in Tuscany and invite all my art loving friends here on DU to visit!
But for now, I'll settle for this trip...here's a link to what I'll be doing: http://www.roadscholar.org/n/program/summary.aspx?id=1-5KQM1W
I thought that thread was pretty funny, myself...
On a day with some VERY contentious discussions, the levity was welcome.
Will the Challenge be back on Friday? I really miss it when it doesn't appear. I make sure I'm there at the appointed time...and if I can't find it, I frantically check Politics 2013.
Losing the Challenge here would be a real loss, but we'd survive. And if you felt it necessary to stop doing it, you could always hand it off to someone else here who's willing to keep it going.
You have an active mind and a lot of interesting ideas and nobody can blame you for following your heart. I'd count US lucky if you just keep us posted on what you're doing.
I have to say, though, that I LOVE your Friday Afternoon Challenges. That has been one of the highlights of my week. You have taught this art dunce something along the way--and I suspect that's true for others here, too. Whatever happens in the future, thankyou for that.
You've inspired me!
Just cuz you flattered the living hell out of me, I went and created a Challenge for this Friday!
You better show up!
With bells on!
I know you'll have a wonderful time...
Now, about my camera. It's a Nikon, digital SLR. I use it all the time, for everything. My old Nikon died about a month before our trip started, and so I went into my fav camera store for guidance. I already had Nikon lenses, so that part was easy.
It's a D3200, the mid-range camera in the series D3100, D3200, D3300. I didn't want the fanciest or the most stripped-down models, so I went with this one. I love it!
There's one feature that I am particularly glad to have: it's the Auto setting without flash. The camera will not use the flash in this mode, which is invaluable in museums, churches, etc. I used it constantly. I got pictures that I would never have been able to take before. If you look at my other Italy threads (they're in my Journal), all the photos indoors were taken with this setting. I don't know how I lived without it before, and I will never willingly be without it again.
I recommend this camera without hesitation! Hope this helps!
I saw someone transferring pictures out of a digital camera into a laptop on one of our previous trips, and I thought that looked like a great way to go. It was then that I bought my laptop, and I have done this every trip.
I transfer the pictures every night, and then empty the card manually so that the camera is ready for the next day.
This works well for me.
We really enjoyed our trip, esp. now that we're home and no longer exhausted from all the walking!
I'm really glad I took so many pictures; they are my chief souvenirs.
Your trip sounds perfect...Have a great time with your family and friends and the scenery!
It was a very hot day, and so we skipped it...
