Blog by Shirls
I remember the first time I went scuba-diving in the ocean. We had practiced the Open Water basics in a pool in Johannesburg and then driven all the way to Sodwana to do our qualifying dives in the sea. I back-rolled off the side of the inflatable, heart pounding in my chest as I hoped I remembered what to do. A few moments of fumbling with equipment and all was under control. And then the unexpected surprise and delight of hearing the crackling sound made in the ocean and feeling the surge ... I couldn't help smiling and started to laugh. And then my cheeks pushed out my mask which flooded with water. But the point is how nice the surprise was, and that brings me to the Tower of Pisa.
We all know that Pisa's famous tower is leaning over and we've seen the pictures of people pretending to hold it up.
But today as climb it, I am surprised at how disorienting it is to walk on a lean that moves from left to right. We wind up the 296 spiral stairs to the top, and I notice that each step has hollows where people over the past 830 years have placed their feet, and the hollows move left and right as we take the same path as all those others.
It really is a strange feeling and by the time we reached the top after fits of giggles, I'm giddy with excitement - clearly it doesn't take much - and do some crazy jumping (secure in the knowledge that Bruce says the stabilisation work to stop the tower falling over is complete). The trip down is even better because with a bit of speed if feels like I'm in a pinball machine, bouncing off the sides.
After all the excitment we go to a restaurant that Michele recommended, he says it's a haunt of families and students so it will suit our budget. It's our last night in Italy so it's only appropriate to have pizza, and we order one to share. It arrives and is the size of a car tyre. We protest that it's too big, and then finish all but a few scraps.
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