Pisa / Lucca Trip

Feb 22


Today we went to the famous city of Pisa, where the leaning tower of Pisa resides. Then I found out that there were so many more things to find out about the city, other than the leaning tower. When we first arrived, I was expecting the tower to be way bigger and more leaned over because of all the pictures. It was still an experience to stand before such an amazing building. Some of us were curious to know if we could go up the tower, but we found out that you have to book an appointment to go up the tower, as it is regulated for safety purposes. Apparently at one point it was more leaned over, but the ground underneath the building was starting to make the building to sink. They eventually figured out how to make it stay more solid and leaned over. Most people  were trying to take the famous pose with the building, including myself but I did not do as well. After witnessing the building, we went over to the superior school in the city (Scuola Normale), a university that houses over 600+ students in undergrad or in their post grad education. We then headed towards the Baptistery which was in front of the cathedral, which we could not go into, unfortunately. In the baptistery, a lot of the students in the art history course offered at AEF and others were able to witness very fine art inside, but we also got to witness how resonant the building itself is. At around 12:05, a person who works at the baptistery came out and started singing towards the roof of the building. He started harmonizing with himself as he played with the echo of building. It was something extraordinary. Enjoy the following pictures of the trip!

The city of Lucca was known for their silk in the old times, but something that stood out to me was the house of Giacomo Puccini, a 19th century composer whose music has been a stable across opera houses around the world. When I become a more mature singer, I would love to sing his repertoire more extensively because his melodies are absolutely beautiful. The place that we visited was the house he lived in when he was 22 years old. The museum was full of original documents, from score drafts to letters addressed to family members. It also possessed Puccini's clothes, bed, even his piano that he used to compose operas. The only time it was moved from the house when they used the piano for a concert in New York in 2015. Only one string has been changed from the original pieces, everything else has remained intact. The amazing big dress was the dress that was used at the first performance of Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 1926. We had a lovely lunch where I ordered a house white wine, and pork topped with strawberries with a little balsamic on top. I had no idea what I had ordered and when I was presented with the plate in front of me, I was willing to try it. I have never had anything so different but good in my entire life. It was savory but the strawberries counteracted the flavor and neither flavor overpowered on another. It was absolutely delicious. Please enjoy the following pictures!