We had a fantastic evening in Pisa last night.  The town was celebrating it’s patron Saint Ranieri.   They do it with a spectacular festival of light.  Hundreds of thousands of candles line the facades of the buildings along the Arno river and everywhere you look, people are celebrating.  Food, music and street performers are present in nearly every piazza.  As we walked  the mile or so through the streets of Pisa from the Tower to the river, it was a new, and spectacular scene around every corner.

We arrived about 7:30 pm and made our way to the “Field of Miracles” piazza where we had a nice dinner under the Leaning Tower.  We were told that the Tower would be lit, but as nine o’clock approached, nothing.  I asked one of the policeman but, in typical Italian fashion, he just shrugged and said “who knows”.  Jean insisted that we wait it out at least until 9:30 so we found a spot and ordered a cup of a café Americano.  Just as we were about to leave, at 9:35pm, VOILA!  We have lights!!!!  I’ll have to say, it was worth the wait.

We made our way from the Tower, through the crowded streets and partying students, soaking in the excitement and ambience as we went.  We began to wonder if we would ever reach the place we were to be picked up at 11:00pm.  By this time, every space, large enough to hold a body was filled with an Italian, eager to see the fireworks over the river.  We struggled, and moved with the sea of people until we reached the bridge where we were promised rescue by the bus that had dropped us off four hours earlier.

The fireworks were to begin at 10:00pm but, in typical fashion, they began at about 11:05pm but, it was worth the wait.  Our driver said, “No Problem.  Enjoy the fireworks, we’ll go when everyone is ready.”  It truly was a spectacular show.  I tried to capture some of it but, it’s really not possible to get the feeling of the excitement.

In summary, it was an experience of a lifetime and we will try to burn it into our memories.