SUN - Today we checked out of Empire Palace Hotel
(Ethan would miss the moon in the ceiling ... and Sonya lost her Miss Sun), departed Rome 
and went north-bound to Pisa. The objective was to visit the second 7 Wonders of the World (Medieval World) - Leaning Tower Of Pisa - before driving further north so that we would be closer to Monte Bianco, the tallest mountain in Europe.We journeyed to Pisa via Autostrada A1 and on E35. The ride was easy and smooth ... praise the Lord! We arrived at Pisa at about 3.30pm, slightly more than 3 hours from Rome with a short break for toilet at AutoGrill (that's where we bought the Chianti Classico Reserved at €5 and a set of 3 Montepulciano vino rosso for €9.90 ... very good wine) and take away lunch (we had panini and pizza as I drove).
We tried to park along the lane as close to the Tower as possible to save time (I gave €2 to a man who tried to guide and direct me into a parking lot).
Like the other Duomo we have seen, there was a cathedral, a baptistry and a tower. The cathedral and the baptistry were larger than the ones we have seen so far, and it had a beautiful cupola (dome), 
except that the tower was tilting. 
In fact, it seemed more tilted than the last time Michele and I saw it in 1993.
Restoration works just completed last year in 2010. But we did not pay the €15 to climb the tower.
We took several pictures before heading northwards.
After driving another 150km via the coast, we arrived at the seaport city of Genoa, also the birth place of Christopher Columbus - the famous adventurer and sailor of that time who discovered America.
At Genoa (being a seaport), we had some local seafood like spaghetti all' astice (lobster) dell' acquario,
fritto misto (mixed fried seafood), 
spaghetti vongole, 
carbonara, 
al ragu, 
and of course, Ethan had his favourite pizza topped with an egg, 
before checking in to Starhotels President for the night. Our rooms were on the highest floor on the 12th floor - the highest we'd stayed in this trip.
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