Last Stop: 18 hours in Pisa

The Hotel Minerva was the worst place yet but the a/c worked and I was only staying one night. The carpet was stained and the room was very dark. The mustard hues also contributed to my dislike for the location.



I thought this was an ironic work of art to hang over the bed in a tourist hotel room, let alone cover with a wafer-thin towel.



The view outside the window because, lo and behold, there were wood panels and no curtains to pin money from.



Hmmm... what does one do in Pisa? I only had one thing on my list, thoroughly saturated with artwork by this time. Pisa is on the Arno River and how the buildings are situated around this body of water is very similar to Florence. It's a lot grungier though: more graffiti, dirty streets and so many more people selling their wares. Approaching the Leaning Tower from the East was SPECTACULAR. I didn't have much interest in climbing to the tower top especially after learning it was sold out for the day.



It was incredible how much that tower leaned compounded with my inability to take a truly good photograph of it crooked (I unconsciously straightened it out with each image). Rather than going inside any of the buildings on the Field of Miracles, I spent a great deal of time watching tourists pose in front of the tower.



I sat in between the two buildings below (the Baptistry and the Duomo) for nearly an hour in the shade, over saturated by nearly everything ornate and artistic and touristy.



I didn't buy a plastic Leaning Tower though I had many an opportunity. They were nearly as prevalent as David in Florence. I didn't buy one thing aside from food, lodging, and museum entries the entire trip (I still marvel at that).



After foraging for dinner (difficult to find on an empty stomach on a Sunday night not directly next to the major tourist attraction), I went back to the hotel room to catch up on the New Yorker magazines I finally had time to read. En route to the airport via the train station the next morning:



I learned so much this trip, thoroughly satisfied with accomplishing the feat of going on my own. I didn't know the language and there weren't any mishaps. I also discovered that I'm tired of making artwork focused around a location that I'm visiting for a brief amount of time. It's time to return to introspective Jacinda in terms of making art. This whole trip was a struggle in that regard. As much as I knew I needed to finish Nine Fake Cakes..., I kept thinking about the Marilyn Monroe photographs, the artist stalking images, and what to do with the 3770 cats. I want to incorporate more writing into my work and a couple of series I am going to keep plugging away on will certainly welcome that.