The Square of Miracles @ The Leaning Tower of Pisa!

My Travel to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is best shared with friends from around the world...who like me love the adventure of being everywhere!

with some Indonesian friends

our bus ride from Lucca to Livorno Italy where Pisa is situated with Roger (Mr. French) & Clara

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most astonishing architectural structures from medieval Europe. 

It is situated in the Italian town of Pisa, one of the important tourist destination in European cities.

 "Lean but Mean" c",)

Tower of Pisa stands at 60 metres and until 1990 was leaning at about a 10 degree angle.

Although it was intended to be perfectly vertical, it started to lean during construction.

Tower of Pisa is more accurately referred to simply as the bell tower, or campanile.

The Pisa tower is one of the four buildings that make up the cathedral complex in Pisa, Italy, called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli, which means Field of Miracles.

The first building constructed at Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa, was the cathedral, or Duomo di Pisa, which rests on a white marble pavement and is an impressive example of Romanesque architecture.

The next building added was the baptistery just west of the dome.Then work on the campanile began. Before the work on the campanile was completed the cemetery, Campo Santo, was built.

Piazza dei Miracoli of Pisa is the most splendiferous assemblage of Romanesque architecture in Italy. Faced in gray-and-white striped marble and bristling with columns and arches, the cathedral, with its curiously Islamic dome and matching domed baptistery, rises from an emerald green lawn.

with Roger our ETO onboard (he's the guy in-charge of our internet and outgoing calls...those magicjack issues) lol ;p

Flanking one side of the piazza, the camposanto, or cemetery, is a gracefully elongated cloister enclosing a burial ground with earth reputedly brought back during the Crusades from Golgotha, the hill where Jesus was crucified, so that noble Pisans could rest in holy ground.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the piazza's crowning glory.

Although only a third as high as the Washington Monument, it was a miracle of medieval engineering, probably the tallest bell towers in Europe.

strike a pose

with our Entertainment Director, Mark Cotter

With 207 columns ranged around eight stories, Tower of Pisa looks like a massive wedding cake knocked precariously askew by a clumsy giant guest.

The construction of Tower of Pisa began in August 1173 and continued for about 200 years due to the onset of a series of wars. Till today, the name of the architect is a mystery

The leaning Tower of Pisa was designed as a circular bell tower that would stand 185 feet high. It is constructed of white marble.

The tower has eight stories, including the chamber for the bells.

The bottom story consists of 15 marble arches. Each of the next six stories contains 30 arches that surround the tower.

The final story is the bell chamber itself, which has 16 arches. There is a 297 step spiral staircase inside the tower leading to the top.

The top of the leaning tower of Pisa is about 17 feet off the vertical.

The tower is also slightly curved from the attempts by various architects to keep it from leaning more or falling over.

Many ideas have been suggested to straighten the Tower of Pisa, including taking it apart stone by stone and rebuilding it at a different location.

In the 1920s the foundations of the tower were injected with cement grouting that has stabilized the tower to some extent.

Until recent years tourists were not allowed to climb the staircase inside the tower, due to consolidation work.

@ the souvenir shop

with some Italian friends

an Italian dog at the park

rivedervi presto l'Italia!

Living in my Dreams at 26

At 26, I pause in life!

I reflect back by asking myself, "What makes Rheena happy?" There can be millions of answer but it only boils down to this: CHALLENGES! Nothing beats the experience of aspiring for something, struggling and achieving those goals. Let's get real, life will always give us something to think about and something to work on and such remains to be the cycle of existence.

Even Maslow's hierarchy of needs shows us humans innate hunger for curiosity to become everything that one is capable of becoming. To achieve our so-called 'Self-Fulfillment'.

Who would ever thought that one day I will thank all the obstacles that came my way that taught me to overcome fear, worry, anger & doubt. There was the challenge of surviving the auditions to be 1 of the 8 TV Sportscasters out of 500 applicants in-front of well-known producers and directors. The challenge of everyday critics that follows you. The challenge of finishing my internship in college while keeping the part time job that I want. The challenge of conquering jumping on a 15-ft high, 20-ft deep water. The trauma in visa application to be able to complete all travel documents. The challenge of being away from your family for 10 long months & mingling with people from around the world. The never ending challenge that makes us human. Nevertheless, I thank God for for the gift of having a superb family & great education that was my armor as I battle my way to the top.

Then comes the sweet victories in life that includes achieving my dream job of becoming a TV Sportscaster, being able to travel around the world and participating in the World's greatest events, being able to experience God's most beautiful creations such as , being able to meet friends from every corner of the world, and being able to aspire more knowledge and discoveries in life.








At 26, I thank all those opportunities that God have blessed me with, I thank the people who were great inspirations and source of wisdom to me and I thank myself for having the courage to take the road less traveled.

At 26, I wanted to travel more, work more, love more and CHALLENGE MYSELF more. The bucket list to live the rest of my life the best of my life still continues in the years to come. Life is happiest when I live it with limitless possibilities achieving my ardent desire of self-fulfillment. Life indeed is a race to excellence and success that certainly has no finish line!