“Is it on?” – Sydnee

“I think so, just go.” – ‘Auliʻi

“Hi everyone! Welcome back to real A.S. can be with your hosts,” -S

“Aulii” – A

“And Sydnee” – S

“So, on today’s episode we wanted to continue talking about our study abroad trip in Italy” – A

“Obviously” – S

“However, today we wanted to focus on one of the day trips that we went on, Pisa. So Syd what did you think of Pisa?” – A

“Well, you know, coming from a place with such prevalent tourism, you can often see the effects that tourism has on a place and its people. Unlike Hawaii though, Pisa is unique in the way that the whole town is constructed to draw toward this iconic monument (the Leaning Tower of Pisa).” – S

“Definitely. And unlike when we saw the Colosseum, you don’t see the Leaning Tower right away. This town was strategically constructed to lead you directly to the tower through a single “straight shot” path. You make your way through the town and are greeted by a variety of shops and restaurants that honestly do seem to be directed toward tourists rather than locals with brands such as Zara, Lush and Victoria’s Secret – you know, the bigger names.” – A

“Exactly! We were giving pretty much entirely free reign to explore Pisa for the day and to just see what this seemingly “one hit wonder” town had to offer. We started our exploration slowly, trying to work our way to the tower while giving this little town its rightful due diligence. However, I personally found this hard when all the shops felt like a sell or a façade and nothing really felt authentically “Pisa”. “ – S

“Same here – as we made our way through Pisa, I found myself searching for the Tower. However, between the tall buildings and tourist stores, you could not see the tower until you were on the road that leads straight to it. This makes the awe of seeing the tower so much more because you are eagerly searching for this wonder, and when you finally lay eyes on it, it makes it more meaningful – or at least for me. It also really puts into perspective the degree of the lean that the Tower is leaning.” – A

“Oh for sure. That thing was definitely a little crooked (?)” – S

*lots of laughter

“Once we finally got to the Tower, it was cool in the sense of, ‘we are seeing something so infamous and also kind of silly’. We of course took our cute and funny pictures, and it was kind of a refreshing moment of “allowed” or expected touristy behavior.” – S

“We indulged in the typical tourist activities such as taking pictures with the Tower and pretending to push it over or stash it in our backpack. After that we hit a stand still wondering “what do we do now”. We had seen this great structure, taken our pictures, then didn’t really know what to do after that.” – A

“I don’t know if awkward is the best word, but there was like this weird moment of “um okay what do we do now?” but we bounced back and went into the Cathedral that is right next to the tower and explored that for a little bit, then headed to lunch.” – S

“Our day fizzled out a bit after that as we were pretty much done exploring Pisa” – A

“You can’t forget the crepes that almost made us miss the train back” – S

“And you fall down” – A

*lots of laughter again

“We stopped to get a sweet treat after lunch and it took way longer than expected, so our last moments in Pisa were us running through the streets with a singular crepe – like for real booking it toward the train station. I also may or may not have tripped and basically face planted on the Pisa pavement… but that’s all alleged.” – S

“We definitely have to watch you closer, and our time, when we want crepes. It was interesting to see how this town can be seen through this singular lens, manifested through the “direct path” to the tower. It just further emphasizes and encourages the stereotype that the tower is the only thing Pisa has to offer. Coming from Hawai’i, this especially resonated with me because we are also seen through this singular lens, being known for only one attraction or attribute when there is much more to offer.” – A

“It was an experience I was glad to have had, but made you feel a little somber and ponder on the such vast effects of tourism, you know.” – S

“While on the topic of tourism’s vast effects – I found this new article about the number of native Hawaiians being displaced from their homes because of the continual rise in the cost of living.” -A

“Oh ya I think I saw that one.” – S

*’Auliʻi and Sydnee continue to ramble on and laugh hysterically for the duration of the episode.