On the day after being sick, it is probably not the best idea in the world to walk up 498 stairs in the Asinelli tower. I couldn't do it. But I had to do it. The stairs are narrow and all the people behind me kept me from going backwards. I started sweating, and I got really worried somewhere around 55 stairs. Then, Hah Lay Lew Yuh, a landing!
I waved my classmates on. "Go on without me! Save yourselves!" And I took out my camera. This way, all the people passing me would think I was stopping for some amazing photographic opportunity, not because I was sick 24 hours prior and made a bad decision.
Photo Notes:
The Asinelli tower is not the one with the lean, but the straight one.
The outside view of the base of leaning tower is interesting.
There are holes in the floors of the landings, giving a view straight down.
The various windows on the way up are often littered with coins that people have tossed over.
The otherwise empty landings give us an expanse of worn wood and one solitary chest - lock broken and empty.
On the balcony, the cold air is brisk as it whips around the corner. I made it!
On the way back down, the entrance to the stairs is almost vertical - more like a ladder - and veritably unrecognizable as stairs.