"Rog'" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ...

    > CG, I'm not sure if you are disputing the assertion or not. But I will
    > say that, IMO, some usenet posters are too eager to police others in
    > the misuse of grammar, spelling and terminology, when undoubtedly,
    > the poster whom they criticize did not submit their post to an editor
    > for prepublication proofing, nor intend to so offend the reader. =R=

I wasn't disputing the assertion, because it is their opinion, and there is
little value in arguing with people over whether what they like is proper,
or not.

My response was not meant to address grammar, spelling, or terminology
issues. I was trying to make the point that there is little value in making
claims about the relative beauty of one location, or object, as
"definitive", because others will have wildly varying views.

I'm all for the offering of opinions and allowing others to decide based on
them, but if you offer opinions claiming that they are immune to
disagreement, you are losing some credibility.

It was nice of you to at least leave in Jim's name. However, if you are
going to remove my entire comment then please remove my name as well.

Linda and Ron Audet wrote:

    > "Frank F. Matthews" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:o%[email protected]...
    >
    >>Jim Ley wrote:
    >>>On 14 Apr 2005 07:36:07 -0700, "Wierd Travelers" <[email protected]>
    >>>wrote:
    >>>>Have to agree that Pisa, skip it. It is probably the biggest tourist
    >>>>trap in Italy if not Europe.
    >
    >
    > It is interesting for us to see the large number of posters who agree with
    > the assessment. For us, Pisa is really one of our favorite cities in Italy.
    >
    > It is certainly true that the Piazza dei Miracoli, where the Tower,
    > Cathedral, Baptistery, and Camposanto are located, is generally crowded and
    > busy. Nevertheless, these monuments are among the greatest the country has
    > to offer (and that is saying quite a lot, since Italy undoubtedly has the
    > greatest concentration of architectural wonders in Europe). What we really
    > love, though, is the part of Pisa some distance from the Tower. There is a
    > wonderful medieval quarter with narrow, winding streets, old churches,
    > colorful houses, several additional leaning towers, etc. Elsewhere in town,
    > Santa Maria della Spina is a wonderful chapel, the Piazza dei Cavalieri has
    > beautiful architecture, and the Lungarno is of special significance to
    > anyone with a real interest in British literature, since so many of the
    > great Romantic and Victorian writers lived in the palazzi along the river.
    > There is also a surprisingly large and pleasant modern shopping area with a
    > pedestrian mall that extends for several blocks. Restaurants away from the
    > tourist area are excellent and quite inexpensive. Add one of Europe's great
    > universities (Galileo taught here), several lovely parks, quiet old
    > residential districts, and much more.
    >
    > I really think that few tourists venture much beyond the Tower and
    > Cathedral, and thus they miss the real essence of the city. Next time we go,
    > we are planning to stay at least a week, though of course we will take day
    > trips to other nearby towns.
    >
    > Maybe our tastes are not typical, but we do truly love Pisa!
    >
    > Linda and Ron Audet
    > Fredericksburg, VA
    >
    >

B Vaughan wrote:

    > On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 03:21:56 GMT, "Frank F. Matthews"
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>Jim Ley wrote:
    >>>On 14 Apr 2005 07:36:07 -0700, "Wierd Travelers" <[email protected]>
    >>>wrote:
    >>>>Have to agree that Pisa, skip it. It is probably the biggest tourist
    >>>>trap in Italy if not Europe.
    >>>>If you are planning to climb the tower expect to pay between 15-20EU
    >>>Tower is 15 EUR - as of this morning when I was there, but didn't go
    >>>up.
    >>>I cycled to San Gimigianio - from Certaldo yesterday, I was pretty
    >>>unimpressed with the place, and it was extremely busy even in April, I
    >>>couldn't think of how I'd cope with it more in season.
    >>It was pretty empty last month. The car park was almost empty. There
    >>were bunches of school kids though.
    >
    >
    > That's amazing. When we were there in late April, early May two years
    > ago, all of the car parks in town were full and they were turning
    > people back along the road. We parked on a country road and walked
    > into town.
    >


Perhaps things pick up a lot after easter. I do remember that the
manager of the almost empty villa that we stayed in south of Florence
said that almost right after easter they were pretty well full for this
summer. Five or six weeks can make a difference.