Today was yet another epic journey through Tuscany to two very different towns. Pisa, a touristy and otherwise very urbanized town, followed by Lucca, a hip town that maintains its laid back medieval feel with the help of the colossal walls that still stand around the city.
We began the day by taking the 1 hour train ride from Firenze to Pisa. The train actually drops you off about 2 miles from where everything is in Pisa... but we enjoyed our walk through the streets, especially marveling at another Arno River crossing.
After crossing the Arno, we continued our journey through the streets of Pisa. On this day, I looked even more like a tourist than normal, thanks to my handy blue backpack I brought along. Though it's meant for long trips with lots of luggage, I used it today to tout our lunches and extra jackets around. Amazingly, the backpack doesn't weigh me down thanks to its sleek design. Or maybe because I possess superhuman strength. But, given the amount of gelatto I've been eating on this trip, I'd say it's probably the former.
When we arrived in Pisa (where there is a large, somewhat tilted white tower in case you didn't know), we saw many tourists waving their arms frantically in the air. I was perplexed by this at first, and began to ask around about this mythical tower dance. See the below:
Meagan here thought these people were flirting with the tower... And this woman was waving at the tower like she was riding in a parade:
However, it took my ingenuity to realize that we were actually in grave danger. The tower was about to come to life and force us to buy cheap souvenirs such as Pisa boxershorts and tower shot glasses! So quickly, I did what any self-respecting man would do... and I pummeled that tower in to the ground!
After taking several touristy photos, we promenaded around the park that the cathedral, baptistry, and leaning tower are located in. Overall, Pisa is strikingly beautiful. Yes, there are kitchy souvenirs and tourists everywhere, but it is certainly a must see for anyone in this part of Italy. Here's a picture of our group of sojourners from today in front of Pisa:
After Pisa, we boarded the train once again for a strikingly beautiful ride through the Tuscan countryside, a place I can never grow weary of. Past snow-capped peaks, symmetric olive groves, and gaudy hilltop villas, the train chugged along until we reached Lucca. Lucca is a medieval town that has never abandoned its large city walls from the 12th century. Rather, it has embraced them as central to its town identity- and put a large park and path all along the top. This wall is so enormous that you can bike all the way around it, while admiring the gothic churches and distant mountains. Another perk, it's only 2 euros to rent a bike for an hour!
After we returned our bikes, we picked up some gelatto for the road. Mine was "chocolate mousse" flavored, though flavoring was an inaccurate term. This must have actually been chocolate mousse. The creamy, rich, milky sensation of that gelatto after such a relaxing ride on una bicicletta made for a great ending to the day.
But there's more! On our way back, we expected to be going all the way back to Santa Maria Novella, the Florence train station. Instead, the train pulled in to the Sesto train station, just a few blocks from where we live. So we made it back to the Villa, even in time for dinner... which was a delicious blend of eggplant, pesto noodles, fresh bread, and shrimp rissoto tonight, in case you were wondering!
Off to bed... More adventures await tomorrow in the medieval town of San (can't spell this yet...) Giononmo?
Arrivederci!
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