Tuscany 2014 - Day 4

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Everyone is up by 8 and after a good breakfast we drive to Pisa with double navigation (analog and digital). We find a parking space and head through the old city walls into the city center. After taking a wrong turn we suddenly find ourselves in front of the bridge over the Arno. Lisa has to spit in it straight away...

Through the deserted back streets we finally reach the Square of Miracles (Piazza dei miraculi) and find ourselves standing in front of the straight tower of Pisa. Once around the tower 90°, there are lots of people standing around stupidly with their arms outstretched and the tower is really leaning. The leaning tower of Pisa, the Torre pendente, actually the campanile or as it is called in English: Leaning tower.

After the obligatory tower photos, we buy tickets for the tower tour and drink the best coffee we've had in a long time a little way off the square. And Lisa gets her ice cream in Pisa. Afterwards, we visit the Battistero, the Duomo Santa Maria Assunta and wait patiently for our tower climb at 2:15 p.m.

The explanations inside the tower are brief and then the climb begins, over steps hanging in all different directions, sometimes steeply curved, sometimes hanging outwards, sometimes steep, sometimes almost falling. At the top of the last arcade, go all the way around and then up a very narrow spiral staircase to the last platform where the bells hang. Thank goodness there are solid railings and grilles installed, because it is quite slanted here. And wonderfully beautiful.

The souvenir stands naturally provide a boost to the economy and on the way to the car we stop at a gelateria. A lovely and successful trip to Pisa is complete.

That was around 13,000 steps in Pisa, so everyone is tired. But that doesn't stop the kids from going to the pool. We stay seated and have beer, Pinot Grigio and vino rosso. Then we have fantastic pasta with vegetables from the master chef and stay squatting until about 1.