Pisa 2026 - Day 2

Monday, June 29, 2026 – Day 2

As expected, poor sleep; it is so hot and stuffy all over the apartment. So, up at 6 and open the windows.

The wildlife is still or already active: the cicadas are screaming, a rooster is crowing, a dog is barking in the distance, and the ants are not just walking along their main highways. They may have also been the biting pests on my feet last night. Lisa is already awake too.

The town in the plain below us seems to still be sleeping, yet a train whistles in the distance. It is very hazy, and yet a gentle breeze is blowing.

And at 06:16, the first plane from Ryanair/Malta Air takes off with a Boeing 737 to Catania (Sicily). And 4 minutes later, another Boeing 737 from Ryanair heads to Rhodes. They all depart southward over Livorno and are therefore only visible on Flight Radar, not really audible. The same combination of airline and aircraft type departs 2 minutes later for Alghero (Sardinia) and again 4 minutes after that for Cork (Ireland). In between, a plane from Zadar is allowed to land, but that’s it; calm returns.

Slowly, it clears up; can one see the sea and islands in the distance? Perhaps Elba or Corsica? No, that’s all too close; it must be the forest of the national park and certainly the harbor of Livorno.

My stomach is growling, so off to the bar in the next town, in Orzignano. Cappuccino and cornetto and matcha for her. And off we go into the Italian Monday morning traffic straight into the city of Pisa to the parking garage at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and for a hearty brunch at the thankfully air-conditioned Metodo.

This oppressive humidity and burning sunshine will accompany us throughout the day - unfortunately. We stroll through the alleys and along the Arno, and climb the old city wall at the wooden tower (Pisa Walls) and walk about 3 km counterclockwise to the Piazza dei Miracoli with a wonderful view of our goal, the Leaning Tower.

In between, however, we need to come down from the wall and into a supermarket (Conad) to get some water and cool off. It will soon become clear that practically every supermarket here is a Conad (Florence and Siena are more COOP territory). The walk on the city wall is beautiful and absolutely recommended, but not in these tropical conditions.

At the Square of Miracles (or shall we say: the Square of 100,000 sweaty bodies), we start the usual procedure for the 55 m high but leaning tower: posing for a photo like in 2014, collecting the pre-reserved ticket, hiding Lisa's rather small shoulder bag in a giant locker, and cursing the metal scanner at the entrance to the tower.

Now I am panting for the 3rd time in my life up here with 100 sweaty tourists – that’s enough. Afterwards, we meander through the Cimitero, Battistero, and Duomo and hurry through the old town to the car before the impending thunderstorm.

Swiftly and nimbly through the evening traffic (how wonderful is Italian traffic, everyone looks out for each other, I love it!) and along the Acquedotto Medico (the former water supply from the mountains to Pisa) with a slight detour to Conad on the way home.

The storm has cleared, the steaming heat remains – so to the pool. Lisa is absorbed in her books until dinner: Prosciutto, melon, nectarines, figs, parmesan. Bedtime at 10.

Until around 11:30, because then there is a storm and thunder all around the house until the power goes out. Well, until 1, when the light in the living room is on again, and the weather calms down slowly. Thus, very good sleep until almost 9.