Pisa- It must be Saturday
We left Cinq Terre by train around 11:30 this morning, connecting through La Spezia and arriving in Pisa around 1:45. While the original plan was to get off the train at the main station, we were actually able to get off one stop before, reducing the walking distance to our hotel by half. For some reason that option wasn't available when we booked but it made a lot more sense. Only 2 other couples got off when we did, so I am guessing the rest of the tourists visiting for the day just didn't realize the difference.
The famous tower came into view a good half a km or more before we reached the Field of Miracles. Several dozen African vendors lined both sides of the street selling all kinds of "stuff" including umbrellas, toys and souvenirs to anyone who got within 5 feet of them. Passing through the stone wall surrounding the historic district we were stunned to see a couple of thousand tourists. Most seemed to have one purpose in mind- the inevitable "I'm holding up the tower" selfie.
After snapping a few quick photos of the Tower, the Duomo and other buildings we had no trouble finding our hotel. The Helvetia Pisa Tower was located on a side street barely 200 metres from the tower. Thankfully the room they assigned us was on the first of 5 floors so that was a blessing after our experience in Riomaggiore. The room had, as requested, a private bathroom but little else- no fridge or coffee maker, not even a couple of drinking glasses. So I guess this is more of a hostel than a hotel but at 125 euro for 2 nights it is the cheapest stop of the trip.
After a quick shower Susanna "crashed" for an hour or so while I went out to explore. After wandering the exterior of the main buildings I managed to locate a Coop grocery store about a km away where I purchased apples, grapes, bananas, pears, juice and a tube of Pringles.
Returning to the room we feasted on our first decent supply of fruit in several days before setting out to explore the domed Baptistery and the Camposanto Cemetery. That leaves us the Duomo (Cathedral) and the adjacent Museum of the Sinopias to explore tomorrow. We decided not to bother with the Tower climb as the 280 +/- steps to the top is probably a little too much for me to handle physically at this point.
While the tower is the main focus of most people's visit to Pisa there is a lot more to the town than a cock eyed tower.
A quick walk around town this evening after dinner showed that the town has a lot more to offer than this single tourist trap. Various squares, plazas, museums and statues are generally ignored by most day trippers but it is our plan to cover at least some of them tomorrow morning.
A last look at the Field of Miracles at night was quite different to the way it appears in daylight. Lit by a few spotlights the Tower and Duomo had an almost artificial appearance and of course the number of tourists could be counted in dozens as most people make this a day trip rather than an overnight stop.
My plan is to get up very early tomorrow to take photos of what I hope will be an almost deserted tourist sight. Rain is forecast again for Sunday morning so plans will depend on just how wet it is.
The famous tower came into view a good half a km or more before we reached the Field of Miracles. Several dozen African vendors lined both sides of the street selling all kinds of "stuff" including umbrellas, toys and souvenirs to anyone who got within 5 feet of them. Passing through the stone wall surrounding the historic district we were stunned to see a couple of thousand tourists. Most seemed to have one purpose in mind- the inevitable "I'm holding up the tower" selfie.
After snapping a few quick photos of the Tower, the Duomo and other buildings we had no trouble finding our hotel. The Helvetia Pisa Tower was located on a side street barely 200 metres from the tower. Thankfully the room they assigned us was on the first of 5 floors so that was a blessing after our experience in Riomaggiore. The room had, as requested, a private bathroom but little else- no fridge or coffee maker, not even a couple of drinking glasses. So I guess this is more of a hostel than a hotel but at 125 euro for 2 nights it is the cheapest stop of the trip.
After a quick shower Susanna "crashed" for an hour or so while I went out to explore. After wandering the exterior of the main buildings I managed to locate a Coop grocery store about a km away where I purchased apples, grapes, bananas, pears, juice and a tube of Pringles.
Returning to the room we feasted on our first decent supply of fruit in several days before setting out to explore the domed Baptistery and the Camposanto Cemetery. That leaves us the Duomo (Cathedral) and the adjacent Museum of the Sinopias to explore tomorrow. We decided not to bother with the Tower climb as the 280 +/- steps to the top is probably a little too much for me to handle physically at this point.
While the tower is the main focus of most people's visit to Pisa there is a lot more to the town than a cock eyed tower.
A quick walk around town this evening after dinner showed that the town has a lot more to offer than this single tourist trap. Various squares, plazas, museums and statues are generally ignored by most day trippers but it is our plan to cover at least some of them tomorrow morning.
A last look at the Field of Miracles at night was quite different to the way it appears in daylight. Lit by a few spotlights the Tower and Duomo had an almost artificial appearance and of course the number of tourists could be counted in dozens as most people make this a day trip rather than an overnight stop.
My plan is to get up very early tomorrow to take photos of what I hope will be an almost deserted tourist sight. Rain is forecast again for Sunday morning so plans will depend on just how wet it is.
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