We thought that yesterday was hot. Well, our trip to Pisa on Sunday proved to be been hotter. The weather although fine and clear was extremely hot.
We left early our apartment early in the morning to organise our tickets for the trip to Florence and fortunately we drove down as we learned the best place to park in Lucca. At the Stazzione Kerry and Veronica entered into world negotiations with the ticket seller over two return tickets to Florence. Everything including sign language was employed. I kept well out of it by parking the car in a legal parking spot and photographing the station, the park in front of the station and the bees busy at work in the Magnolia Trees.
We were expecting a crowd in Pisa even though it was a Sunday. We were not disappointed.
We decided to use the village roads to Pisa and avoided toll roads. This meant we drove through the villages between Lucca and Pisa which included travelling through a tunnel and once we exited the hillside we had a complete view of the plane on which Pisa stands. Even its famous tower was clear on the skyline. Tommy even had the co-ordinated for the leaning tower so it directed us to the very gate in the walls of the city and to a kind African peddler who pointed out a free car park and held it for us (for a few shekels of course).
In less than 5 minutes we had walked to the monument and horsed around with the cliché tourist snaps.
It was about 11.00 am by then and Veronica found out that Mass was being held in the cathedral, so she and David went in the adherents’ door whilst the non-believers were directed to the other door. A big sign greets you “Silence whilst in the cathedral and no photography”. That is water off a duck’s back to the gaggle of tourists, many Italian, tramping through door. Cameras and IPhones were clicking and a cacophony of voices rumbled as the Priest went through the Mass. So against my better judgment I clipped off a few shots of this magnificent monument.
Beside the cathedral is the Baptistery, equally as grand and 5€ to enter so you only get shots of the outside. Similarly with the Campanile we were not spending money to enter as we had hopes of catching the hop on hop off bus. These buildings are surrounded by the ancient city walls and where there once stood other buildings of the town now is only grass and the best lawn mower I have seen – air-conditioned cab and vacuum collection of the cut grass.
Once Mass had finished and we had refilled our water bottles at the communal fountain (frequently found in towns and villages of southern France and northern Italy), we head back to a restaurant with a special for lunch. The girls were using Veronica’s fold up umbrellas as well as hats it was so hot. We had turned down an African peddler this morning selling fold up umbrellas but now seeing the value we traded with one of them beating him down to 6€ for two umbrellas. Lunch was filling and cheap after which we made our way through the African peddlers back to the tourist information centre. One peddler was doing the silent act and we have no idea how he could do it in the heat. Kerry thought he deserved something for his effort and was rewarded with a photo opportunity.
We walked across the plaza of the leaning tower to catch the bus outside the opposite gate. It was extremely hot standing waiting for the bus and when it did arrive it was very uncomfortable on the top in the sun so the tour was a bit Ho hum for me but here are some pictures.
After completing the bus ride (the bus seemed to develop a fault so we got off too hot to go on) we split up as Veronica had found some shops. Kerry and I took a slow walk back to the car via the tourist information centre where we cooled off in the air-conditioning. There was a display of scooters in relation to an old Cary Grant movie (cannot recall which one) and so Mrs Young had to pose for the camera.
A very hot Veronica and David returned to the car shortly after we arrived. With all windows wound down we drove home via the Carrefour Shopping Centre for some groceries and a cold drink. We sat in that shop for some time with the car underneath to cool it down. Cold showers all round once we got home.
glendon1954 