Pisa

Monday 23rd April

The morning began well with us up and off to cycle to the station for the 11.07 train to Pisa.  But things at the station were no more lively than yesterday.  With no way to buy tickets (and the threat of 50€ on-the-spot fine for not having them), we had no option but to abandon Plan A. So it was back to the campsite to have lunch and plan a bike ride for the afternoon.  We were just about to leave, when a couple from the Wirral we had met and chatted to at Deiva Marina appeared!  They apologised for 'stalking' us(!) and then we set off exploring the area some more.

We ended up cycling 12k by finding a track that ran behind the sandunes along the coast through the "Parco Naturale Migliarino S. Rossore e Massaciuccoli",

Found a geocache in this bush!

stopping for a while to trudge over the hot sand for a paddle
 
 
and continuing on into the busy streets of Viareggio and following the GPS to Lidl!  So far in Italy this time we've only found very small shops, so it was fun having a bit more choice.  Then with a stuffed rucksack and loaded bikes, we pedalled back to Torre del Lago via a long straight, tree-lined road through the forest.

We spent a very enjoyable evening chatting with Marilyn and Alan ...

Tuesday 24th April

... with a plan to meet again tomorrow afternoon when they catch us up at our next campsite.  Plan B for getting into Pisa was to travel this morning to another site just south of the city, where we could get a bus in.  Camping Lago Le Tamerici is very different from others so far - very open, grassy and we have a pitch beside the lake.  A downside is that it is on the flightpath into Pisa Airport!  But the new plan worked a treat - our friendly receptionist arranged for the minibus to take us at 1.30 to the bus stop where we could catch the No.8 bus for a bumpy ride into the centre of Pisa.
 

 
 
The afternoon was plenty of time on our feet to see the town and in particular, the Piazza dei Miracoli.  The buildings are just amazing and it was really good to join the crowds in photographing the Torre Pendente.

 

 The only building that was free to enter was the Duomo but you still needed to get a timed ticket.  So we had an hour's rest at a pavement restaurant, where I had Spagetti Pesto but John just had to have a pizza in Pisa(!)
 
before we could go and admire the huge cathedral. 

View from our pitch as the sun went down this evening