Not since leaving Rome have we been in such a crowded touristy spot as Pisa. We started our visit to Pisa (Sept. 23) in the rain and fog. It was another interesting drive down our mountainside as we went in and out of the fog. Once we were in the valley, the light rain was our only obstacle (and it wasn’t bad at all). We arrived in Pisa a little after 10 am and even though it was raining, the place was full of folks looking around and taking their iconic perspective photos holding up or pushing over the leaning tower of Pisa.
We walked quickly through the Piazza dei Miracoli (Cathedral Square) and decided to have a coffee while we waited for the rain to let up a bit. We easily found a table inside one of the cafés and relaxed for about 45 minutes. The rain let up and we headed out to do a bit of shopping and then look around the Catheral Square. We had wanted to go into the Pisa Cathedral but you must obtain a time specific ticket (it’s free) to be admitted and the earliest time available was 2:45pm. We didn’t want to hang around that long. We had read that the only really interesting part of Pisa was the square so we didn’t stay very long.
We left Pisa a little after 1pm and drove about 30 minutes to the seaside town of Viareggio. This town is known for its beaches, marinas and a nice promenade. We spent a bit of time looking around the marina area and then went in search of some gelato. That proved to be our biggest challenge of the day but we were successful in finding a nice shop on the promenade! We got back to Benabbio around 4:30pm and ordered pizza from our favourite restaurant in town! Another excellent exploring day!
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 