Sat 31st March: to Pisa

Levanto to Pisa is 60 miles, and the campsite 5 miles to the south of the city, set in a nature reserve, with a small fishing lake. Very peaceful, even though less than 3 miles from the end of Pisa airport runway. Just remove the jack-hammer ear defenders before you go to bed. It’s here we are meeting our friends Paul & Trish: we both arrive just after lunch within an hour of each other.
Here’s a view of the site, with us in the centre behind the silver car and Paul & Trish on the right in the motor home.

All visits to Pisa must contain a picture of the Leaning Tower, so let’s get that done right now, with a dramatic story to tell. It’s been standing since 1173, leaning more and more over the years, until before our very eyes it started to topple. By a stroke of great fortune, Trish was on hand to save it- just in time. This will surely merit a marble statue in the piazza.

The Tower, Cathedral and Baptistry are located together in the grassy Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) with the Camposanto cemetery. The buildings all date from roughly the same period and make a magnificent group. The next snap shows another magnificent group posing in front of the Cathedral and Baptistry. The angle of the photo is a bit odd as the camera was on the grass on timer, so it makes the Baptistry look like a spaceship from which we have just emerged, disorientated but happy E.T.’s.

The rest of Pisa is not to be ignored and there are many fine ancient buildings in the squares and streets.

The remaining fine houses along the banks of the river Arno that flows through Pisa are also worth a photo.

Pisa is of course touristy but the cafes and restaurants were reasonable value for money. We sampled the fare at lunchtime with pizza in the piazza at Pisa.