Tuscany

26 May – We headed south back on the motorway to La Spezia and then followed the coastal road to Viareggio, our next camp. On the way we had a huge shop up at a Carrefour. Thought we had left this supermarket chain when we left France. After lunch we walked 800 (longish) meters to a great beach and had a couple of swims in beautiful clear warm water. I have to say the Italians are messy buggers however. It was a shame to see such a nice beach so badly littered. In the cool of the evening we cycled to the railway station to research our journey to Pisa. On the way back to camp we passed ship yards and marinas set up for the gigantic yachts and cruisers that use this part of the Med.

27 May – Back on our bikes and off to the railway station where we booked return tickets to Pisa. (4.50 euro each) We found the tourist office and with a map, walked the length of the old town into the “Field of Miracles” where the leaning tower is. A great description! The bell tower (leaning) and the cathedral and baptistery sparkle in white marble set off against the green of the lawns. People everywhere of course. The tower dominates the area not for its size but for its impossible lean. If you dropped a stone from the top it would land 4.1m out from the base! It is about 7 stories high so that gives you some sense of the degree of lean. It is impossible to capture this in photos. After booking a walk up the tower (restricted to 30 leaving every 20 minutes) we filled our 1.5 hour wait with a walk around the area, beautiful buildings, but that bloody tower draws your eye back all the time. We had bruschetta at a little restaurant with a view and then joined our party for the 300 odd steps up the tower. Climbing the spiral stairs is a very strange sensation as during every rotation the angles are constantly changing. One minute you are brushing the inside wall and next the outside wall. It is like climbing up a corkscrew that is tilted over at a more than 5 degrees. It was built around 1170 and it is amazing it has not fallen over. Thank god it lasted thru 27/05/2011! It started to rain when we returned to camp.

28 May – We went back to the beach in the morning but last nights rain and an on shore wind meant that the waves were up and the beach was closed. Still many people enjoying the sun however. After lunch we left the coast and drove inland to Florence. We are in an “aires” style camp in the centre of this great city. We had no idea where the sights were so we started to walk in the general direction and eventually caught the local bus. We went to the tourist office and as we were leaving a lady gave us a couple of tickets to the ‘Hop on Hop off’ sightseeing bus. (She had finished with them) As usual this a great way of quickly seeing all the sites. We hopped off at Plaza de Michael Angelo and had a great view over the city. All the big names have lived here; Michael Angelo, Galileo, even Tchaikovsky holidayed here. We walked thru the old town which was very busy. The cathedral is particularly spectacular made from green and white marble. After some enquiries we found the bus back to our camp.

29 May – We drove to south to Siena and then had a frustrating 1 ½ hours finding a park and walking to the old town. We found our original planned park easily but then could not work out where the town centre was. We talked to a nice British couple and they followed us in their camper to a closer park which we never found. Back almost to our original park and a frustrating time navigating on foot to the old town which we eventually stumbled across. What a sight! Some beautiful piazzas and stunning marble churches connected by lovely narrow alleyways. Back to the camper (the long hot walk) and off to Montepulciano thru some great Tuscan countryside. We came here because Denise Gullery had mention she has holidayed here with her British family. The town is set on a hill, with great view in every direction. We stayed in an “aires” at the bottom of the town overlooking the vineyards and olive groves.

30 May – We walked up into the town and spent 2 hours wandering the streets and exploring the squares and beautiful churches. There are lots of artists and great little shops everywhere. Around every corner was another view of the country or sunny little piazzas. The drive to Lake Trasimeno was thru picture postcard Tuscan vineyards, olive groves and villages. The camp we are staying at is right on the lake and we enjoyed a swim in the warm water.

31 May – Spent the morning having a good cleaning session. Val did a big wash. After lunch we cycled to the local Tuscan village, Castiglione, set on a hill with the usual beautiful church and square. It was a small version of Montepulciano with lovely views of the lake. Back to camp for a couple of swims in the lake.