Bene, we are here in one piece, with all pieces accounted for! The trip over went smoothly and according to plan, with a flawed plan I’ll admit. The biggest flaw was the 6 hour layover in Gatwick which was a bit much. We came over via Air Transat, and then popped on to an Easyjet flight to Pisa, after the aforementioned 6 hours. There were no bike or overweight hassles at all, so planning and being at the airport early to avoid the rush does pay off.
We checked into the Hotel La Torre with our limited italian at about 4pm and promptly had a nap. After that a walk was in order to get some fresh air circulating in the system along with some pizza and vino rosso a little later.
Pisa, at least the old town, is not very large so off we went in the direction of la torre pendente of course. By now all the stabilizing and revitalization that had gone on for years is fully complete so the tower is resplendent! I know it’s a huge tourist icon and a bit kitschy in some ways but honestly it is just a gorgeous building now and truly a wonder even if it stood straight. I do love to watch all the phototakers taking variations of the same ‘holding up the tower’ shot which I took years ago with our girls’ help, too. Tired now, Tara is already asleep. Wish us luck in getting through the jet lag quickly.
Our Air Transat AS330, with new leather seats and the best inflight entertainment system, and cabin crew. Good airline.
Waiting at the Pisa aeroporto stop for the 5 minute train ride into Pisa Centrale, in turn a 5 minute walk to our hotel.
A big queue at this gelato shop, obviously a clue for where we will go tomorrow.
If you look up at the tower like this when the clouds are streaming past quickly from behind you swear the tower is topplng onto you. Or, it could be the jetlag.
More bloody tourists!
geeteetravels 