July 23-26
I met a load of people in Italy that said ‘Ah, don’t go to Pisa, it’s just the leaning tower, and there’s nothing else there.’ As Jared will tell you, there’s no surer way to get me to do something than to tell me to not to.
So I went to Pisa to see if they were right. I’ve travelled a fair bit at this point, and never, anywhere I’ve gone, is there nothing to see and nothing to learn.
I guess it comes back to the question of what is the purpose of travel? To tick things off a list, or to experience life differently, to challenge your normal by comparing it to someone else’s? To eat different food, walk different streets, and meet different people who do things slightly differently to you? Travel is so much more than just seeing archaic buildings. Thus, if you think there is ‘nothing there’, maybe there’s more looking and learning to do.
My nanny family and I parted ways, them ‘no longer needing my services’ and ‘changing their travel plans’ but still very much ‘wanted me to come back next summer’ (Hard pass, you can keep your crazy). I had made the decision to leave at midday, and hopped on the bus with my bags packed at 4pm, Pisa bound.
I arrived in Pisa at 8pm, and just missed the bus I needed – I saw it driving away as I was looking for the stop! I waited for the next bus that Google Maps assured me should be arriving in 15 minutes.
It did not.
Nor did the next one.
There was a line of people waiting for taxis, Uber didn’t exist, so after an hour, and still no buses, I tried my luck at the taxi stand.
The taxi driver took me across town, through the suburbs, to my AirBnb. It was a professional affair with several rooms rented out to various different people.
After the adventures of the day, I wasn’t really hungry, so had some snacks, showered and went to bed.
About 2am, the guy in the room next door stumbled in, and immediately fell asleep, snoring his head off, so loud he may as well have been in my room.
After a night of fitful sleep, I eventually dragged myself out of bed, and set out towards the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles, also known as Piazza del Duomo) where the Leaning Tower is situated, nestled at the back of an impressive cathedral complex, complete with a baptistry, cathedral, bell tower (the leaning one), and the cemetery, to cover anything you could possibly need between birth and death from the Catholic church.
The cathedral is fine, and while it might be larger, Sienna’s is prettier. I’m at a point where I feel like my lifetime quota of cathedrals is done.
The square of miracles is impressive, but it was just another tourist destination and full of tourists, and didn’t get the feel of the real Pisa.
There’s a nice vantage point of the Leaning Tower from the Opera Museum at the North side of the square and can get some beaut photos of the whole square.
I spent most of the afternoon sipping cocktails in the square of miracles and hiding in the aircon of the museum in the botanical gardens, but I was certain there must be more to see.
After a bit of a hunt, I found a golf cart tour leaving at 6pm.
It started in the Piazza dei Cavalieri (the square of Knights – even smelled like horses), and proceeded to the house where Galileo Galilei used to live, onto the observatory where Jupiter’s moons were first observed, then past various famous riverside residences along the river such as the Medici palace, and the home of Mary and Byron Shelley.
We saw that the land around Pisa has many leaning building because of the type of soil, and the high water table. I learned about the invasion from Florence, and how Pisa, in the 10th and 11th centuries, used to be a very important city, but has struggled since, being subject to Florence or the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The banks of the river are so beautiful! (They actually look a lot like Dublin.) There’s a festival in Pisa, where everything along the river is lit up with candles, in June each year. And a tug of war competition over the middle bridge each year between teams from the north and south side of the river. The winning team has a great party on their side, and the losing team extinguishes the lights on their side of the river as a mark of defeat.
The tour took me on a whopping 21 stops, and passed murals by Keith Haring, who lived his last years in that city, to the end of the city walls and a beautiful garden that hosts outdoor cinema events, passed the Palazzo Blu, and a beautiful gothic chapel that’s now an art gallery.
The golf cart tour in Pisa was infinitely better than the walking tour of the square of miracles. The walking tour was interesting enough, but stayed within the square, and dropped us off in front of the line for the Leaning tower. I expected… more?
you can definitely feel the lean.
The golf cart tour finished by dropping me back in the square of miracles, where I’d already spent half of the day. If I was going to do it again, I’d do that tour earlier in the day, as we got caught in quite a bit of traffic, as we started at 6pm.
My favourite moment in the square of miracles was as I walked towards the city walls, I saw the sun sinking behind beautiful old buildings, thousands of tourists, but locals hanging out on the grass, and kids prancing and shrieking in the sprinklers. I don’t think the photo I got adequately did it justice, but it was such a delightful slice of life.
Although a lot of the city walls were destroyed in WW2, there’s 4km still intact. They close at 8pm, and I arrived at 7:15pm, after admiring the golden light on the baptistry, and the children playing in the sprinklers.
There are four entrances to the walls, at various points along the way. There’s one on the square of miracles, then the next one is 1.6km along.
The walk along the city walls was a fun gimmick, and good to get the steps in, but the views much the same as what I’d already seen but from a different angle. There’s not too much to recommend them – except the lilypad pond at the third entrance.
After a misadventure that involved confidently getting a bus in the wrong direction, I headed back into town. I spied a bar along the river, lit with fairy lights and sporting deck chairs and swings, and I knew that this would be where I’d be watching the sunset from.
Arming myself with a Garden Mule, and a Pornstar martini, I nestled in to my scenic evening vista.
There was a restaurant area, but I decided I wasn’t hungry enough to eat at that moment, and I’m trying to get better at honouring the not hungry impulse rather than just eating because it’s dinner time.
I meandered the short walk back to my (new inner city) Airbnb, and stumbled upon a simple trattoria just around the corner. Chianti Classico is amazing wine, so so so bloody good, and the tagliatelle with Tuscan sausage and juniper berries was quite the flavour sensation. Finished off with tiramisu – because when on holiday, why not – and reluctantly headed back to my sauna-like accommodation.
I sweated the night away in fitful sleep, and doused myself with a cold shower in the morning. The apartment seemed to be about 10 degrees more than whatever the outdoor temperature was (35-37), and I was adamant there was a hidden heater somewhere in my mattress. Note to self – always get accommodation with aircon.
I was greeted with a cappuccino and some amazing chocolate bread in the morning, as my host rushed off to an exam – Pisa is a student city sporting three universities.
Pisa airport is tiny, and there is definitely not enough room to hold the hundreds of people that are waiting for each flight, so it’s very much standing room only. Or sitting in a corner typing on a laptop.
I was flying with RyanAir, against my better judgement, so when my flight was supposed to depart, the gaggle of tourists eager to board continued to stand and pointlessly wait, adhering to the schedule in a way RyanAir seldom honours.
I did eventually get to Brussels though.
Conclusion
My verdict on Pisa? It is a good base to do day trips, such as to Lucca, Cinque terre or Florence, as it has good transport links by air, bus and rail. The accommodation is cheaper than neighbouring Florence, and it’s closer to beaches. Besides the Leaning Tower, there’s not all that much to do. It is a very nice place to just be though. It’s a student city, so food is cheaper than elsewhere, and the vibe of the city is funky and laid back.
I’d love to go back for the festival of lights or the tug of war. I imagine it’d be a really fun place when there was an event to attend.
I highly recommend watching the sun set with cocktails at a bar by the river, and the golf cart tour was class – it was only me, and the lady spoke only fleeting English, but she was Russian, and we had some good chats about life as an immigrant, how her son had left Italy to go back and live in Russia, the war, and the wonders and foibles of life in Pisa. She was great.
I didn’t get a chance to do some of the other things like the Palazzo Blu (art gallery) and various other museums, ruins, churches and palazzos.
I used the tabnet app to get a 10 trip which was rather ambitious as I didn’t end up using it because the bus never came. Electronic scooters all the way baby! Word to the wise – electronic scooters do not work in the Square of Miracles though.