TUESDAY IN TUSCANY
Hi everybody. We travelled the princely distance of approximately 100 kms today. After a leisurely walk along the lake, we headed for Siena with the ambitious intention of parking at one of the many parking areas near the historical section of town. We were not intending to take the motorhome into any cities but there is quite a bit of parking in Siena and no park and ride system so I weakened.
With assistance of the GPS we had no trouble getting to the general vicinity. Second time around the block, we found the entrance to the one I was aiming for, just as we passed it. With a brilliantly executed three point turn in a slightly wider section of the busy street, we even got to the entrance only to observe that the height and width of the access was not designed for motorhomes. We might have got in OK but I didn’t know if we would have been able to get out.
After convincing the cars behind us to back up, we escaped and decided to see historical Siena another day. I don’t know what it is but when you are in a motorhome and it’s obvious you don’t know where you are going, people tend to get out of your way. We have now firmly resolved not to try taking the motorhome into busy towns. Getting it there is OK but there is nowhere to park it.
So we choose the second destination we had programmed into the GPS and headed for the much less busy San Gimiguano in classical Tuscany countryside. It is famous for the fact that, at one time in its history which dates back to the 12th century, it had 72 privately built towers, of which quite a few remain today. It has a labyrinth of narrow winding streets among its ancient buildings many of which appear to be very neat internally and in current use for commercial or residential purposes. The town is under the protection of UNESCO and an obvious tourist magnet, but not uncomfortably busy.
I managed to stay on the correct side of the road all day today.
Ciao.
WEDNESDAY – PISA
We had a leisurely drive from San Gimignano to Pisa this morning through the very picturesque Tuscany landscape. While the Pisa traffic is fairly intense, parking is not an issue because we are camped in the Pisa campground which is only 700 metres from the Tower and the old city surrounding it.
As you would expect, we climbed the Tower, quite a peculiar sensation as you walk up the 300 steps of the well worn marble spiral staircase. The Tower is located within the Piazza Dei Miracoli which is a very well maintained green expanse of lawn also containing the Pisa Cathedral and Baptistry, the latter of which also has a slight lean.
The area surrounding the Piazza is an intense tourism area with many souvenir shops, restaurants etc but very well integrated with the old historic town of Pisa and very interesting to walk through declining the offers for meals, watches, sunglasses etc which the touts are keen to sell.
The campground has a very nice pool complex which I checked out after our busy walking/climbing day. The temperature is in the 20’s so the pool was very nice, but I had to purchase a bathing cap and shower before getting in!
The highlight of our day was seeing/talking to Jenny, Craig, Hannah and Nathan on Skype. The wonders of modern technology.
Tomorrow we head for Cinque Terre, just a short distance away, visiting Porto Venere on the way.
Ciao.
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