Grand Guinigi Lucca

... on internet and then back to the bar for more wine and tapas.<br><br>Sun 15 <br>Did some chores... yes we have some, we are not totaly void of resposibility. Went to the supermarket to stock up on food and went to an Aire d'service to empty Theo (our Thescott cassette toilet). Enough of that and we were back in the walls checking out the Antiques Market and eating Gelati... YUM!!<br>

I had thought about going to a town which was half an hour away by train to look at a chocolate shop there which was supposed to be quite unique, but I didn&#8217;t feel very well and the thought of being on another local train didn&#8217;t appeal to me. I decided to look at the local chocolate shop in Lucca but it was closed on Mondays. The ...

... walked through to get to the marina where we had lunch at a ristorante while we watched a fisherman mending his nets. The marina is overlooked by a castle and there are many lemon groves on the hillsides. This is where limoncello is made and was popular in the shops. After lunch we decided to go for a walk along one of the tracks that overlooks the village, but it got too steep before we got a very good view. We caught the train to Corniglia where we ...

Just realized those not on facebook haven't seen pictures from Pisa and Florence. No long recap of Anthony and I's weekend in Tuscany, for obvious reasons. Also note that "Anthony and Alison's Great Adventure" was like taking a knife.<br><br>Love you guys! :)<br>

... We found a restaurant that had been recommended called Ristorante Giglio but we arrived too early- in true Italian style, it didn&#8217;t open until 7:30 pm, so we just had to go promenading with the locals until it opened. I came across the chocolate shop open that was closed earlier when we went past so I had a look. The dinner at the restaurant was probably the best meal we had had in Italy. I had a Tuscan dish ...

... without one- very entrepreneurial.<br><br>After the rain was over, we went to check out the bike hire for another day and then went for a walk on the wall which is as wide as a road and has trees planted along the edges (it was a woman who organised the planting a long time ago but I can&#8217;t remember who). The leaves were starting to change colour and it was beautiful. Many people walk and ride bikes along here or just sit on the seats "smelling the roses" or even at the tables ...

... Medieval City Walls. <br><br>A trolley took us through Pisa center toward the Arno River which divides the city. We passed by the Gothic Church della Spina, the old port, the Town Hall, and the Piazza dei Cavalieri. A short stop at a local restaurant near the Field of Miracles offered a drink of Tuscan area wine. Here, we couldn't pass on purchasing a bottle of local Limoncello which we thought we would enjoy while relaxing ...

... I vowed to stay out of the car as much as possible in Italy! Pisa was great, we booked to climb the tower and had a couple of hours to kill so we wandered around the other amazing historic buildings in the square grass and avoiding the guys selling souvenirs. Samantha gave her climb ticket to someone else because she wasn't feeling so great and the rest of us headed off. Not too ...

... we settled in for our long wait. The time passed rather quickly with each of us walking around town in shifts, as someone had to watch our packs. Now sitting on the platform I looked up at the departure screen and there was a 55min delay on our train, perfect! By this time I was exhausted and not feeling well, but we began conversing with a Swedish gentleman, who had just climbed the mountain in the distance. Together we all passed the time chatting away and finally an hour later our ...

... imagine it to be. It's just a tower that leans. Kind of like watching a demolition in extremely slow motion. Due to the fact that climbing up the thing cost 17 euros and that I was hobbling around like I was 95, we decided to skip the almost 300 steps and just take ground pictures. But on to the worst part of Pisa: tourism. The square surrounding the Campo dei Miracoli is jampacked with vendors selling junk, tons and tons of junk. Here are just ...