italy
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Italian Adventure Part 2 – Pisa by night
In the middle of the afternoon, many Italian bars and restaurants close up. In the heat of July it’s easy to understand why; nobody can really enjoy themselves in temperatures of 32 Celsius. For the weary tourist, it’s also a good time to get some rest. I’m woken from my snooze in the early evening…
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Italian Adventure Part 1 – Pisa by day
I rarely travel in the middle of the summer, mainly to avoid the crowds. But no matter how much I try to pretend that I’m an intrepid explorer, diverging from the norm, practicalities of life this year mean taking a break in July. Yeah, with all those horrible tourists. In fact, this trip is a…
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Eurail Adventure Part 4
It’s a sunny morning in Trieste but the forecast for my journey north is not good. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for my next destination of Villach, but I’m hoping these will be short, sharp showers rather than prolonged downpours. The first leg today takes me from Trieste to the northern town of Udine, which…
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Eurail Adventure Part 3
Day three, and later on I’ll be covering some 550km to Trieste in Italy’s far north eastern corner. But before that, I have the morning to explore a bit more of Turin. San Marco Piazza looked stunning last night, and it has equal beauty in the daytime. What I didn’t realise was that some of…
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Eurail Aventure Part 2
Nothing quite says “Bonjour” than the sound of an email notification in the middle of the night. It’s a factual, causal message from SNCF, telling me that my morning connection to Vintimiglia has been cancelled. Fortunately I’m up early enough to be able to find an earlier departure, though after last night’s magnificent chee and…
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Pisa’s perfect piazzas
It’s our final day in Pisa, and although we’ve seen it from the outside, it’s time to take a trip up the tower itself. Social distancing means visitors are restricted to groups of 25 people at a time, which suits me rather well. I’ve been up towers around the world and one of the worst…
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A foray to Florence
Italy was one of the mainstays of The Grand Tour – a traditional trip through Europe for the well to do in the 17th and 18th Centuries. And within that, Florence was considered to be one of the real cultural highlights. It’s not hard to see why. Just five minutes walk from the main railway…
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Life’s a beach – and then you eat
The temperatures have dropped today to a chilly 28 celsius, so it’s time to head out if Pisa and to the coast. Once again, the train is our friend and in just 20 minutes takes us to the seaside resort of Viareggio. It’s famous for its annual carnival – and while the Pandemic has put…
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A city for explorers
Pisa is ideally situated to as a base to explore the region of Tuscany and beyond. And Italy’s state run railway means there are good connections to the rest of the country. There are no advanced fares or special deals, which makes booking tickets on the TrenItalia website a hassle free experience. One thing to…
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A tower, two churches and a cemetery.
During these socially distanced times, welcoming thousands of visitors each day to a series of major tourist attractions is a balancing act. And in Pisa it seems to have been achieved rather well. Yes, there are queues for the tower, and you may have to book a specific time slot to visit some of the…
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