pisa
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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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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 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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A Pisa the action
For most, travel in 2020 has been, at best, haphazard – or non existent. The global Coronavirus pandemic has hit everyone in different days. But at the risk of making a massive statement of a first world problem, trying to get away anywhere has been an exhausting process. In March I was due to return…
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