Having decided that we’d leave Cinque Terre a day early, we packed, finished off some of the food we’d bought, and then trundled down the road to the station to catch a train. Initially we were going to go straight to Lucca but the train we had to catch was going to Pisa so we thought, let’s go there instead.
The train was about half an hour late. Though annoying, there’s not much anyone can do but wait for the ‘obstacle on the tracks’ (usually a body) to be cleared. It didn’t half seem to upset people though. When the train came, even though these people had plenty of time to figure out which train was coming, there were still people asking if they were getting on the right one to La Spezia. And then when we got on the train, a couple loudly and repeatedly complained about how late they were thanks to the train driver ‘who needed to go back to train school’. Turns out they were only 20 minutes late in the end but fuck, they annoyed me. So now I’m complaining about them.
Pisa
We arrived into Pisa around 10:30 and trundled to the Leaning Tower with our luggage, much as we’ve done when visiting zoos in the US and Canada. Not that we were going to see a zoo, though there are plenty of connotations that can be made considering how large the horde was at the tower.
What struck me most about the tower is that it’s a) quite small and b) surrounded by other beautiful and much larger buildings. And it’s all so shiny! Looks like restoration work had been completed recently because the buildings were so white.
We trundled around, taking photos and watching out for pickpockets. We didn’t take a perspective photo of us holding up the tower or holding it on our hand. We were one of the few. We could have climbed up the tower but we didn’t (and now I have a mild sense of FOMO about it but it’s no big deal). We didn’t go into anything but it was really enough to be there, to have seen it, to have taken some photos and then get the hell away from the crowds.
We wandered through the streets of Pisa to find a place for lunch. It’s a beautiful town and the streets aren’t as crowded once you’re away from the tower. We settled at a cafe for spaghetti (for Glen) and a salad (for me) before walking through more of the town, down to the river, across the bridge and to the train station to catch a train to Lucca.
Lucca
We had initially planned to spend a few hours in Lucca on our way to Bologna but now that we’d stolen a day from Cinque Terre we chose to spend the night in this medieval walled city. So pleased we did.
I’d booked us a room at Antica Residenza dell’Angelo, which was in the centre of the city, a ten minute walk from the station. We headed through the city gates and into this maze-like city. Alleyways and cobbled streets were lined with old beautiful buildings and it seemed around every corner was a church or basilica or tower.
We dumped our luggage at the accommodation (we were about two hours early), bought an ice-cream and went exploring. Not being a very large city, it didn’t take us long to reach the edge and walk along the tree-lined walls. There’s a stark difference between the town, where you’re lucky to see any greenery, and the walls which are covered in grass and ringed with trees. It’s a beautiful contrast.
We walked around the walls for a while before heading back to the accommodation. Turned out I’d booked a suite on the third floor. It was pretty big with a sitting room and a large bedroom and bathroom. It looked out onto the square and the Chiesa di San Michele di Foro. Not a bad find at all.
After a bit of a rest we went walking again, checking out the amphitheatre which isn’t exactly what you’d expect. It’s a circular space lined with buildings, most of which are restaurants designed to entice tourists in. We walked through it then scaled the Guigno Tower, impressive because of the trees growing on its roof.
We paid our money and climbed about a hundred steps, which took us half way. These steps were fine, solid things. There was no view down beneath you. The next set of steps, however, hugged the edges of the building. They were also the kind where you could see through and down the building. I am not good with these kinds of stairs and my mind went into overdrive. I managed to get up the stairs – which got skinnier the higher you went, and forced you to share space with those coming down – as long as I didn’t look down in any way. Deep breathing also helped (though it probably also heightened this overreaction on my part).
I reached the top, walked out and looked over the town of Lucca. Again, the impressive thing is these trees growing on the roof. It’s a nice spot and the view was worth the near-hysteria. It was also getting close to sunset so the city had a nice peaceful calm over it.
Unfortunately, that calm did not extend to me when we had to climb down. When you’re going up, it’s easy not to look down, but when you’re going down, it’s near impossible. I was practically facing the wall on my descent, but could still see people below me out of the corner of my eye. It was not a pleasant experience and it was through only sheer force of will that I was able to get down to safety without falling apart completely. Glen thought it was hilarious, and couldn’t believe that I was perfectly fine with a cantilevered treetop walk in Tasmania but not solid metal steps in a tower in Lucca.
It took a while for my palms to stop sweating. In the meantime, we found the restaurant we wanted for dinner, booked a table, and went home for a bit to change (it was getting cooler). We ate at Osteria San Giorgio, which was tucked down a side street and would have been totally missed on a casual walk. We were some of the first though, taking a table beside a retired American couple from San Francisco.
For starters I had carpaccio di branzino (bream) while Glen had tomato and bread soup. For mains I had crumbed chicken with a truffle sauce (much to Glen’s absolute horror when he tried a bit), and he had steak. We ordered wine. Dinner was delicious and very filling. We eventually struck up a conversation with the American couple and offered tips on what to do and where. They were soon going off on a group cycling tour of Tuscany, concerned that the ten days they’d had of eating in Venice and Florence had made them unfit for such a thing.
We said goodbye and buon viaggio then walked through the quiet streets of Lucca, attempting to find the ice-cream store we’d seen earlier. We hadn’t noted the address and had no luck in stumbling upon it. I did, however, see a jacket in the window of a shop and noted down its location for a return visit the next day. Not really needing ice-cream (we could have found some somewhere if we’d been dying for), we returned to our apartment, climbing the many many stairs to our floor, and went to bed.
Travels with Dan 
What do you say, eh?