This morning we woke up at 6:45 to finish packing and make sure the house was as clean as it was when we arrived. We ha pastries, yogurt, and Frosties for breakfast. We got the kids up at 7:00am and by 7:45 the house was clean, bags were packed, and everyone fed. We borrowed the Ford to get us and our luggage to the train station for the 8:15 train. Tavis dropped Addison and myself off with most of the luggage around 7:50. We purchased the tickets and validated them before Tavis arrived with Ayva and Ari. Everything went smooth and by 8:15 we were on our way to Mestre.
We arrived at Mestre just before 8:30 which gave us about 15 minutes to find our platform for the connecting train. We walked directly to the platform and waited for the train to arrive. By 8:45 we were on our train and we found our assigned seating. We had an entire table row to ourselves! This was by far the best train we’ve had this trip! It was spacious, clean, and had screens that showed the speed and location aswell as the next stop. At some points we reached speeds of 240km/hr! Apparently the top speed of that train was 400 km/hr!
We went through a tunnel and when we came out the other side we noticed that the smog from Venice was gone! The scenery was actually quite nice. The kids and I enjoyed a game of rocket but we still had a nice view out the window. Around 10:30 we had to switch trains. Before departing the train, the screens displayed the connecting trains and their platforms. It was helpful o know where we needed to be and whether our train was on time before even arriving. The terminal was a bit tricky to navigate but the help of a fellow passenger we found platform 1 and the train was already waiting for us. It wasn’t busy which was good because we didn’t have assigned seating on this train. Before we knew it we were on our way to Pisa.
Pisa
At 11:45 we arrived in Pisa. Our first item on the agenda was to find a place to stow our luggage for the day. We checked out the baggage area at the train which charged 5 euros per bag. We decided to walk a few blocks to some large lockers. We saved a bit of money by renting 2 large lockers at stowyourbags.com where we stored 5 suitcases, 3 backpacks, and a large iced tea 😛 Now we were ready to explore all that Pisa had to offer.
We walked the streets following our self-guided tour from Rick Steves. Pisa was much better than I imagined. We walked down main street and it had a very North American vibe. Apparently almost half of the population of Pisa is made up University students. Once we crossed the bridge to the north side it had more of a tourist feel. We found a nice restaurant with delicious photos of menu items. They also had English and Italian on the menu so we sat down and enjoyed our meal in the streets of Pisa. There was a 2 euro cover charge per person but the food was excellent and the staff was nice. We also got to use the toilets which was a bonus.
Next we continued our tour through a square and eventually made our way to the leaning tower of Pisa. We were surprised to see that it actually is leaning! As a matter of fact, all of the buildings had a bit of a lean to them but none like the tower. We found a spot in the shade and read about the history and architecture of the tower. Another thing we noticed was a water fountain! We all filled our water bottles. Then we walked all the way around and got some photos from all angles. Yep, we were typical tourists. While there, Tavis got tickets to the Cathedral of Pisa. Our tickets weren’t good until 3:45 so we walked around the Field of Miracles and found a beautiful spot on the grass with a nice cool breeze. We had a light snack and relaxed for 45 minutes. As we were waiting we read about the history and architecture of the Cathedral. We also admired the massive walls that surrounded the field. The lock on the gate looked like a replica of a sliding lock today only 1000 times bigger!
Just before 3:00 we filled our water bottles again and made our way to the Cathedral entrance. This was like no other Cathedral we’ve seen. It had intricate details but what we really enjoyed was the art inside. The ceilings were impressive with a combination of murals and sculptured tiles. Another impressive structure was the massive columns that were hand carved by Galileo himself. Above it was a huge lantern that was apparently a replica of the one that inspired his sculpture. We were all impressed my this massive cathedral and after we had seen the entire viewing area we ventured back into the heat.
This time we decided to wander down the road to a gate on the other side of the field. We walked the maze of streets and noticed that a lot of the stores were now closed. We slowly made our way back to the main street where we found a gelato shop that had decent prices and looked inviting. We all enjoyed a cone with 2 scoops of gelato. I picked lemon and pink grapefruit which was a perfect combination and very refreshing. We all decided that it hit the spot but none of us felt like eating dinner. We slowly walked the streets of Pisa and made our way back to the luggage storage.
We picked up our bags just after 5:00 and went to the train station. We discovered we had reservations on an express train so it arrived at the same time as the trains leaving 30 minutes sooner. By the time we got to the train station we had a 50 minute wait for our train to arrive. We learned that Pisa can be done in 2-5 hours… 7 is too long 😛
At 7:03 we boarded our train and found our assigned seats. Our train originally departed from Rome and was going all the way to Monaco so it was fairly busy. Luckily we all had table seats with chargers so everyone brought out their devices and the train ride went quickly.
When we arrived in La Spezia, our host Andrea met us at the train station with his father in law. They needed 2 vehicles to transport all of us so they decided to take us on a tour of La Spezia on they way. They pointed out favourite restaurants, places to walk, grocery stores, and other tourist places they thought we might like to visit. They also pointed out bus stops and the closer train station. When we arrived at the apartment they gave us a tour of the beautiful home. It is a very stylish flat with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and even a washing machine, fridge, stove, and microwave. The patio has a bbq and 2 bikes. They also pointed out a great place to grab a bite to eat.
Shortly after the orientation we walked 2 blocks and bought a huge pizza, small pizza, and 3 cans of pop. The pizzas were hand made as we waited and cost a total of 12.50! We brought the food back to our home and enjoyed our meal. Now off to bed to get some rest. Tomorrow we will explore the Cinque Terre.