Pisa, Lucca and the Cinque Terre

We left Siena this morning and drove through some amazing Tuscan countryside towards Pisa, where we parked the car and walked 20 minutes in the wrong direction looking for the tower. Eventually we found our way and spent all of 5 minutes in the park by the leaning tower and cathedral watching everyone set up their shots pushing against the tower, hands resting on the tower etc etc. We can also confirm that yes, it is definitely leaning. We had to get back to the car though before the meter ran out so that was it for the leaning tower and us! Off to Lucca where we cycled the 4km around the fortified town walls and saw glimpses of the renaissance-era monuments and churches. Lucca has played an important part in Italian history and I'll definitely try to learn more about it once we get back! For now though, the ocean calls and we will be arriving in Portofino in half an hour to unpack then head to the beach!
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Siena

Yesterday once we had arrived at the campsite we cycled into Siena and walked around in awe of the streets and houses which have remained unchanged throughout the centuries. Il Campo, the main square, is the scene of the annual palio horserace, which sounds rather cruel but must be fascinating to watch. We visited the Duomo and were amazed at the detail in every corner - it is an incredible place to behold. The library, tucked away in a corner, holds manuscripts from the 14th century which are painted with amazing skill and in great detail. I was also given my birthday present from Eli 6 weeks early, a gorgeous Italian leather handbag! Back at the campsite we had a swim in the best campsite pool so far, it was 4m deep and 25m long! As for today, right now I am lying in a hammock tied on one side to the Landy and on the other to a tree, with two bungee cords stretched above me with wet washing on them. Today has been incredibly chilled, its been a bit windy and threatening to rain all day so we didn't go back into Siena itself but to a tiny medieval village, Monteriggioni, just north of it which is a fortified town and set amongst the scene of many battles between Siena and Florence in days gone by - some of the buildings date back to the 11th century. We then found a little off-road track, actually an 11th century pilgrimage route which stretches from Canterbury to Rome, where we did a little greenlaning and where we stopped to eat our smoked-salmon and ciabatta lunch and watched the ominous clouds blow past us (thankfully). Dinnertime now and an early morning for the drive to Pisa, Lecco and towards the Cinque Terre tomorrow!
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Photos from the last 10 days

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Florence to Siena

We are on the road for the 100km or so to Siena, the last two nights were spent camping atop a hillside 5km from Florence. We rode our bikes into town yesterday and it seems we are suffering from cultural overload as well as summer-tourist-rip-off syndrome, as we were quite exhausted at the prospect of all the sights one has to see. So we didn't see the real David, but numerous copies served well enough I think; the Duomo is breathtaking, and there are so many old churches and palazzo's scattered around that we could have stayed a week (and spent a fortune). After the hike up to the Piazalle Michelangelo and having a last look at the gorgeous city however, we headed back to the camp with a quick stop at a deli for some parma ham and bread, which was so good we cycled back down to it later for more ham and some well-deserved beers! It has been nice and cool up on the hill until this morning- it mustve been 35 degrees by 10am - so we are hoping that the Landy handles it ok! So far so good apart from a few warning jerks a few minutes ago and we can see Siena already so we should be ok! Eeek!
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On the road to Florence

We spent a few hours today walking around Bologne, ate the requisite Ragu with tagliettelli- it didn't blow my mind but it was good...granted my expectations were pretty high! We had been reading the lonely planet guide which recommended a gelateria as one of the best in Italy, and after an hour of walking to find it, it tasted pretty amazing! I don't know whether Ill ever be happy with normal old ice cream again after this trip. Aside from food, Bologne has beautiful arcades down all the main roads and I imagine that being a university town, during term-time it must have a great vibe too. We didn't get to check out any of the bars though as we are now en route to Florence and about to start the search for a campsite. In case anyone wants to know, Eli and I have one swollen foot each from vicious Venetian mosquitoes!
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July 24

July 24
We took our time driving to Venice, (well, a campsite 7km from Venice itself) and once unpacked got a bus into the town after being quite disappointed that bicycles aren't allowed. I can definitely see why though, some of the streets are only about a metre wide, and most of the others are packed with tourists so any cyclists would be a serious hazard. Im sure everyone has seen all the pictures of the canals and gondolas so Ill refrain from describing it, except to say that it is gorgeous and romantic, as well as expensive and very full of people! We spent yesterday afternoon and a few hours today wandering around, had a good pizza and some very good gelato, took a water-bus thing (we certainly weren't going to fork out 100euro for a gondola ride!) and are now back the campsite, getting ready to cook some garlicky spinach on our funny little stove, and head off to Bologna tomorrow. Fun times!

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July 23

July 23
We set off early and headed for another lake close to Como from where we planned to go on to Venice. Lake Garda is surrounded by more gorgeous villas and bursting with colour, and it was great driving through with the roof off the Landy (The 'roof' we have is called a bikini, and only sortof covers the two front seats – so we don't have windows or anything covering our backs even when it's on). After another quick business meeting at a hotel, we were on our way when it started raining quite softly, and then got quickly heavier and we were getting soaked. We pulled over and put the bikini back on and a tarp over all our stuff in the back just in time because it turned into quite a crazy downpour, which isn't easy or fun to drive in in that car. You have to hope the tiny little motors on the windscreen wipers don't give up on you, while frantically wiping the spray from the back of the car off the inside of the windscreen. We had been warned that Lake Garda had a microclimate, and we were happily soon out of the monsoon and back to moaning about the heat. We decided to stop over in Verona for the night and found the only campsite close by, with less than friendly staff but it would have to do. We cycled back down the hill into the old town of Verona and it was absolutely stunning and quite fun to roll through all the tiny streets – but we were starving and FINALLY found a nice looking restaurant, had barely put the last bite into our mouths when a massive gust of wind started knocking the tables over and slamming all the pretty little shutters in the square. We looked at what was coming over the hill, then thought of the steep winding hill we still had to cycle back up to the campsite and thought it best done very quickly before the approaching storm arrived…we were exhausted when we reached the top but dry and lightning-strike free. It was an impressive storm though!
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