(Lucca, Italy)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only reason to visit Pisa.  I quite liked the city:  it is about the same size as Kingston and has the same “old college town” vibe.  It is located in the Tuscany region of Italy and many parts of the old town are reminiscent of Florence.

The Leaning Tower is located at the Campo dei Miracoli (“Field of Miracles”) at the northern end of downtown Pisa.  Amazingly, the Leaning Tower is not the only leaning building here:  the Baptistery building also leans visibly, although the tilt is much less than that of the Tower.

The third major building in the Campo dei Miracoli is the Duomo.  Admission to the Duomo was included with my ticket to the Tower, so I went inside and took a look around.  It is filled with art but it also has a massive and intricate pulpit.  Although it was not apparent to me, it is said that the Duomo also leans slightly.

After leaving the throngs of tourists at the Campo dei Miracoli behind, I headed back to the true downtown core of Pisa.  Along the way, I admit that I temporarily abandoned my pure Italian diet and had a “Panino Kebab” for lunch.  However, I redeemed myself by stopping at La Bottega del Gelato on the Piazza Garibaldi.

This was the best gelato I’ve had so far in Italy.  I chose a cone with cioccolato and liquirizia (chocolate and licorice) flavours and enjoyed it on the sunny (but not too hot) piazza.  A three-piece acoustic band, playing in the style of Django Reinhardt, provided the musical entertainment.  It was one of those “classic” travel moments that you often read about but rarely actually experience:  slowly enjoying a gourmet gelato in a Tuscan piazza to the accompaniment of unobtrusive local musicians.  Time slowed down for me and everything seemed to be absolutely perfect.

After I finally finished the cone (and briefly contemplated getting another one), I wandered over to the site of a vinyl record shop.  As with many shops in Italy, it was closed from 1:00 until 4:00 p.m.  I decided not to wait until it reopened; instead, I went to the train station and played “transport lotto”:  I would visit another local town, based entirely on where the next train from Pisa was going.  The winner?  Lucca, just a few miles to the northeast.

Lucca is another Tuscan town that shows up in a number of travel guides.  There are no “bucket list” sights here but the old town is completely surrounded by an immense fortified wall.  This wall probably explains why the historic old town is so intact:  Lucca was never attacked despite being within striking distance of both Pisa and Florence.

The key Lucca experience is to walk around the old town on the wall.  It is somewhat like the Great Wall of China that way, except that walking on Lucca’s wall appears to be much easier:  once you are on top of the wall, it is essentially flat all the way around.  Lucca’s old town is quaint but difficult to photograph:  the streets are very narrow and most of the buildings have several storeys.

After walking most of the wall, I cut through town on the main shopping street.  Stores were opening up after the mid-day break and it might have been a good place to do some non-touristic shopping…had I needed anything.  However, I am traveling light on this trip and any shopping will have to be last-minute.

Stay tuned for my last night in the Cinque Terre and my journey to ski country!