Headed north to Pisa. Found the Leaning tower and parked the car 20 mins walk away from the Piazza. This is definitely a tourist hotspot. With markets flogging their tourist wares and more tour groups then you could shake a stick at. And of course the guys flogging sunglasses, parasols, umbrellas (if there is a hint of rain), roses, etc.
We first experienced the rose sellers in Rome. They have an interesting way of working. We had one come and give Justine a rose. When she said no, he said no "for free" and then spent the next 20 minutes chasing us around telling us both how good we looked and asking me for "a little something". Every time Justine tried to give it back he said no and then would come around to the other side of me and ask me for "a little something". In the end I did get him to take it back and we saw him move on to someone else. We have now learnt to give them a very aggressive "Non" and they scuttle away. The rose sellers are everywhere. We did have another gelato here. As you can expect the more popular the tourist spot, the smaller the gelato is that you get. The leaning tower must be popular because the gelato was tiny.
We didn’t go up the tower, you need to book ahead and it wasn’t something that we desperately wanted to do. They are in the process of cleaning the building and it will look stunning when completed. As important as the leaning tower, are the buildings around it. Once again huge white Basilicas.
We started heading north again and thought we would stay in La Spezia for the night before heading up to the Cinque Terre for a walk tomorrow. Followed the GPS lady into some very tight spots and figured that if we did find somewhere to stay, there wouldn’t have parking anyway. Headed out towards Portovenere. Found somewhere to stay just before Portovenere. A restaurant with a room upstairs. Another quaint little fishing village. Parking was on the soccer field, where you bought an all day pass. But this is not a soccer field as we know it, this was gravel with goal posts at each end. Makes you wonder if they use a rock for a ball. These guys are hard :-)
Had dinner at a little Osteria, with mainly seafood (not Justine’s cup of tea) so she had spaghetti and peso (how can some thing so simple be so yummy) and I had ravioli and Batti Batti (a local crustacean). They were also serving NZ Angus beef steak on salad. The steak was minimal and the price 18 Euros.
We first experienced the rose sellers in Rome. They have an interesting way of working. We had one come and give Justine a rose. When she said no, he said no "for free" and then spent the next 20 minutes chasing us around telling us both how good we looked and asking me for "a little something". Every time Justine tried to give it back he said no and then would come around to the other side of me and ask me for "a little something". In the end I did get him to take it back and we saw him move on to someone else. We have now learnt to give them a very aggressive "Non" and they scuttle away. The rose sellers are everywhere. We did have another gelato here. As you can expect the more popular the tourist spot, the smaller the gelato is that you get. The leaning tower must be popular because the gelato was tiny.
We didn’t go up the tower, you need to book ahead and it wasn’t something that we desperately wanted to do. They are in the process of cleaning the building and it will look stunning when completed. As important as the leaning tower, are the buildings around it. Once again huge white Basilicas.
We started heading north again and thought we would stay in La Spezia for the night before heading up to the Cinque Terre for a walk tomorrow. Followed the GPS lady into some very tight spots and figured that if we did find somewhere to stay, there wouldn’t have parking anyway. Headed out towards Portovenere. Found somewhere to stay just before Portovenere. A restaurant with a room upstairs. Another quaint little fishing village. Parking was on the soccer field, where you bought an all day pass. But this is not a soccer field as we know it, this was gravel with goal posts at each end. Makes you wonder if they use a rock for a ball. These guys are hard :-)
Had dinner at a little Osteria, with mainly seafood (not Justine’s cup of tea) so she had spaghetti and peso (how can some thing so simple be so yummy) and I had ravioli and Batti Batti (a local crustacean). They were also serving NZ Angus beef steak on salad. The steak was minimal and the price 18 Euros.
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