CINQUE TERRE

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Yesterday was another washout. It began raining in the morning, not stopping until the evening. So no play. But did play rather a lot of pool with some of the other inmates here in the Pisa Hostel.
However today I had great faith in the weather forecast and headed up to the Cinque Terre national park. Its actually a string of five villages which cling to the rocky coastline, about 80 km north of Pisa. They are a maximum of around 3 km apart with an excellent train service (tunnels) connecting them. 


But first of all, the train from Pisa went near the mountains that I had seen from a distance a few times. They look like difficult walking.

The first village was Monterosso after a short train trip through all the others from La Spezia. It was a pleasant relief after the towns and cities that I have spent most of the time in. The train suddenly emerged from the tunnel and I was there.

This was the only village with a beach as the others are built on the steep cliffs dropping into the sea.

After Monterosso comes Vernazza which was devastated by a deluge last October,that went straight down the main street and its only now that things are beginning to get back to normal.

Flood debris dumped near the top of the village. About 180 cars were swept down to the sea.

Manarola was the best and the penultimate stop before the final village, Riomaggiore. The houses cluster on a rock which drops into the sea. A very photogenic place and plenty of scope to use the coastal path for dramatic views. 

And finally, the sea and the sky.

Home tomorrow. A 15 minute walk to the airport and hope the flight leaves on time at midday. Should be home 3 hours later and a good clean up, then think about the next trip. D

LUCCA AT LAST

Sadly, yesterday was a complete washout after the bright sunny preceding days. Hense the absence of a report.

So today I managed to get to Lucca. Its only an easy 30 minute train ride away and well worth the effort. The mountains in the distance are well over a 1000 metres, and were snow covered until a few days ago.

This small medieval town is completely surrounded by a high walkable wall. The foot path in the picture leads round to some stairs and then you are in the town.
Most towns here have a link with one celebrity or another and here it seems  Puccini, the composer is a popular lad. He had a string of names, but Giacomo was born here and just to let everyone know there is a bronze statue of him in one of the squares, several restaurants have images of him.

That's Lucca's claim to fame but it does have some great places to see, such as the Amphitheatre which is an almost perfectly round square, if you see what I mean!

The first time I heard of the new term for 'second hand' was a few weeks ago. It seems that no one would be seen dead buying clothes under that description, so you buy 'vintage' second hand clothes now. I suppose Camden Town sounds a bit upmarket but it all boils down to the same thing, a surcharge to justify the name and description of course. I wonder if they import used clothes from Britain too?

Although not so many as Florence or even Pisa, there are those intimidating herds of human kind who are followers of the sacred umbrella. One sight of them can turn the blood cold as they march, relentlessly bleating, and hanging on every word of their great leader. Just as in 'Animal Farm', they don't remember very much. Their weapon of choice is sharpened Nordic walking sticks I believe. I love'em really, really! 

Then there was guy saving on his water bills, filling plastic bottles with water from the virgin. 

The whole of the town within the old walls is mainly very historic. Its full of those kinds of streets more like corridors, where you hear the echo of your own footsteps, that is unless the Umbrellas are bearing down on you. 

Here are some shots of the town and also one of me at an arm and monopod length. D

Not sure, but maybe this was bad planning on someone's part!

Old, older, and much older

PISA AGAIN

The decision to return to Pisa was really forced on me because of a lack of reasonable alternatives. After spending a lot of time in Florence I knew I had to get away from the big city. The day away in Siena was great and so thats what I intend here in Pisa where the hostel is pretty good and at an affordable  price. 
However, yesterday was fun, with a group of lads who are well old enough to know better, calling them selves 'Cheeky Northern Monkeys'. They are motor scooter fanatics who all collect them from wherever they can. These old scooters certainly hold their value with some the scooters in Florence yesterday worth up to 5000 pounds. Their excuse for this trip is a scooter rally in Siena today. 

The Samsonite stylish luggage suits this Lambretta from 1959 vintage, and the case, even older, is used for storing Christmas decorations when it isn't in use on scooter trips. What beautiful scooter though, I had one when I were a lad.


The weather has warmed up and so last evening I took some night pictures in the centre of Florence. D

SUNNY IN SIENA

The day went to plan and the weather is what I would have expected for this part of Europe. As I boarded the train to Siena, the sky was a cloudless blue. The price is a pretty modest 15 Euro return from Florence.

Siena and Florence have a kind of rivalry going about which is the best town, and after seeing Siena I would certainly choose Siena. It doesn't have the same traffic problems and although its a lot smaller, it has a huge amount of medieval charm about it. 

The large sloping main square reminded me of a beach and the people on it seemed to have the same idea as they laid back and sunned themselves while the tide was out. 

It sounded like a seaside holiday resort too. I suppose I should have looked into it long ago, but during the last week I have come across a strange little sculpture not only in Florence. Maybe someone knows who the small boys are being suckled by a wolf. Its similar to the Moses story except he didn't get the canine treatment.

There is no escaping the obligatory cathedral, or three, and Siena does have one of those spectacular creations. Though smaller than the one in Florence it can still hold its own against countless others.

And finally to end an enjoyable day, here is the first view of the square as you descend the steps in this hilly little town.

ANTI FASCIST DAY

Florence is full today with Italians celebrating the end of fascism. It seems that this day has long been a national holiday about the end of a troubled era but still Italy is beset with politicians of the unwanted variety. I wont mention any names but there is one particular person these people might like to string up. Here is the face of an elderly guy who took part in ending Mussolini's reign of terror, speaking to crowds of people enjoying the sun, the wine, and the food.

And he ranted passionately, not only about the past events, but also Italy's present problems. Taxes appear to be at the centre of discussions because too many people dont pay them, or so I was told. A fine orator but perhaps a bit too passionate for tender reserved English ears. 

Also the music was quite entertaining but unfortunately didn't manage to film the drummers I heard from the hill above the party.

Just above the the place where the celebration was taking place, there was great view point for that very photogenic bridge.

Tomorrow, I should be going to Sienna for the day, that's as long as there aren't any train strikes. Probably not.

At last, a summer day. Cheers D

FLORENCE STILL

Awoke this morning to the sound of very large quantities of water falling from the sky. Thankfully, it only lasted until I was about due to head out to the city. One thing that cheered me up was the huge money saving breakfast I had in the hostel before I left. Although it cost 4 Euro it was plenty enough to sustain me until the evening.

I suppose the first impressive place I encountered, completely by surprise, was Piazza della Signoria. I had seen pictures of the statues before but the setting of these master pieces didn't seem quite right. Maybe the square looked somewhat scruffy, or was it my imagination? 

The detail on the Greek style statues leaves nothing to the imagination and most were pretty brutal in their subject matter. 

In the video it is obvious that Piazza della Signoria is certainly on the tour groups list. 

One of the other must see structures is Ponte Vecchio, the bridge with buildings, now shops covering it. It was strange walking across it because it appears to be just another narrow market street. 

While I was near the bridge, someone was doing a report about the bridge, and Florence, with small camera crew. He looked like he might be quite well known. Does anyone recognize him?

Thats about all concerning the Ponte Vecchio but it has not been spared the scurge of the love locks. 

Finally, I took a trip on a local bus up to the hills that lie above the city. Great views which really show how much the cathedral dominates the centre of the city.

The surrounding buildings a many storeys high but even so seem like bungalows.

Cheers D

FIRENZE

The day went perfectly according to plan and the 10.30 bus from Pisa airport landed me in the centre of Florence with plenty of time to find my bearings. The bus service is a bargain for an hour's ride at 6 Euros. But it seems that Ryan Air has a hand in it, and I wonder if because that b....... airline has loads of flights into Pisa, they are depriving other airlines that go into Florence of business? Anyway, didn't use Ryan Air but the bus is handy. 
Took a few movies as the bus rolled down into valley where Firenze is situated.

The hostel is quite a long way out of the centre of things but seems pretty good. Its a huge old rambling place which belongs to a church next door. 
Had a brief skirmish into town this afternoon and then spent almost as much time trying to find the bus stop where I could catch a bus back to the hostel. Hopefully wont have that trouble again. That's all for now, cheers