2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Sienna/Pisa

Thursday September 18, 2008 – Sienna/Pisa

This, our third day in Sienna had us confirming our tentative decision to extend our stay by another night in our very comfortable digs and to  test the skills of the driver and the nerves of the passenger on a day trip to Pisa. Thanks to TomTom we were soon bowling through the beautiful Tuscan countryside without a care in the world.

We chose to go on the autostrada initially as there is more room on the wider road and it is easier to drive when all the traffic is going in one direction! It also calms the passenger’s fraught nerves. We had no difficulties once we left the main road for smaller roads (but none as small as those we had driven on the first day) and we saw some terrific sights – lovely old houses and farms; small towns.

Once in Pisa, I set TomTom to take us to the street where the famed Tower could be found. What a trip that turned out to be – we were guided through narrow winding streets, some of which necessitated the folding of the wing mirrors at times (there was a control that accomplished this essential requirement for driving in Italy.) But he delivered us to the spot we wanted to be where there was even a parking place, which we used. (Four months after we got home to Australia we received a parking ticket from the City of Pisa informing us that we had breached their parking bye-laws. As an interesting insight into the lawfulness of friends and acquaintances I asked if I should pay the ticket [having already done so]. All but one said “No!”. Some included the caveat, “…unless you are planning to go back to Italy in the near future.” Scoff laws, all of them!)

We strolled back to the plaza where the Tower and cathedral are which was swamped with a multi-coloured sea of tourists. If it was this crowded so late in the season we could only wonder what it was like in  full flood at high tide. Of course it is always amazing to see icons like this in reality, but since there were queues a couple of kilometres long to get into the buildings, we contented ourselves with some pictures and a couple of purchases – a cap for me and another, lovely, handbag for Rab.

  

I suggested grabbing a bit to eat but it was early and we had a good breakfast (as I said before, the breakfasts were excellent at the BnB). So we set off back along the coastal road, which looked as if it would be very interesting from the map, but was disappointing. Most of it ran between holiday establishments and industrial parks and ports. There were some stretches which repaid the  diversion with splendid views of the sea. Naturally we got a bit peckish and by awful chance we came across the first McDonalds we had seen. I feel shamed to admit that, in a country with such wonderful food, we turned in and bought some of their awful offerings. In mitigation I can only say, like Hansie Cronje, “The devil made me do it.” (Hansie was the South African Cricket Captain who fell from grace amidst match fixing allegations. When these first surfaced he asked his pastor for advice instead of his lawyer. The former said “Confess and be free.”; the latter would have said “Keep quiet and it will go way.”)

Turning inland in due course we went back onto a smaller road which we travelled well. terrific scenery and not much traffic made for a happy memorable drive. 

The piazza in Sienna, scene of the Palio (not this evening!)

 We got back to Sienna in the late afternoon and caught a #54 bus into town for another stroll down Strada Citta, popping into a 99c store, where, like our $2 shops, nothing cost more than 99c. we also got some excellent fruit for our journey tomorrow – pricey, but excellent quality.

Can't recall the name of the restaurant

Turned out the jolly fruiterer also owned a Palio winner and a restaurant around the corner which he recommended. We ate there ordering the local speciality pici which is a thicker form of spaghetti. I had to laugh when the dish arrived because it looked just like Heinz tinned spaghetti in colour and form. But it tasted very different. Rab found it a little bland, but I enjoyed it.