Today we left the apartment at about 9:30 AM and returned at about 9:30 PM. Most of that time was spent in the car on the autostrada (the equivalent of our turnpike) and other major streets. Driving would be a lot easier if they had roadsigns naming the streets, but they don't. You find your way around by signs pointing in the direction of towns or attractions. We rarely knew what street or highway we were on.
The first stop was San Gimignana, a city famous for all its towers. It sits high on a hill and all the streets are steep and walking was a chore. At one time the town had 72 towers, but many were destroyed by warring factors and now only 13 remain. The towers were built as refuges for the owners.
The beautiful town square (piazza) right in the center of the city made the climb up those steep streets worth the effort. We sat at the fountain and ate our gelato as a reward.
When you visit this region of Italy, you just have to go see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I had always thought the photos you see are somehow doctored to exaggerate the tilt. But that son-of-a-gun really does lean ....... A LOT.
Here is a picture of Pisa's Duomo (church) and in the foreground you can see part of the tower. The wall of the Duomo is vertical so you can see how much the tower leans.
Finally, we landed in Lucca which was the capitol city of the Holy Roman Empire for a time. The city is surrounded by a magnificent wall that is 40 feet high and 115 feet thick.
In the picture above if you look closely you can see two people walking at the base of the wall, to give you some idea of the scale of the wall. In the picture below you can see a roadway for jogging, cycling, etc that is all around the city on top of the wall. The wall is 2 and a half miles in circumference.
We had dinner in Lucca at a nice little restaurant. They served me some wine and I was feeling pretty good afterwords.
