Today was departure day, and should really have consisted of breakfast, pack and transfer to Pisa airport. In practice, we had a late evening flight that didn’t require us to be checking in until after 8.00pm. So we hatched a plan that involved going to the coast for lunch and exploring a little of Pisa in the afternoon.
After a leisurely breakfast, we loaded up the van and took the scenic drive via Volterra to the coast. I’m not quite sure where we were, but the wind was pretty strong and there were some large waves breaking on the beach. We headed to the harbour and had a nice lunch at a marina cafe, overlooked by millions of pounds worth of swish yachts.
In the afternoon we left the minibus (and our luggage) at the airport and went into central Pisa. We wandered the streets for a while then spent around an hour or so in the vicinity of the Leaning Tower. It was very busy, but we pottered along looking in the shops and stalls, and had two ice creams!
Finally, it was time to go back to the airport and check in.
All in all, we’d had a brilliant week. Anthony had been good company and ensured everything went smoothly. As for the others – Karen, Julia, Saidah and Camilla – well we’d all got along swimmingly.
Sure, we’d done more food and wine than we would normally do, and less walking, but it was a holiday we had always promised ourselves we’d do one day – and, when we’d booked it, is seemed just the right thing to do.
And, what’s more, we’d had a brilliant time! We’d walked some lovely paths, felt the sun on our backs, enjoyed some fantastic food, learned a bit about wine and drunk quite a lot of it. Oh, and got plenty of relaxation in, too.
I’ll drink to that.
Salute!
Looks like you had an excellent, and hot, holiday. I like all those buildings and the views are certainly different from our own. Class!
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit more relaxing than usual in that we did less walking, but we had always said we would do something like this sometime, and it seemed the time was right!
ReplyDeleteIt was really good, fun and relaxing - but our next break will definitely involve a bit more hiking!
This sounds an excellent trip, Jules. Glad you enjoyed it. I trust you quite like Chianti! Will you be carrying a bottle wherever you go in future?
ReplyDeleteThanks, we enjoyed it a lot!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about taking a bottle of Chianti every time we go out - it'd be a bit heavy.
I'm hoping to get a new hydration bladder for my birthday - should go in there a treat, clean up nicely afterwards, and no weighty glass to hold us back!
Hydration bladdered, perhaps?