FLASHBACK #64B: Italy - Levanto, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Radda, Florence, Beccia nr. La Verna.
Day 4 – 4 July – Levanto to Cinque Terre to Pisa - 30ºC
Another hot day awaited us. I woke at 9am and grabbed a shower. The open balcony and the fresh air-induced sleep left me grumpy. We headed down to breakfast – I didn't eat much, still feeling full from last nights huge dinner. by 10am, we had already checked out, loaded the car and settled down on the town's beach. Because of the searing temperatures each day, we decided to bathe in the late morning/early afternoons and then head off on our travels thereby avoiding the heat of each day.
On the beach, I updated my diary notes and then went for a swim – as I lowered myself into the water, I noticed that the water was crystal blue and pleasantly warm. It wasn't hot, but it certainly wasn't cold, even at 10am in the morning. There was already a crowd on the beach, although nowhere near as populated at the beach at Camogli!
After a while of sunbathing, I went into the sea for relief from the heat. Bree was reading the Da Vinci Code, but he stopped reading for a bit and we went into the sea together. It was nice! Anyway, just before 1pm, we returned to our car and found another angering parking ticket. On this occasion, however, it should be noted that there was no mention of any motoring offence being committed which is why we parked there. However, some corrupt idiot found it fit to create a makeshift parking offence sign.
We drove from Levanto towards Monterosso on the yellow route of the Riviera de Levante. The route itself rises, falls and meanders and is therefore not for the faint-hearted, myself included! We saw an info booth at the entrance of Monterosso and asked how the 'system' of viewing the Cinque Terre (five lands) worked. The bronzed Italian women in her early 30's explained that you can take a train or boat between the five towns and gave lot's of information concerning costs and timetables.
We headed down to Monterosso, parked the car and grabbed a quick focaccia snack before boarding the train to Riomaggiore, the last of the Cinque Terre. After arriving, we ascended the stairs up to Torre Guardiola. On the way, we passed many private gardens where lemons, olives, peaches, tomatoes and grapes were being grown. From the tower, the views were fantastic and we descended to continue along the UNESCO-endorsed footpath. For €3 per person, you could walk along the specially prepared footpaths around the ocean footpath of the Cinque Terre.After reaching the next town of Manarola, we descended into the old town where people had no objection to drying their underwear in full public view and where many people had gathered to watch divers jump from a nearby rock into crystal clear waters; the crowd gasped in awe at the brave children. We continued our walk along the path, taking splendid pictures of the colourful town of Manarola as we left.
The sea was so blue, a world away from Helsinki, and the heat was starting to get the sweat glands going once again. We rested in the shade, sipping from a water bottle… and looked out to the sea: there was nothing out there, just a huge expanse of ocean and waves crashing against the rocks below. Tourists overtook us and we continued also, but not far from reaching Corniglia the path came to a complete stop – we had to turn back.
We checked the boat timetable printout to see when the next boat along the Cinque Terre would be. With just twenty minutes until the boat left, we dashed back to Manarola, bought tickets for the boat, boarded and decided to see the remaining two of the Cinque Terre by sea.
We found seats on the crowded sun-exposed upper deck and when the boat started to move, the breeze was so satisfying. Corniglia and colourful town of Vernazza passed by and, by 4.30pm, we had arrived back at Monterosso. It had been an exhausting day, but after a thirst-quenching Slush Puppy near the railway station, we headed back to the car park and were once again on our way.
We left Monterosso about 5pm and headed for the A12, bound for Pisa. Pisa was still standing because Superman had saved it from falling over in Superman 2. Did you know that?! Well, that's all very interesting, but Pisa is certainly one of those monuments in Italy that everybody has heard about so I was looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes with my digital camera in tow!
After the meandering drive from the Cinque Terre, we were back on the A12. We zoomed
past the Provinces of Massa and Cararra, Tuscany’s administrative centre. With beaches supposedly nearby on our right, we saw what seemed like huge snow capped mountains. I consulted the Lonely Planet guide and what seemed like snow-capped mountains were indeed marble quarries. What an illusion!
We sped along the A12, passing Viareggio and then taking the turnoff for Pisa. At this point, I started calling local hotels, intent on finding us a place to stay for the night. One place quoted €105 while another quoted €60 for a room without a bathroom. Yuck! We quickly reached the city limits and there, in the distance, was the imposing Leaning Tower. What a spectacle! It hit me in very much the same way as Neuschwanstein Castle (on the German-Austrian border) had done during my summer holiday in 2002.
As we approached Pisa, what struck me was that it was a small town, surrounded by miles upon miles of rolling countryside. Part of me expected the Leaning Tower to be in a City somewhere, but I was in for a surprise for, within ten minutes, we were parked outside the Piazza del Miracoli. We parked on the road side and let traffic pass us while we decided what to do. Right next to us was the Hotel Roma so I enquired within as to their availability – they had a room for €96 for the night including breakfast and parking. THIS close to the Piazza del Miracoli?! Oh, why not!
We checked in, eager to get washed, dressed and explore the city while daylight remained. By 7pm, we were in the Romanesque inspired Piazza del Miracoli. Here, stood an impressive baptistery, a grand cathedral and, of course, the Leaning Tower itself. We saw people walking around the top of the Leaning Tower and enquired as to how this was possible from a nearby guard strolling around the grounds. She motioned us towards the Ticket Office. Within 10 minutes, we had obtained tickets to scale the Leaning Tower at 11.20am the next morning… Cool!
It was time to eat so we went in search of a restaurant to satisfy our hunger. Bree was in one of his indecisive moods and his quest for a restaurant took us to the other side of Pisa – where the main shopping streets were and we the only tourists – before we returned to the Leaning Tower and dined nearby. Drinking Rosé one again, I consumed Caprese Salad, Seafood Spaghetti and Tiramisu. Lovely!
As the daylight dwindled and the crowds died away, lights lit up the Leaning Tower. We took our time while we ate until it emerged that we were just one of three tables eating in the outdoor restaurant. We got the message – it was time to settled the bill and buy some souvenirs on the way back to our hotel. It was past midnight when I got into bed and I slept soundly.
Day 5 – 5 July – Pisa to Radda, in the heart of Tuscany
We woke up at 9am and, after a breakfast of croissants and honey, we headed back to Piazza del Miracoli. We visited the Grand Cathedral and the impressive baptistery, surmounted by a statue of John the Baptist. The crowds were staggering. We went to the Information Office where we waited for our guide to the Leaning Tower – about 11.30, we were on our way there and, within minutes, were ascending the many steps within.As you got higher and higher, you could feel the incline of the tower on the steps. The views were amazing – in the near vicinity, you could see the sun-kissed town of Pisa itself. I call it a town because it doesn't exactly qualify as a city when you view it from the top of the tower. You could also see the nearby stadium of Pisa Football Club and, of course, the expanse of the Romanesque Piazza del Miracoli itself.
Once we got back to terra firm, we headed down Via Santa Maria where we ate an assortment of Ice Cream with Coffee. Lovely! The weather had been windy, especially at the top of the tower, but remained warm. Now, the clouds were clearing and we were treated to blue sky once again. Before collecting the car from the hotel car park, we took some more photos of the Leaning Tower, this time with blue sky as a backdrop.
We started driving about 1pm on the A12 towards Cecina. From there, we picked up the SS68, the route that would take us into the heart of Tuscany. The meandering roads afforded us some amazing views – after a while, we reached Volterra, an important trading centre under the Romans, before heading onto San Gimignano so named after the Bishop who apparently saved the city from Attila the Hun. Later, we passed Poggibonsi – what a strange name – which proved to be a bit of challenge to get out of. It felt like you were double-backing on yourself with every arrow pointing to Castellina in the Chianti region, famous for its red wines.
We reached Castellina, know for its brimming supply of Chianti Classico wine, just after 4pm and parked very close to the castle itself. It was siesta time and the area seemed pretty deserted. However, the Botega Del Vino store recommended by the Lonely Planet guide was open so we paid a visit. We were offered a glass of sparking Rosocco wine before we left with a bottle of the same name and two Chianti Reds.We drove onto nearby Radda, 11km from Castellina, and began our search for overnight accommodation. Two places in the centre of town were intent on charging €150 for the night, but we found a place just a kilometre outside of town for €70 and it even had its own swimming pool – what a bargain!, I thought. We checked in at the Podere Le Vigne and, by 6.30pm, we were enjoying the remains of the day’s sun by the pool. Fantastic!
Just after 8pm, we headed into town and strolled around the fortified town walls. At this hour, most of the shops were closed, as were most of the bars and restaurants. As we progressed through the town, we passed through a very quaint, cosy street just like those pictures you see of Italy in brochures. A cute, toothless, elderly woman in her 70’s grinned at us from a window above!
We headed back to the main road where we found an up-market restaurant, seemingly the only restaurant open in town, and we needed to eat. We dined there, tucking into Tagliatele Bolognese as a starter followed by Pork Kebab with salad and Chocolate Torte for dessert. Naturally, we drank a bottle of local Chianti Red.
After dinner, we drove back to the hotel which resembled a vineyard house and, outside, we drank the Prosecco we had bought in Castellina and viewed the mass of photos taken so far on the laptop. What a journey it had already been!
Day 6 – 6 July – Radda to Florence to Beccia near La Verna
I woke up at 9am and the sunshine was trying it's hardest to infiltrate the wooden slats covering the windows. I took a shower and we went for a rather naff breakfast of cornflakes and coffee. By 10am, we had checked out, loaded the car once again, then oiled ourselves up by the poolside. And there we stayed until 1pm, before heading on our daytrip to Florence.
We hooked up to route SS222 which took us all the way to Florence and along yet some more amazing scenery. We got to Florence via Greve-in-Chianti, pulling into Piassale Michelangelo where we parked for free and enjoyed the views. We sat in a café and ordered sandwiches and coca-cola with ice.
Our intention was to drive into town to see Michelangelo’s Statue of David at the Galleria dell’Accademia and scale the Duomo, like we had done in Milan. Just as we headed back to the car, we saw a CitySightseeing bus. For €20, we hopped on and started the tour. Florence IS beautiful, perhaps more consistent in design that anywhere we had visited so far. However, I could sense that I was starting to reach my cultural limit – every city seemed the same; a duomo, a baptistery, gelaterias etc. What surprised me was that every church, cathedral, baptistery or any place of religious meaning charged you money to get in. No wonder the Catholic Church is so wealthy, I thought to myself. It was then that I realised that, with every church we visited, we were funding the Catholic faith's outdated influence at a time when attendances were dwindling and faith was falling.
If these buildings were so bloody marvellous and in need of such preservation, shouldn't the parishioners who want the churches so badly pay for it?
The bus came to a stop just north of the Galleria Della Accademia where the Statue of David is said to be housed. For the museum, there were two queues; one for those with reservations and one for those without reservations. Each queue was more than 100 metres long which I thought was bloody ridiculous. In the LonelyPlanet guide, it says that queues can take as long as four hours to get through and it looked like some people had already been waiting for an eternity so we gave it a miss and headed towards Piazza Del Duomo.
We queued for 30 minutes before scaling the gruelling 463 steps to the top of the dome. About two thirds of the way up, there was an internal stop where you could walk around the inside of the dome and either gaze up at the impressive paintings on the dome or gaze down at the wandering mass of tourists within the church.
The religious images spanning the dome were powerful, representing the triumph of good over evil. At the top, you had God with Christ, lot's of angels and then what seemed to resemble crowned kings and queens, followed by servants and the like. Towards the bottle of the dome, you had devils and monsters and all sorts of evil; the paintings showed how the church resorted to fearful imagery to control the masses.
Having traversed to the other side of the done, the stairs continued for the remainder of the ascent to the top of the dome. After a gruelling fifteen minutes, we emerged into bright daylight at the very top of the Dome.
From the top, the view of Florence wasn't altogether impressive. Since the houses had been built so close together, you could view mostly the roofs of all the buildings while the spires of the numerous churches rose above the mass of pastel red roof tiles. In every direction, however, Florence was surrounded with rolling hills of green.
We returned to terra firma only to realise that the €6 per person fee hadn't included access to the main church itself. What blatant capitalists these people are, I thought. It was even worse when we got outside - we were charged €9 for two ice creams!
We jumped onboard the CitySightseeing bus again and travelled to Gold Street, situated on the 13th Century Bridge we had seen from Piasalle Michelangelo. After a brief stroll around there, we made our way back to the car park where we bought souvenirs then headed in the direction of San Marino and Rimini using a cross-country route.
We were now driving in what is known as the Val di Chianti. By 7pm, we had reached Beccia near Chiusa Della Verna. We found a deserted hotel, La Verna, for €54 for the two of us including breakfast! What a bargain!, although I do remember thinking 'Lovely, it's like the Bates’ Motel from Psycho' when I first saw the place.
Actually, the place WAS nice and, a family-run business, the burly Italian son tried his best to serve us in English. After we checked in, we passed through the huge deserted restaurant when I noticed a flat screen television broadcasting images of the Union Jack. For a minute, my heart stopped – I thought there had been a terrorist attack. It was, in fact, fantastic news – London had just received news that its bid to host the 2012 Olympics had been successful. I remember clenching my fist and exclaiming 'yes!' in happiness. Fantastic news!
Shortly after we checked into our room, we headed down to the restaurant and the Italian son helped us to understand the Italian menu! I had Ravioli with meat sauce followed by a 600g Beef Steak in balsamic vinegar which was surprisingly delicious. The Italian son recommended a very traditional desert of biscuits and sweet wine – very sweet, but surprisingly light.
After dinner, we went for a walk up the steep hill in the direction of the Sanctuario Delle Verna. Halfway up the hill, I had to stop walking due to indigestion. I told Bree to carry on without me, announcing that I would wait for him when he came back down.
I had my mobile phone with me and checked my messages while he was gone. Five minutes passed and still no Bree. I had rested against a brick wall where, on the left, was an overgrown cemetery. I turned to see if Bree was coming. Darkness was fast approaching by now and still no Bree.
To the left, I saw a huge wooden crucifix and it was at this moment that I sensed a sudden chill. If I had reached my cultural limit, I had also reached my religious limit; something about the religious-imagery-everywhere freaked me out. I had long since recovered from the indigestion so I proceeded up the rocky path which meandered sharply to the right and then sharply to the left where I saw a tiny Bree at the top of the hill. I shouted up to him, telling him to stay there, that now I was at the top of the hill I also wanted to see the Sanctuary for myself.
Within a minute, I had reached the top of the hill and above us stood the towering walls of the monastery. We entered the grounds and, again, overlooking the Valley was an eery, huge cross. You could hear singing from the nearby church – the monks were currently in a service. We took a walk around the silent grounds and were suddenly drowned out by a mass of chattering Italian students who were on a religious tour of the place. They passed by and we returned to the view of the Valley once again.
posted by About Me: @ 2:18 pm
<< Home