Good news - the tower is still leaning!

We are sitting on the train platform at Lucca having missed the train to La Spezia by a nanosecond. With half an hour to wait here I am again!

The train system here is very efficient and we have perfected the art of buying tickets from the ticket machine, even to the point of giving other tourists instructions. Whilst we make sure that we do validate the tickets before we start the journey, it seems that it is optional and we have never been asked to produce a ticket by an inspector although there seems to be lots of uniformed staff around. I think it is a system based on trust: they trust us to buy a ticket! A bit like home.

Today we are off to the Cinque Terre (or 5Terre as the locals call it). For those who haven't the faintest idea what that is: it's 5 tiny villages perched on the coast that you can walk between - or catch the local train or ferry if you aren't up to walking. We will reserve judgement on which of these modes of transport we will use until we get there!

However yesterday we decided to cross off one of the items on our bucket list (Yes, we are that old!). We caught the train from Lucca to Pisa for a 30 minute trip and joined the thousands of other tourists on a pilgrimage to climb the famous Tower.

Later.............. We suddenly realised we were on the wrong platform and had to make a dash to the right one to get on the train! Anyway back to Pisa..

The Tower still leans on a significant angle and was just as odd as I remember it from 35 years ago. Now there are so many tourists that you are given a time to climb it so 12.15 it was. We lined up and were given a quick explanation about the tower and then we climbed the 260 steps. They are made of marble and very worn, even more so than 35 years ago when last I trod on them, The whole structure is made from local white marble and whilst the outside of the Tower is quite ornate and arched the inside is very austere. The steps have a significant dent in them where thousands of people have trodden over many centuries since 1173, when it was built. Some are on quite an angle so it can make you a bit dizzy especially when the steps are on the angle that the tower is leaning towards.

However we made it to the top and admired the 7 iron bells at the very top, and the great view. It is actually the bell tower for the neighbouring Duomo (church) so after we descended we headed off there to check it out because we hadn't seen a church for a whole day! The size of the Duomo is it's greatest feature as it was the largest cathedral in Europe when construction started in1064. The decor was a bit of a mish mash: some of it totally undecorated and other bits beautifully frescoed and carved. A very modern altar and sculpture seemed totally out of place and have apparently caused some controversy. Along one wall was an altar dedicated to someone ( a cardinal I think - no audio guide so no idea!) and in a golden box at the feet of his statue was his skull and bones.

We also visited the Baptistry next door which was even more austere but had a beautiful carved pulpit with marble lions supporting the columns supporting the actual pulpit.

For me the best part of the whole complex was undoubtedly the Camposanto or Cemetery. After contending with the masses around the Tower when we walked into this building there was hardly a person there and it was cool and green and peaceful. It consists of a quadrangle created by arched cloisters. The marble slabs in the floor are the burial places for many famous and wealthy people over many centuries. Inside ornate sarcophagi arranged along the walls were more celebrities including Galileo. In the heat and chaos of Pisa it was very tranquil.

We decided to have a stroll around more of the town and headed for the Arno River which took us past the University of Pisa which is highly-respected, and apparently has a world-renowned medical school - well that's what the taxi driver in Lucca told us and he's a reliable source I'm sure.

Then it was back to the train and Lucca. For dinner we went to the Osteria right outside our front door, so Ewan had some red wine and a liqueur as it was literally ten cobblestoned steps to our front door.

Tuesday 24th September:

After finally getting on the right train we headed for La Spezia on the coast. On the way Ewan noticed some white mountains in the distance and the next station was called Carrara so we realised it was the source of carrara marble which is used locally and worldwide.

We managed to find the apartment we had booked using the blue dot on Google Maps - where would we be without it? It was perfectly located: 10 minutes away from the docks and the train station. La Spezia is a very pretty town with wide pedestrian boulevards, one of which has orange trees laden with fruit lining the street. After a quick pasta lunch we headed for the docks to catch a ferry along the 5 coastal villages that make up Cinque Terre. For a few hours we sat back, soaked up the sunshine and snapped pictures of this amazing picturesque group of villages. In the end we did only about 15 minutes walking ( to get a gelato) at Monterossa before getting back on the ferry for the return trip.

Ewan's foot is still not 100% so we will catch the train to the furthest village tomorrow and set off from there. As you can see from the photos there will be a lot of up and down to be walked. Some of the villages aren't able to be accessed by walking paths because of rockslides. As the cliffs are so sheer and some of them do look fragile it's not surprising that the paths do get cut off.
The train hugs the shoreline with the help of many tunnels and it's only up from there so we will see how we survive and how far we get tomorrow!