Tuscany February 2003

Pisa * Florence * Lucca

14 - 17 February 2003

My friend, ex classmate and ex colleague Shahram and I had planned spending a short vacation together for some time. In January I had visited him in his new home town Vienna, but stupidly I had forgotten to take a camera with me. A month later, Shahram took a Germanwings flight to Cologne, where I picked him up in the hotel the next morning. We then took a Hapag Lloyd Express flight from Cologne to Pisa.

Accomodation
The hotel I had stayed in on my two trips in 2002 was in company holidays, so instead I booked our rooms at the Hotel Roma. The hotel's location is not quite perfect, despite of its closeness to the cathedral and the leaning tower, because those sights are rather on the outside of the old town. It is quite a walk to the river Arno, even more so to the railway station - for people without exercise, I'd recommend taking the bus. Another unfortunate element was the noise from Via Pisano, where the hotel is located. What was very good was room and bath, both very spacious and clean. The staff was very friendly and commendable. However, breakfast left a bit to be desired - it was missing both sausage and cheese as well as cereals. All things considered, at a price of € 55 definitely recommendable.

Sights in Pisa
Of course one has to mention this fantastic cathedral square. I guess everybody has seen this leaning tower already - however, it was the romanic cathedral, with a marvellously light, friendly atmosphere, which I liked most. We also visited the baptisterium and the camposanto. The city also has a lovely old town, particularly the area between university, Piazza dei Cavalieri and the bridge Ponte di Mezzo. And one shouldn't miss the early evening buzz of activity at the Corso Italia, on the other bank of the Arno. There you can feel the pure lust for life, the Italian way.

Excursions to Florence and Lucca
You can easily get to both cities from Pisa by train, at very reasonable prices. I had visited Florence already in autumn of 2002, along with my parents. Near the railway station, I would suggest to visit the ancient perfumery in the monastery Santa Maria Novella - a unique experience for the sense of smell. I kept back the baptisterium for my next visit - what was

spectacular (and exhausting...) was to walk to the top of the Duomo's cupola, from where you have a fantastic view of the city. For the first time I got to see the church Santa Croce with the lovely piazza in front of it. And of course parts of our visit were the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio, the banks of the Arno with the Ponte Vecchio, and some Palazzi. As is known, Florence is not really an inexpensive city, but one cannot resent this lovely place.
On Sunday, we went to Lucca - it was my third visit to Pisa's neighbouring town and traditional arch rival. However, we stayed only until lunch time, because we were still a bit exhausted from our visit to Florence, and there was a nasty, ice cold wind blowing from the mountains. February is probably still a bit too early for a trip to Tuscany. So we visited a few of Lucca's sights (San Michele in Foro, San Frediano, Piazza Anfiteatro), stocked up on those delicious local pastries, and after a light snack we went back to Pisa. Lucca is definitely worth a visit, but its situation in a valley makes it exposable to wind, which can be a bit uncomfortable at that time of year.

A few tips
As mentioned before, February is certainly not the ideal travel period to go to tuscany. The previous year, I had visited in April and October, and I would consider both periods ideal. The Italian price level I would consider similar to that in Germany. A good place for shopping is the Upim store at Pisa's Corso Italia - some smaller shoe shops are worth a look, too. There are two restaurants in Pisa I would like to recommend. The trattoria "Le Scuderie" (via Sancasciani) is located a bit off the beaten track. If you follow the Corso Italia towards the railway station, you have to turn left shortly before the end of the pedestrian area. Passing a church, you walk straight towards the restaurant. It is very popular among the locals, the owner is from the south of Italy and the place has excellent pizza. Other dishes are very recommendable too, I would like to mention "Polpo al la Casseruola", a little octopus in tomato sauce with olives and capers. And it is excellent value for money. Also a bit off the beaten track, in a small lane near the river, not far from the Via Mazzini, there is the restaurant "Le Repubbliche Marinare" (vicolo del Ricciardi, 8). You can enjoy excellent meals at reasonable prices - one dish I'd like to recommend is "Gnochetti Sorrentina".