One of the highlights of our trip to Tuscany last year was to be our visit to Pisa. To be accurate, the main attraction was not so much the city of Pisa itself, charming though it undoubtedly is, but the Field of Miracles*. Well, to be punctiliously precise, it wasn't even the Field of Miracles that had our anticipatory juices flowing, but The Leaning Tower of Pisa in particular.
* The Field of Miracles is the area housing the Duomo, Tower, Baptistry and associated buildings.
To be honest, if you discount the Field of Miracles, I'm not sure that much else in Pisa merits a visit although I expect some Pisaphile will soon put me straight on that count. However, it can't be denied that the seething masses that are constantly disgorged from the tourist buses usually have one thing in mind and that's to take one of those corny snaps ...
Advantages: Breath taking views, easy to get to and around Disadvantages: Them damn bicycles
Last Wednesday a few of my work colleagues and I went along to Pisa for the day, after spotting a bargain on the Ryanair website which involved us paying 2p per ticket with Ryanair and £20 in Airport Tax. Having never been to before this was a first taste of Italy for me and I was especially looking forward to seeing the Leaning Tower in all its glory
Pisa is located in Tuscany, still surrounded by its 12-century City Walls on the north bank of the river Arno with just over 100,000 inhabitants. The centre of Pisa is easily accessible from Galileo Galilei Airport, which is about a mile away from the City Centre. The Airport itself has numerous facilities including a Bureau de Change, Cash machine's and ATM's as well as car hire centres, restaurants, café's and bars and a few shops. To get from the Airport to the centre of Pisa we ...
kappaslappa 03.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pisa (Italy)
Advantages: Good price, great rooms and breakfast Disadvantages: not best surroundings
This was a definite 'how far can we go on a budget at Easter where it might be warm?' affair. Thank God for budget airlines. Me, the wife and the nipper/satan spawn off to Pisa on Ryanair from Liverpool for about £140 should do it.
But where to stay? I was all for sleeping on a beach but Italy in April wouldn't stop hypothermia I was told. So it was time to scour the internet for somewhere with 5 days availability, vaguely out of season and cheap. We had about £400 to play with. Not too bad. The wonders of the modern family meant that some of our kids were spending time with their real parents so we were down from 5 to 1. It wasn't my idea to conceive a child between us that we couldn't ship out. Damn female hormones. Rather than spend our time mourning, we thought it best to bugger off of on holiday without them to ease the pain ...
The marketplace location and simple decor of this popular spot belie its reputation for fine cuisine -- although a recent expansion is a nod to its success. The menu changes each month, but includes the delicious likes of a sformatino di melanzane (eggplant soufflé in tomato sauce), to be followed by ravioli di ceci con salsa di gamberetti e pomodoro fresco (ravioli stuffed with a garbanzo bean pâté and served in shrimp-and-tomato sauce) or strozzapreti al trevisano e gorgonzola (a slightly bitter dish of pasta curlicues in a cheesy sauce topped with shredded red cabbage). You can stick to tradition with your secondo by ordering the baccalà con patate e ceci (salt cod with potatoes and garbanzo beans). Because the place operates as an enoteca after hours, the wine list is long and detailed.
