Tower run on New Year's Eve. Day three and four. Lucca and some more Pisa
The start of our tower jumps in Pisa here and in Florence here
In general, in Pisa there is something to see besides the Leaning Tower of Pisa - churches, streets and squares. But I was interested in the Museum of Ancient Ships, it seems like it opened in November 2016 in the building of the Medici Arsenal, and before that it worked on reservations. In 1998, during maintenance work at the San Rossore railway station, workers accidentally discovered the remains of 30 Drenerim galleons underground, and now they and other antiquities are presented in this museum.
On a sunny morning on December 31, having previously given a festive mood to a bottle of Bosca Annyversary bought the day before for a promotion (1.99 euros), we, slowly through the streets and squares,
Pisa, Piazza Dante Alighieri
looking into churches
St. Fredian's Church
inside St. Fredian's Church
and peeping through shop windows at barbers, bakers and artisans,
Let's go to the Arsenals.
Medici arsenals
But, alas, or I misunderstood, or something else, the museum was closed. Already at home, I translated the museum website (http://www. navipisa. it/) and found the phrase "Only from the excursion and for bookings (reservations must be made at least one week in advance), on Friday, Saturday morning and Monday. ” Well, sometime next time…
Actually, I had another tower scheduled for inspection, in Lucca. Of course, I briefly told my husband about her, but I did not insist. And then what to do? Let's go for a walk towards the station on the other side of the Arno, and let's go to Lucca.
Guelfa Tower, Citadel
No sooner said than done. . .
Electric trains run almost every half an hour, the ticket price is 3.5 euros, the duration of the trip is 20-35 minutes (depending on the number of stops).
Lucca is a small Tuscan town. Something like Pisa. But to us it seemed calmer, cleaner, more well-groomed. Its main attraction is, of course, the fortress wall, which is now not a wall at all, but a park surrounding the town.
Let these not be snowdrops, but they are very reminiscent of the fairy tale "12 months", because December 31st))
Lucca is a city of churches and towers. When from the city wall the husband saw a lot of towers and turrets sticking out of the general mass of houses, he said: “Well, dear, go ahead! Which one will you start with? : ))
There are many towers available for visiting. I didn’t study this issue much, it seems that there are separate tickets, and complex ones with temples and museums. Yes, the towers are mine! But I was interested in only one - the tower of Guinigi. Are there often towers on which trees grow? That's right, and I just absolutely needed to look at this case. I promised my husband that this is the only one, and that's it))
The tower was built by the Guinigi family, who essentially ruled Lucca in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many families then built towers to demonstrate their power and influence. Guinigi decided to stand out from many other towers not only in height. Holm oaks were planted on the top.
The cost of visiting is 4 euros. Climbing is always difficult, but after our previous rides, here is just the height of comfort. Only 44 m high, and with such, one might say, grand staircases. Not like in the Leaning Tower of Pisa or, even worse, when climbing the Duomo Dome in Florence : )
Guinigi Tower from the inside
But at the very top, at the exit, we had an incident, the husband did not fit between the railing of the last flight of stairs))))) Yes, everything is like Winnie the Pooh. But nothing, I didn’t have to wait for weight loss: they exhaled and leaked. Oh, my husband will forgive me for the unsightly photo, all for the sake of art)))
For some reason, I imagined the upper platform differently. Everything seemed to be on the same plane. So it seems like nothing, but with a large crowd of people (and they happen in so many influxes) you can get stuck near some side for a long time.
Well, here is Lucca at our feet! The same tiled roofs as in Pisa, but these towers, sticking out here and there (like mushrooms), make the view of the roofs completely different from Pisa.
Why do tourists go to all kinds of viewing platforms? Because that's how you embrace the immensity. Someone just looks: it’s beautiful, and someone (it’s us) starts: oh, look, there is something; oh, but there we passed; listen, maybe we'll get there...
And then we wandered the streets. There were very few tourists. And towards evening the town was almost empty. Shops and shops closed at 15-16 o'clock, apparently the owners began to prepare for the New Year, as we have a short day. And tourists, probably, in general, all went to other cities to their main places of residence.
Our favorite entertainment for the extraction of tangerines, not successful))
By the way, we looked after this tree while on the tower))
And then we had a festive picnic right on the walls of the city, everything was as it should be - with champagne, since there was a promotion in one of the chain markets, and we stocked up on several bottles of 1.99 euros.
It's so nice to walk along the wall at sunset, you can't see the sun down there, but here you can still watch the last rays. There is silence and tranquility around... It even became interesting if the inhabitants of Lucca had festive festivities. (In Pisa that evening there was a lot of noise!!! ) If there were, they were probably quiet)))
It's time for us to set sail for Pisa. At the railway station, we had our usual station adventures: a few minutes before departure, the train leaves from some mysterious platform 1TW, we didn’t find it safely and stayed to wait for the next one, since they run every half hour. For where else would we see a resting driver)), or rather, the boots of a resting driver)))
We returned to Pisa around seven in the evening. The city was in full swing preparing for the New Year.
evening Pisa
Everywhere, Euro-Africans (or Afro-Europeans? ) blew up firecrackers, elegant ladies with gentlemen hurried to parties, musicians performed, there were performances.
street performance
We walked for a long time, finally froze and went to the hotel. At 00.05 fireworks were supposed to take place on the bridge di Mezzo.
But we didn't even try to live up to it. Honestly, we waited until 22.00, and in Moscow this is just the battle of the Chimes, we clinked cups of tea (I didn’t feel like alcohol at all) and went to bed. Eh, old age is not a joy)) Pisa walked all night, screams, songs, the roar of fireworks broke through a dream. And the morning of January 1 again met us with a completely cloudless sky.
Galileo Galilei embankment
Fibonacci embankment and San Gallo fortress
AK Pobeda sent a reminder that it was time to leave for the airport, and we went. Yes, yes, we went on foot through the waking city to the airport. The sun was rising higher and getting a little warmer. And we decided, after all, to drink for the New Year that came so unusually for us, and not to bring to Moscow the bottle of champagne that was ignored the day before : ))
They say how you celebrate the New Year is how you spend it. I really want to believe it. I wish myself more travel and at the lowest cost : ))
