The 5th stop on my Europe tour was Pisa, where I stayed in two different hostels due to the timing with a Italian holiday… So here we go about what to do in Pisa with just one day to spare.
I started my day with a quick breakfast before heading to the Leaning Tower and the Cathedral of Pisa, which was super close to my first hostel. After some pictures and once I had my (free) ticket for the cathedral later in the day, I decided that it was time to move my stuff to the other hostel and do a little bit of sightseeing.
I walked along the Corso Italia and along the way I saw the Piazza dei Cavilieri, Piazza Garibaldi and the Pisa train station.I just love all these old buildings around the squares and its one of my favorite things about European cities. I also came across the Ponte Mezzo a beautiful and historical important bridge (it used to be the only bridge to connect the two parts of Pisa, that are parted by the Arno river).
At the new hostel I realized that they didn’t provide any utensils to cook with in their kitchen and so I decided to head out straight away for some sightseeing (without luggage).
Walking by the train station I got to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, where I found the Keith Harring Mural on the side of church by accident. I decided to walk the side streets once again and so I ended up finding a lot of cute churches along the way to the Porta Della Degazia, a cute little old ruin.
I continued to walk alongside the river towards the St.Maria della Spina a small little church right on the river banks. I decided to cross the river at the bridge by Piazza Aureole Saffi since there was nothing left on this side for me to see. On my way back to the Piazza Garibaldi I came across the Gelateria De Collteli, the first of many gelato places of the day. The ice cream was so delicious and a welcomed cool off. On the continued walk along the river, I saw the Palazzo Blu, an art museum which was closed at the time. But for the perfect view of the building the opposite riverbank is perfect.
Once I arrived at Piazza Garibaldi I tested the ice cream at La Bogota Gelato and just around the corner I stopped for ice cream at Il Gelato Di Toto. All of these gelato places were awesome and so good. Now I had enough energy to walk back to the tower and the cathedral.
I used the time I had left before my ticket to take pictures with/of the tower and to write some postcards. When it was time for me to enter the cathedral I realized that my clothing was considered inappropriate (showing shoulders and knees). But this church is actually super used to tourists so they have disposable cover ups for free available. The cathedral is one of the most amazing churches I’ve ever seen and totally worth coming back to later in the day after getting a free ticket at the counter in the morning.
For dinner I headed to a restaurant called Pizzeria La Mura, a family run business close to the leaning tower with one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in my entire life. You actually have to go inside to the pizza oven to make your order right there and get your own silver ware. If you are lucky you can actually see the leaning tower during your meal.
Once I was done I decided to head to the leaning tower one last time for a view at night before heading back to the hostel for some well needed sleep.
Kathi's Travel Adventure 