Day 24: Pisa

Leonardo da Vinci Museum
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Today is Kimmy’s birthday…Happy Birthday Kimmy Jayne!!!!

We slept in until about 9am then set out for Florence. McDonalds for breakfast was a hit as a couple of coffees were nice and a ready made lunch for Billy was great. This also means we have a collection of Sonic Happy Meal games to drive us nuts! We unfortunately left a bag back at the Summit Hotel, thankfully we hadn’t got very far, so went back there and got it. By the time we got on the road it was past 11am.

sat at a café in a cobblestone lane and had Pisa pizza under the Tower of Pisa

Cute Kimmy
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Florence is just under 300kms and is called ‘Firenze’ in Italy. On the way we decided to go direct to Vinci first (the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci). Unfortunately we managed to miss the turn off and the next turn off wasn’t for quite some time up the road (about 15kms), so a quick stop for lunch before we did plan B… we turned around and headed for Vinci.

We arrived there without further hiccups and it was beautiful. Everywhere you looked was brilliant a photo opportunity. The Vinci Museum was set high up the Tuscan hills at a small castle and chapel (didn’t have enough hours for confession!!) overlooking some vineyards and sunflower crops. Obviously Leonardo was a very talented man who probably didn’t sleep much, with not only his famous paintings but also his seemingly never-ending contraptions, a lot of the concepts of which are still used today. Explaining the models of his inventions to Billy was a real challenge as the spiel was in Italian. We are glad no one else could understand our explanation because it was very creative!! A trip to Vinci is definitely a highlight and on our recommended places list.

Dinner Under The Tower
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We then decided not to go to Florence as originally planned, but it was already pushing 5pm, so we headed to Pisa. We arrived in Pisa, got a little disoriented, but finally found the leaning tower, and we all agreed it was the most impressive monument so far. It is surrounded by a cathedral and is leaning quite a distance. We thought if it toppled at that moment we would live to be the Aussies selling the story to the Women’s Weekly.

We found a hotel after trying a few who were a tad expensive, and ended up in a reasonable hotel (the Di Stefano). To date we have not had to sleep in the car; Europe being in high season. The hotel doesn’t have air conditioning but the rooms are large and clean and have a fridge and we get breakfast.

Driving
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We then walked back to the tower, and took lots of photos but unfortunately kids under 8 are not allowed on the tour, so we chose not to head up the tower (we would have had to wait until 9pm to do it anyhow). Kim wasn’t to keen as it is really leaning, and would rather live to sell the story to Channel Nine if the tower fell. The cathedral alone would be worth a mention if it weren’t for the leaning tower, altogether a very impressive and well maintained area. Another chocolate ice-cream eaten, not worn, by Billy who is getting skillful at dodging the drips!!

Getting Wet
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We then sat at a café in a cobblestone lane and had Pisa pizza under the Tower of Pisa; roving musicians not playing the chicken dance or hokey pokey. A very nice ending to Kimmy’s birthday.

PS It’s great to get your messages on the comments post. You are a funny lot and wish we had you all with us!! KEEP WRITING!!!