Day 1: GIRONA - PISA - LUCCA - VOLTERRA
Thursday, January 6, 2011
4.15 in the morning: Ring, ring, ring. The alarm? Yes, it is the alarm clock and it is announcing that a trip begins, we are going to The Toscana and in a few hours we will be enjoying Lucca and Volterra.
This is how our day began today, after a couple of weeks ago we were given this bridge “by surprise”.
We did not know what to do, if we stay at home resting or go somewhere. And of course, he won the second option and we decided to do a trip to Tuscany.
Almost without realizing it we saw plane tickets to Pisa and the rented car for 4 days.
Today our 4-day trip through Tuscany has begun.
We arrive at Girona airport at 6 in the morning, directly from the parking lot we will check in a suitcase.
This time we are ready ... the last time they made us pay for overweight in their handbags, so this time we have billed one and so we are calmer.
As we have time we have breakfast near the boarding gates and when we realize they already announce the flight.
The truth is that we can tell little about flight from Girona to Pisa, only that it lasted 1 hour and ten minutes. We slept for at least 1 hour, so we have spent more than flying.
Flight without problems and after landing we will pick up our suitcase.
In less than 5 minutes we already have it and we go straight to the area where we will pick up our rental car in Tuscany.
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The indications at the airport are very good and we have no problem finding it. It is a walk of about 5 minutes, then we have seen that there is a bus that connects the two areas and passes every 15 minutes.
We do the paperwork and before 9 we have the car to get on the way to Lucca and Volterra, which will be our destinations today.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Tuscany
- 10 essential places to visit in Tuscany
- 10 essential places to see in Siena
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The first destination of the day will be the city of Lucca, a true wonder for everything we have read, but nevertheless, one of the most "forgotten" in the routes in Tuscany.
The weather is not very good and it starts to drizzle and at the moment we don't see any typical Tuscan landscape from the car.
In just over half an hour we planted ourselves at the gates of the walls of Lucca, it took us a while to decide on which parking to park and in the end we opted for the parking that is next to the Porta Santa Maria.
We found one, right next to it, inside the walls, which counts 1.50 euros per hour. So we don't even think about it, we park and take out our gearboxes to get going.
The first part of the tour is done under the umbrella, that takes away a little illusion, but the moment we see the ambient we are glad ...
We start with Via Fillungo, which is where stores are concentrated and where more people are seen.
Despite being so early, the street of Lucca It is already full and we begin to see the first showcases with the sales cartels.
From here we go to Piazza San Martino, we must say that we take an itinerary, more or less marked in the guide, to see the things we want, but in the end we end up getting lost in the streets of Lucca... which is what we like the most, although from time to time we keep an eye on the plane.
In this square we find the Catedrale di San Martino, with such bad luck that there is Mass and we cannot visit it. We are trying to see the details from the entrance for a while and seeing that it has just begun we decided to stay with that piece of visit ... at least we have been able to see "The Last Supper" of Tintoretto.
From here we go directly to see the Chiesa e Battistero dei SS. Giovanni
We enter only a little, since we see that we are going just in time and we have many things to do.
Between “visit and visit”, we keep getting lost in the streets of Lucca and going through the same places several times.
That and that begins to blow our stomachs… we decided that it is best to stop for a good expresso that will calm our hunger for a while and wake us up !!
We stopped at a coffee shop near Piazza San Michele, there we spent some time reviewing today's planning and especially warming up a bit.
We have 5 degrees and it shows when you have been in the street for a while ...
When we leave we stop again at the Chiesa de San Michele in Foro, the architecture is spectacular and lends itself to make some good snapshots.
We look for a couple of famous places and we hit them, too bad we just had coffee, if we hadn't taken advantage of trying the “buccellato” in Taddeucci.
At least we take a picture of the window ...
Lucca
From here we go to the Torre del Ore and continue towards the Guinigi Tower.
We see it from afar, through a little street and as we get closer we lose sight of it ... when we realize it, we have passed it and we have to go back, to reach its doors.
In the end we decided not to enter, mostly because it starts to rain again and although we have been told that the views are spectacular, we do not really want to climb stairs.
So we go directly to the Piazza Amphitheater in Lucca, one of the things I most want to see.
We enter through a street parallel to Mordini and although time does not accompany, we remain with our mouths open.
Lucca
At this moment we are already separated and each one begins to take pictures of his “free will”, until we realize that it is 12.30 in the morning and that we have been from 6 in the morning without eating anything.
We go straight to the parking lot, to put more money and we see a Trattoria just in front, so we get in and see that although it is soon it is almost full.
We eat a couple of starters and two pasta dishes, more drinks and coffees for about 35 euros, the truth is that we were surprised that it is so cheap, since the idea that the food was going to come out for a good peak and We had assumed.
It's already 2 and a little in the afternoon and we decided it's time to go on our way to Volterra, our next stop at the trip to Tuscany, where we will sleep tonight at the Etruria Hotel.
It takes us an hour and 40 minutes or so to arrive.
The last section of the road is spectacular, with many curves, but with amazing views of Volterra and to the landscapes that surround it.
We put in the GPS the hotel address of Volterra, but being the opposite direction we cannot leave the car there to leave our bags, so we go straight to the Piazza XX Settembre and we go to Matteotti walking with our bags ... it seems that it is farther away, but in less than 5 minutes we arrive .
Just entering with the car, we see that this city will like us.
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It still retains Christmas lighting and that gives it a special look.
Narrow streets, cobbled and full of showcases of crafts ... what more can we ask for?
Our hotel, Albergo Etruria, is very central, so we have everything at hand.
But before starting to wander, at the hotel they tell us that the car can not be left where we have it, so we are going to look for it and finding no place in the free parking that they indicate, we opted for a nearby payment, Total is 11 euros a day ... we will not come of that!
Once we have "everything controlled", we see that it has almost completely darkened, although it is 5 in the afternoon ...
We propose to visit what we can of the city and the rest we will do tomorrow morning before we leave.
Besides, we see that we have almost no light for the photos, so tomorrow it will be inevitable to take a walk around Volterra.
First we go directly to the Piazza dei Priori, where we see the famous Palazzo dei Priori, which they say served as a model for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
Volterra
In this area we see much more tourist than in Lucca, although the day does not accompany much.
Volterra
Almost without realizing it, we are entering the different stores that we are finding. They are a pleasure for the eyes and the palate ...
It goes that if we had another suitcase, we would have to stop our feet with food shopping !!
The best of Volterra are the streets themselves, they have a special light and that makes them ideal for photography.
We make some purchases of alabaster handicraft and we are going to have a drink, to cool our throat a little, that we go crazy with wandering around Volterra and we forget even to eat !!
Today we have the digestive clock a little altered and around 7.30, more for fatigue than for hunger, we decided that it is time for dinner.
We are going to a trattoria near the hotel and recommended by the guide.
We had a couple of delicious pasta dishes, with water, wine and dessert for about 30 euros.
Again surprised by the cheap prices, we go straight to Albergo Etruria to rest.
Today has been a long day, we have been almost without rest for 18 hours, but they have been worth it.
Tomorrow more than The Toscana… And surely better.
Day 2VOLTERRA - SAN GIMIGNANO - MONTERRIGGIONI - SIENA
