Travel: VIAREGGIO, ITALY - The Tuscany Diaries

*check out my last instalment of The Tuscany Diaries in Pisa here first!* 

And so we'd come to the last destination on our whirlwind Tuscany tour - the coastal town of Viareggio. Our accommodation here was a small summer apartment with two identical bedrooms and very beachy vibes. My morning in Viareggio began well with a tasty Nutella filled brioche from Puccinelli Pastry Cafe, but went a bit off the rails from there.

I made my way towards the beachfront to catch a glimpse of the sea, but found it completely blocked off. Not a surprise, as it was the day of Carnevale, but the road wasn't due to shut until 9am. It was 8:45. Could I go through just for a look at the sea? Not without a €22 ticket. The main reason of coming to Viareggio was to see the sea, and now we were being told we couldn't do so without paying for it?

With no other options, we decided to buy tickets, and through we went, although it turned out that the ticket only really gave you access to a section of the promenade that must've been less than 1km long, but encapsulated pretty much all of the public beach. In fact, arguably the best part of the beach, the Molo pier, was outside of the ticketing area, so we could've gone for free, but alas. The next few hours were spent walking in and out of the ticketed area, sitting by the beach, and making the most of our ticket by checking out all of the floats that would come to life for the parade later that afternoon.

It's no surprise that one of my favourite things about visiting new places is trying the cuisine there, and whilst many might think Italy is just 'pizza' and 'pasta' (guilty), there is so much variety even between these two types of food. I'd been told that a pasta shape called pici was famous from this region, and had been looking out for it as we moved through Florence, Lucca, and Pisa. It was in Viareggio that I finally found it, at a restaurant on the main promenade called Fanatiko. The dish, cacio e pepe, is a simple one with cheese and pepper, and was very pleasant. Glad to have ticked it off!

As the parade drew closer, the area got busier, so we found a spot by the side of the road and waited for the festivities to begin. With three loud bangs that sounded like gunshots (whose idea was that?!), the parade kicked off. Over the next two hours, we watched dancers and performers make their way along the road ahead of huge floats. They were so intricately detailed, with manually controlled moving parts. We saw floats with the likes of an Italian singer dressed as the Pope, Don Quixote, a giant ant, a polar bear, Joe Biden riding on an American flag buffalo, dragons, and so much more. They were all so carefully crafted, and incredible to watch come by, almost touching the sides of the buildings as they went.

As the last few floats passed us, we saw that it was already time to head back to the station for our return home, and even that was something special. Cruising along past La Spezia and Cinque Terre, we watched the sun set over the ocean with beautiful colours stretching across the skyline. And there you have it - a four day whirlwind tour of Tuscany. I can't wait to see what's next. 

And there we have it - the final instalment in The Tuscany Diaries (at least until next time...) I hope you enjoyed reading all about them - have you visited Tuscany? What areas would you recommend? I'd love to hear them - drop me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry, where you can also stay up to date on all of my future travel adventures. Thanks so much for reading! 

Travel: PISA, ITALY - The Tuscany Diaries

*Read about one of my favourite cities in Italy - Lucca - here first!*

After Lucca, I wasn't sure anything could stand up to my expectations, but if one place was going to try, it'd certainly be Pisa. We arrived after sunset, and so headed directly to our accommodation for the night - Magnolia Comfort and Rooms. It was decent, but in a bit of a weird location and besides, after the wonderful stay we'd had in Lucca, anything else was bound to be a disappointment.

First item on the agenda - dinner. We walked into the main part of town, past the tower. I'll be honest, I was really surprised to find that it really is that 'leany' in real life! We'd picked Ristorante Allabona for dinner, an eco-friendly restaurant that serves all their food on biodegradable plates. We shared a selection of pecorino to start, and I had a fairly plain bowl of pasta with tomato sauce for the main. Fine, but nothing incredible.

The same cannot be said of the following day's breakfast. Our choice that morning was Filter Coffee Lab, which had a great selection of breakfasts, from avocado toast, to muffins, to pancakes with Nutella. Bet you can't guess which one we went for.

We'd make the smart decision of booking tickets for the Tower that morning, so didn't have to worry with stressing about times and the like. The price to enter the Tower was €20, whilst the price for all the buildings on the Piazza dei Miracoli was €27, so it seemed to make sense to buy the ticket that encompassed everything. We arrived at the Tower for our 11:30 booking, and were brought into its hollow centre, where we learned that it had previously had an even bigger angle of lean! Pretty cool. 

Then, we started to climb. I was fascinated by how the part of each step most faded varied with each step, because of course you were going round at at angle. There was a mid section, and you could then continue up to the top for lovely views of the piazza and beyond. We were lucky enough to be up there just as the huge (and very loud) bells tolled noon, much to the shock of one of my travel companions!

We were ushered away from the top so the next group could come up, so headed back down to explore the rest of what the ticket offered. First, the Basilica, which had a bit line stretching from it's front doors (bear in mind we weren't even there in the high season!) It was a large and impressive building, as many churches in Italy are - they really know how to make them!

Next came the Battistero, a big circular building with a large font in its centre; and the Camposanto, a rectangular complex with cloisters you could walk around and admire the frescoes. After all that culture, we were in need of something to eat, so headed away from the centre towards the university district. My friends opted for filled focaccia, but I was in the mood for cecina - a Pisa speciality which is essentially a savoury pancake made of chickpeas. I was losing hope of finding some when I found a tiny shopfront selling them for a mere €1.50 a slice. Hot and tasty.

From hot to cold, we next headed to Gelato Dipendente, which some reviews had claimed was the best ice cream in Italy. After trying their Nutella and biscotti flavours, I can tell you it's not. It was fine, but had nothing on some of the gelaterias I'd tried. If you really want the best gelato in Italy, get the squisatone flavour at Amorucci in Como - my biggest and best secret, laid out for you.

Nicely full, we had some more culturing to do. We breezed around the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo with its carved marble and nice view of the Tower, and to Museo delle Sinopie, with paintings and fresco outlines. After all that, I think we had more than enough of culture, and good thing too - just time for a few touristy snaps in front of the tower before our train to the next destination. Onwards! 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my time in Pisa! If you've visited, I'd love to hear what you enjoyed, and where else you think I should head to next. Send me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry, where you can also be the first to know when I post my next instalment of the Tuscany Diaries! Thanks for reading! 

Travel: LUCCA, ITALY - The Tuscany Diaries

*check out my last Tuscany destination - Florence / Firenze - here first!*

After a quick sejourn in Florence, we rolled through the Tuscan hills, arriving in Lucca as the sunset. What's Lucca? I had the same question, and can now easily answer with 'my favourite Tuscan city'. We walked from the station along the wall of this walled city to our B&B, La Terrazza di Via Elisa. It was utterly gorgeous. Literal suites with huge beds and bathrooms, complimentary coffee, a pretty living room and terrace, and all for €25pp! I cannot recommend enough - we loved it.

In spite of a big lunch in Florence, we'd worked up quite the appetite, something that would've been easy to fix had everywhere we tried in Lucca not already been full. We ended up at Ristorante Pizzeria K2, which although not our first choice, was a real delight. I had a delicious pizza with mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, olives, and pesto. So good!

After a great night's sleep, our first day in Lucca began with coffee and brioche (courtesy of my lovely friends!) in bed - the best way to start any day. Our first stop of the day was Torre Guinigi, one of Lucca's many towers, but with the added excitement of having trees growing at the top. It felt like a lot of stairs to go up, but once at the top, were afforded lovely 360 views of Lucca and its surrounds, with towers and mountains stretching out before us.

We'd picked a particularly windy day to go up,  so we didn't stay too long - plus there was so much of Lucca still to see. The best idea of the trip came from one of my compatriots - what better way to see so much of the city than by bike? We collected a fleet of bikes from Gigabike - €10 each for the whole day, and then we were off. We cruised along the cobbled streets, past churches and towers, to the main square, and then up onto the wall, around the entirety of which you can cycle. The second best idea of the day came next - a picnic on the wall! We'd picked up supplies at a nearby supermarket and had a wonderful (windy) lunch of fresh Italian produce - bread baked that morning with straciatella, sundried tomatoes and homemade pesto, all in one of the parks on top of the wall. What a great idea!

We rode through the busy centre, but the best thing about the bikes was that they got us easily away from the crowds, something we all really appreciated. With the end of the day drawing near and more cities still to visit, there was time for one more snack stop - this time coffee and cake at Santa Zita. Still working on loving coffee, I picked a specialty coffee - with Nutella, shredded coconut, and a swirl of whipped cream, it looked more like a cocktail or dessert than a coffee. I had it alongside a slice of creme brulee cake, which tasted as you'd expect it to - like creme brulee. Both were fine, but I think they'd opted for style more than substance - plus no cake will ever beat Cernobbio's Cafe Anagramma's Sachertorte!

And just like that, our time in Lucca had come to an end, but what a wonderful day and a bit it had been. Lucca, you have my heart. Now, onto the next location! 

Thank you so much for reading about my time in Lucca! I'll have even more exciting travel blogs around Tuscany up on the blog very soon... stay tuned on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and let me know where your favourite places in Europe are. Thanks for reading!  

Travel: FLORENCE / FIRENZE, ITALY - The Tuscany Diaries

*check out my last trip to Bologna (food galore) here first!*

With days off far and few between, I was definitely going to take full advantage of being given two in a row. In fact, we was going to use them so productively, we'd planned a whirlwind tour of Tuscany in just four days. 'You can't do that! You'll never experience Tuscany that way!' a friend cautioned me. Watch us.

 

The Tuscany tour began in the city most people would associate with the region - Florence / Firenze. We hopped off the train at Santa Maria Novella Station and mosied over to the nearby Basilica - my first taste of Florence architecture, with its highly intricate designed facade. 

This set the stage for what was to come, as we headed into the centre of town. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore was so beautiful, it's hard to convince myself that it's not greenscreened when I look back over the photos! Absolutely beautiful. Nearby, you'll find Piazza della Signoria, where a replica of Michelangelo's David can be found (I plan on returning to see David in his full glory in the Galleria dell'Accademia someday soon), along with plenty more statues.

Italians sure love their rivers, so we stopped for photos at Ponte Vecchio, before crossing in search of food. We had two items on our bucket list - bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine steak) and ribollita, a traditional soup/stew made with beans, bread, and vegetables. Both were easily found at Trattoria de' Guicciardini - I opted for the ribollita, and if you're looking for something hearty, you won't find anything more so than this. It was thick and flavoursome, and definitely enough to fill you up for the day. 

Of course there's lots to do in Florence, and we'd been told that one of the best ways to see as much of it as possible was from the Giardino di Boboli. Indeed, located behind Palazzo Pitti, this was a great place to walk around for a few hours, admiring the plants, fountains, and most importantly, the views. Make sure you go right to the top, where there's a garden looking away from Florence - this was probably my favourite, gazing over the rolling hills of Tuscany with their cypress trees and little churches. 

The sky was clear as we walked back down, admiring the dome of the Cathedral from way up high. It was a short trip to Florence, but a good indicator of what to expect there. I'll be back, but for now, onto the next place! 

I hope you enjoyed today's travel blog! Still three more Tuscan cities to visit in this series, so keep up to date with all my travel adventures on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and let me know where you're off to next! Thanks so much for reading :)