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!