I arrive in Pisa late and pass under the leaning tower on the way to my hostel. It’s sunk about six feet into the ground and tilted at a crazy angle of fifteen degrees. Almost all my photos show it standing straight up though, weird. Monks are practicing choir in the cathedral, it’s very atmospheric.
The next morning I conduct some emergency surgery on my bike. I fix the shaky front brakes with a paperclip, and the melted back brakes with a cloth and an allen key. The multitool I brought shatters in my hand, any further problems and I’m walking for the remainder of the trip.
I’m biking 84k through Tuscany to Florence today. Mostly flat, I take a short trip into the hills to see some vineyards, rabbits, and deja-vu lizards. My bike and legs are holding up, it takes me 7 hours to arrive with 2 hours for breaks and ice cream.
I think I froze my tastebuds off yesterday with my numerous gelato pit stops, my host makes me a ‘Mangoita’ to take the edge off.
The architecture in Florence is very impressive, but the queues to get in anywhere are even more impressive. I’m experimenting with my zoom lens to make things closer together, let me know what you think.
I’m taking a slow day today, and training it to Ravenna later. I found the worlds best smelling shop, an apothecary where they sell medieval tonics (example: ‘Thyme extract: For what ails you in winter’ – 60 euros).
Today I’m biking north through the Pol delta, 95k through a flat and beautiful landscapes carved by water and tides.
Or at least I would be doing that, but the weather person says it’s going to rain biblically for the next eighteen hours. So I’m grabbing a train to Chioggia ( ‘Little Venice’ ) and sitting this one out.
I’m changing trains a lot; the smaller Italian towns are much quieter, with less tourists and better food. I found a flooded chapel being used as both a goldfish pond and a wishing well, it cost me a euro to turn the lights on for a photo.
Chioggia is what Venice would have been had Venice not discovered intercontinental trade, it’s got the canals but only a fishing industry and few tourists. The cook at the takeaway explains the difference between Roman and standard pizza, I prefer Roman.
A Gentleman's World 