June 17, 2023
Lucca to Pisa
When we arrived in Lucca yesterday it rained and the forecast predicted more rain in the evening. It held off and the morning was clear and warm. We enjoyed breakfasting alongside the Danish family and talking about the joys and challenges of travelling with babies and kids. They have a similar mindset to what we decided very early on - not sleeping is hard so it may as well be hard with a view.
We were the last to set off for the day and only biked about 10 minutes before we stopped at a supermarket for supplies. We carted them down to the path along the river Serchio which we would follow most of the day. It was a great path - hard packed gravel and with plenty of picnic tables and shade all morning.
Unfortunately the shade ran out just as we were looking for somewhere to eat our lunch and everything alongside the path seemed to be people's private orchards. In the end we spotted one with a nice table and chairs and though that if they really didn't want anyone sitting on them, they'd put a sign. I was a bit on edge the whole lunch though. Ever since we got yelled at for accidentally trespassing in Slovenia I've been a bit nervous about it. Silly really, because I'm sure most people don't mind. I wouldn't anyway.
After lunch we left the trail and joined a dead quiet straight road heading straight towards the tower in Pisa. We could see it for ages in the distance. It was everything I expected - crowded, lots of people selling junk outside, and a tower with a pretty impressive lean. Tobias proclaimed it a "big dong dong" and we asked a Brazilian cycle tourist to take our picture before heading a few kilometres up the road to our campsite for the evening.
By the time we got Tobias to bed there was a big gathering of cycle tourists. Our Brazilian friend from the tower showed up, there was a very friendly Italian man who had a beer and shared his cookies with us while we got dinner ready, another Brazilian on a big European tour, and another guy who showed up at bedtime. It was nice to sit around and talk about all the different ways we enjoy travelling by bike.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 27 km (17 miles)
Total: 1,604 km (996 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |