05/07/2025 – Three shall be the number
“Then thou must count to three.. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out.” Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In this case it is three days we are missing, or are we missing them? Cinco De Mayo started out pretty blandly, we wandered around looking for something to eat and then started the long drive to Lucca, a small town on the outskirts of Pisa. It was an all-day affair that was topped off by never ending rain. While the rain slowed us down, it was probably a good thing as there was not much to do in the rain. Yep, if you are counting that was day one.
Day two started out with the pitter patter of rain hitting off the clay tiles of the buildings roofs, but it soon ended and the sun came out! Time to head off after having a nice breakfast – which required no hunting for an open restaurant at all! We were soon on our way to rediscover Pisa. We had last seen this quaint town 20 years ago while on our honeymoon. We were staying in Florence at the time and happened upon on tour bus that was headed to Pisa. We jumped aboard and fell in love with the home of Pinocchio. Meandering once again through the ancient streets, we finally found a parking spot…….Dang how do we pay for parking. Kathy and Dave looked and looked at the machine, punched buttons, punched some more buttons, tried Google Translate, all to no avail. Finally Kathy saw a commonly young (and Kathy forgot to mention, handsome…) man strolling on the far side of the street. Dashing across the street, risking life and limb, she asked him if he spoke English and would he be willing to help two old Americans figure out parking. He graciously obliged and soon we had it all figured out. Best of all, we were less than a block from Pisa. Strolling through the town we soon arrived at the Piazzo del Duomo, which includes the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a baptistery, the cathedral, and several museums. We had an appointment to climb to the top of the tower, but not until 2:30 pm and it was only 11:00 am. It was now time to figure out some things to do while we waited to climb. While we only had a ticket for the cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, there is still much to view. We started out by just going into the cathedral at a separate entrance to say a prayer and reflect on our journey. Kathy also had a few extra prayers for Dave as he now has both a head cold and a stomach bug. The germs are a spreading! Upon exiting we wandered around to the front of the building where we could enter the cathedral and view the many arts of work. It was amazing! Words and pictures will never do it justice. Soon it was time for lunch. Kathy, who is feeling better, decided to try a local dish – pasta in a boar’s sauce. Yes it tastes as horrible as it sounds. She gagged down one bite and then shuffled the sauce and meat to a corner and just had some of the pasta. Dave, on the other hand, was still in recovery mode and had a salad. We then wandered around all the shops and vendors located in the square. The town of Pisa is known for the story of Pinocchio and Geppetto, and so wood carvings abounded the small square. It was fun to see the unique crafts available for purchase at the local markets. Finally, it was close to the time to climb the tower, but alas we had to get rid of our bags. So Dave, of course not in top form, schlepps over across the plaza toting his day pack to drop off to the cloakroom while Kathy held their spot in line. Not that it mattered as we were too early and had to wait, not one minute early. Who knew Italians were that regimented? Finally it was time to climb and, yep, we did that all the way to the top. The climb reminded Dave of an old-time fun house. The spiral marble staircase slopes one way and then the other as it runs around the inside of the building perimeter. Plus, the middle of each step has been worn down by 850 years of people climbing them. We climbed to the top of the tower leaning sideways like a couple of drunken college kids chuckling all the way up. Finally we were at the top, or were we? Nope! There was one even smaller and narrower final staircase to reach the pinnacle. Soon we were gazing lopsidedly from the top of the tower. Each direction afforded us different views of the city of Pisa. It was amazing! Well worth the 251 steps to climb to the top. Next on the agenda was back to the hotel in Lucca with a nap for Dave and some downtime for Kathy as she worked on finishing her book she was reading. Then, it was time to do some laundry. We had inquired about doing laundry at the hotel when we booked the reservation. The website said laundry service was available for a “nominal fee”. Ha! Every item of clothing had its own “nominal fee.” To wash a sock? 6 euros. To wash a t-shirt? 8 euros. Pants? Pants?? 14 euros! We found a laundromat 3 minutes from the hotel. We went there and did 2 full bags of laundry for 13 euros. The machines did not take credit cards and Dave only had some small coins and a 50 euro bill. He had to find change somewhere, but this was a residential area. After walking around some, he found a dry cleaner open and went inside to see if he could get change. Inside the shop was the owner, her assistant, and a man and his elderly mother. Of course, no one spoke English. But, a quick game of charades got across the idea. The owner said that she did not have change for a 50. I asked if there was someplace nearby that could. Nope. <insert sad face here> As Dave was dejectedly walking out, the customer held up his finger – the universal sign for “Hold on, I’ve got you covered.” Them, I saw his elderly mother walking back from her car with a purse. She was going to provide me with change! I wish I knew how to say more than just “Grazie!” to the kind lady. Laundry completed, a nice dinner rounded out the evening.
Day three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be the third day. Starting very similar to day one and day two, it rained. Like day one, it just seemed to rain all day. Luckily like day one, most of the day was spent traveling to Nice, France, our next stop on the journey. Along the way, we did drive to Cinque Terre National Park. It was beautiful, but the roads left Kathy with a pit in her stomach. Winding and narro – but paved! – Dave tried to help her out by driving well below the speed limt listed on the GPS of 90 KPH! By the time we hit France, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. Unfortunately so did tons of people! After a few fits and starts we finally found our hotel, parked our car and carted our bags to the room. It was now time to explore the French Riviera, and boy, is it amazing! Our hotel is right at water’s edge and over the cacophony of people, during the lulls of silence, you can hear the waves crashing against the shores. Out hotel is well name Hotel Beau Rivage (beautiful shore) and is at the end of a pedestrian walkway. First stop was to stroll along the water’s edge in order to enjoy the pebble beach. Having driven all day, dinner was next on the agenda and we decided dinner on the beach sounded like a small slice of heaven. Seated facing the crashing waves we enjoyed a lovely dinner, Dave opted for a Caesar Salad while Kathy tried French Fries in France, along with a small steak. Another stroll along the beach helped us clear some of the cobwebs from our brains. This allowed us the opportunity to plan our next steps, and tomorrow we decided to find a local tour to take us to Monaco. It should be nice for Dave having someone drive him instead of him having to drive through the narrow winding roads. Dave might actually get to see some of the sights. It is time to tuck ourselves into bed. Bonne Soir.
Best post yet!