The first three days of this trip included rather too much driving and not so much leisure time. This was partly because of the weather and partly because of our poor planning. But we were to make amends. From our uninspiring overnight stop in the parking lot in Livorno, we headed north to Pisa to see a leaning tower. We stopped at the Lidl supermarket on the way for a small cultural experience and we bought a Pomelo which is a giant citrus fruit and which was imported from China. After lunch in the van we headed off to the tower.
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Surprising serenity at tourism central
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| Oh the fun that can be had with a leaning tower and a little perspective... |
We decided to pay to walk to the top of the tower and I have to say that this was money well spent. The leaning tower of Pisa must be one of the most recognisible images in the world but up close it is peacefully serene, set as it is in a complex that includes the Pisa Cathedral and surrounded by the expansive green lawns of the Piazza del Duomo. Work has been done to reduce the lean as it was getting progressively worse. The result is that the tower has stopped falling over and has been declared stable for the next 2-300 years. Tell your grandchildren. The marble has also been cleaned and renovated. The result is lovely.
To get to the top you follow a very well worn marble staircase that winds its way around the inside of the outer wall of the tower. The lean means that the steepness of the stairs vary depending on whether you are going up the lean or down. Strange. Then you have a few minutes on the lower balustrade and finally on the upper bell level before shuffling off back down.
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Looking up inside the hollow bell tower
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Onwards and upwards
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| There are just over 200 steps, but just in case... |
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The kids and the bells
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| Looking down over the cathedral |
Included in the ticket is a visit to the Cathedral, which is itself stunning. I can never get over the scale and detail of these extraordinary buildings. We are used to sky scrapers going up in a year or two these days. These cathedrals took decades and more often centuries to build. Millions of hours of labour went into them, and everywhere is exquisite detail and awe inspiring vastness. The size of the blocks of marble that had to be cut, shaped and transported before being hoisted dozens of metres into the air to fit perfectly with the last block beggars belief. Toby took to photographing all the religious artworks, the production of which is a whole other story of dedication and toil.
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A statue of someone
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This is the pulpit, modest it is not
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| How did they paint that up there, get those bosses up there, make those arches up there? |
Once we'd had enough of all this human over-achievement, we scuttled back to the van and returned to the coast, this time to the Aqua Dolce campsite in Levanto, which is the next town north after the five smaller towns of the Cinque Terre. I had never heard of this area but the campsite had a nice feel to it and we felt ready for a couple of nights of staying still. Within minutes of arriving the kids had discovered that the campsite was home to several cats and hence the scene was set for a harmonious stay.
There is a famous hiking trail running between the five villages of the Cinque Terre region and Crystal had identified a section that she wanted to tackle. There is also a train that runs mainly through tunnels but that pops out at each of the villages. So while Crystal was hiking, and after their weekly (sometimes twice!) shower, I took the kids down to Riomaggiore, the southernmost village, where we walked up to the castle and enjoyed the views and winding streets. We then took the train back to Corniglia to meet up with Crystal before heading back to Levanto.
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Heading up through Riomaggiore
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Turquoise seas beneath the castle, Riomaggiore
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| Winding streets of Corniglia |
The next day we reversed roles and I headed out onto the trail. In the afternoon we made it to the beach where the clouds did not deter Toby from a brief submergence, and then we celebrated our last night in Italy with dinner at La Mela (The Apple). Here we discovered that pepperoni is Italian for bell peppers, and hence Toby had one of his favourite pizza toppings swapped out for one of his least. It was fun and he took it well.
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Along the Cinque Terre trail
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The Cinque Terre trail
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| Toby in the sea at Levanto |
We broke up the long drive back to Chamonix with a tour of the Bodrato chocolate factory. It's always interesting to learn about something you take for granted. We now have a much better understanding of what makes good chocolate and why good chocolate is more expensive than cheap chocolate. It also poured with rain while we were inside. The torrential rain completed the juxtaposition of exquisite craftsmanship taking place in a nondescript, edge of town industrial estate.
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| A dried cocao fruit |
The skies cleared as we approached the mountains, no less impressive from the Italian side. The final excitement of the trip was the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which was distinctly underwhelming despite its 11km length and status of one the deepest tunnels in the world, crossing directly under the Aiguille du Midi. Inside it looks much like all the other dozens of kilometres of tunnels we had been through today. Plus, it cost 62 Euros! Road tolls, rain, and the smelly van toilet aside, this was a most excellent adventure. I hope there are future trips to Italy and campervan journeys ahead...
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| Our last roadside stop in Italy on our way back to Chamonix |
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