Polished

Today I decided to take one last day trip on this holiday and ride the InterCity train down the coast to Pisa. This took a while – the 10am train was sold out, the 11.23am train was delayed twenty minutes, and La Spezia train station was so crammed with tourists that it was difficult to actually walk down the concourse – but I got there eventually.

For such an iconic city, Pisa seems a little down at heel and struggling. The rail lines in the train station are thick with weeds, and the walls and doors haven’t been cleaned in a while. Crossing out of the station, there are sketchy people hanging about in doorways, and a homeless man passed out face down in the piazza. Many of the buildings in the main thoroughfares are shabby and in need of either a paint or a pressure wash.

Of course, once you step into the Piazza dei Miracoli, everything is clean and polished until gleaming. Pisa has one golden egg-laying goose, and they are sure as hell going to keep it.

I was surprised that it was relatively easy to get a good photo of the tower. There’s one specific point for getting THE iconic shot that everyone wants, but everywhere else is relatively open. Let others try to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa; Explorer Sam is a TINY PLASTIC AGENT OF CHAOS!

It clearly went to his head because he then tried to push over the Baptistry, which didn’t quite hit the same.

After doing the necessary tourist stuff, I just ambled around the rest of the old town, as is my way. Away from the Piazza dei Miracoli and the main thoroughfares leading to it, the city was actually pretty peaceful and charming. It’s an old old town, with crooked little streets and medieval marketplaces, and one can feel like a side character in a Shakespeare play wandering through it.

Well, except for the free wifi at the cafe at which I stopped for a cappuccino. Shakespeare is all well and good but some of us need to check our Instas, babes.

Explorer Sam was just mortified at the filth that passes for crockery here. For shame.

Back in La Spezia, with the arrival of the glorious aperitivo hour, I took myself to the Golden Whim, which sounds like the name of a yacht owned by a couple of wealthy gay men, but is actually a cocktail bar on the same little street at NoMad and Karma. The bourbon-based cocktail was adequate but not great, but as for the snacks, what they lacked in quantity they made up in quality. Along with the normal staples, there was a peeled prawn in chilli mango dressing, anchovies on toast, cheesy potato bread, and fresh housemade crisps, richly flavoured and salty and delectable.