We set off from the Villa in Belforted on the Saturday morning with the intention of getting to La Spezia that day. When I say we I mean Mo, daughter Fiona and Diane and I. Fiona was taking Heather and her husband to Florence in the rental car so that they could then go to Venice before flying home to Canada whilst Mo, Diana and I went to Pisa so that Diane could see the leaning tower (Mo and I having seen it man years ago before it had been refurbished).
Fiona then met Mo, Diane and I in Lucca and Mo and Diane transferred to the rental car and carried on direct to La Spezia whilst I went up into the hills to see my dear friends from Callander, Peter and Sandie at their 'other' house in Albiano from whence they can see Barga where there is a large contingent of Italian Scots (or vice-versa).
I arrived in La Spezia in the early evening after travelling along the coastal highway past some of the most awesome mountain foothills I have ever seen - the Alpi Apuane. Unfortunately at 110 kph photography is not an option so this is a Wikipedia free-to-use photo of a Norther view of one of the mountains.
Grand images.
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me how far out of plumb it is.
Pauline would straighten it with a click.
Yes, Adria, but then it would lose its charm. Imagine "The Perpendicular Tower of Pisa" or "The Vertical Tower of Pisa" or...... It just wouldn't be the same.
DeleteThe so far only time in my life I've been to Pisa was in 1985; I did climb the tower and stood at the iron bar in the floor, marking the spot where (legend or truth?) Galileo made his famous experiments with gravitiy.
ReplyDeleteIt probably was the most touristy thing I did during that holiday, but it was one of those things that just had to be done, and I don't regret it.
Your logistics for the day sound quite challenging, but I am sure everyone ended up in the right car and at the right place at the right time :-)
Great pictures, as always!
You've done a lot more than I have in Pisa Meike.
DeleteOne of those views that is unmistakable even when one has never been there. I'm not sure if I ever saw the tower from the angle in your first photo though. So had to look it up. I'm not sure I ever even knew that the tower was built as bell-tower to a cathedral...
ReplyDeleteI first visited the Tower over 20 years ago so have just accepted it as a fact of life Monica.
DeleteThanks to you GB, I am now aware that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually situated next to a cathedral....in all my years, I have always only seen the tower by itself.....
ReplyDeleteYou may need to send some of your photos to Wikipedia for their stockpile...I do believe your mountain view photo would have been more dramatic....yes, I've been spoiled.
Loved the craggy rock face in the last photo.
I sometimes have used my photos for various sites Virginia but never Wikipedia. I never really wondered where they got their photos from. As you see from the last photo I do use them though!
DeleteWOW!!! Stunning images and a great informative post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz. I doubt I'll ever manage to keep up with the quality of your photos though. You produce some truly wonderful images.
Delete