Italy Bellissimo Travelogue, continued

Day 8 of Tour- Pisa and Montecatini Terme (Tuscan Hills)

We left Venice early morning and our bus boarded the ferry to continue our journey to Tuscany. My regret in Venice was I didn't get to enter St. Mark's Basilica. While we were there, the Basilica was closed to the public due to a private event. I consoled myself at the thought that Venice is an Italian city that I must come back to.

Our Tour Director had us checked in our hotel in Montecatini Terme before proceeding to Pisa. I personally thought this was a waste of time as we could have gone directly to Pisa and spent more time there. Perhaps it had something to do with time frame restrictions that Italian cities impose for tour buses' presence their cities.

On our way to Pisa, we passed by the town where Pinocchio author, Carlo Lorenzini was born. Our Tour Director warned us about the street vendors outside Pisa city walls. She reminded us these were good people who were just trying make a living. Sure enough, as we were walking to Piazza dei Miracoli, we were swarmed with vendors trying to entice us to buy anything from scarves to umbrellas.

This was our free time to wander and take photos but we didn't risk being left behind by queuing to go up to the tower, inside the Cathedral or Baptistry. People all over the world were seemingly in Pisa that day and I had a good feeling it's worse in the summer. After taking several touristy photos, we went to the bookstore to pick up some souvenirs and I made sure to buy myself a Pinocchio from Italy and not from some thousand miles away.

Montecatini Terme in Tuscany where we stayed for 2 nights.

Touristy shots in Pisa and ending the visit with a gelato.

After our Pisa visit, our tour bus drove us through the scenic Tuscan countryside to a regional restaurant, winery and olive oil farm where we had a delicious meal and tasted 5 different kinds of wine.

Photos of the restaurant surrounded by pine, cypress trees and olives.

Italians do know how to live la dolce vita. Local guests started milling in and karaoke began for the brave ones who stepped up. Couples and groups danced in the middle of the restaurant. Outside, guests who obviously had some alcohol and perhaps a bit much for some, were singing and dancing. I had a feeling everybody in the group, especially the parents of young teens in our tour, was happy our Tour Director called it a night.

Tags: #Travelogue #ItalyBellissimo #Wanderlust #Travel #Italy #Pisa #leaningtower #MontecatiniTerme #Tuscany #Tuscanhills #Olives #OliveOil #Wine #Gelato

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