It wouldn’t be a proper and complete trip to Italy if we didn’t visit one of its most popular destinations, the city of Pisa. The Leaning Tower Pisa is an iconic Italian monument that is known for its “gravity-defying” structure and people all around the world are vehement to take a picture with it, us included. I had no expectations when we arrived to Pisa and so I was pleasantly surprised when it became one of my favourite places in Italy.
Our first stop was a small restaurant where we tried homemade lemonades, gazpacho and ravioli before we headed to check in to yet another guest house. One of the reasons I fell in love with the city was the couple that was hosting us. They didn’t speak English and we barely understood Italian, but somehow we had the best conversation. They were so excited to see us!
While walking the streets of Pisa, you could tell that this was a very touristy destination. There were restaurants and shops and plenty of people everywhere and the atmosphere was amazing! The Leaning Tower of Pisa was on my bucket list for a long time so when I saw it towering above me, I was speechless. Of course, we had to take a bunch of photos in front of it!
It was still early in the day, so we decided to take a train to a small city called La Spezia. We took a long walk there, enjoying the weather, the sea and the view!
When it was time for dinner, we took the train back to Pisa, picked a nice restaurant and enjoyed the busy vibe of the place. As usual, we ordered meals we hadn’t tried before, Dominik ordered Pappardelle alla lepre and I went for Cacio e Pepe which was delicious! One of my favourite things to do abroad is to go out for a nice dinner and chat about our travel experiences!
The next day was a day we were both very excited about. We woke up early in the morning and headed back to La Spezia for our scooter rental! Before coming to Italy, we were trying to think of an activity that we would both enjoy and decided that there was nothing more quintessential for Italy than renting a scooter for the day. And so we did.
Our plan was simple – visit the villages of Cinque Terre. We picked up our scooter and went our way! (I will never forget the face of the lad who gave us the keys to the scooter when Dominik told him he’d never driven a scooter in his life before. It was priceless, haha.) Our first stop on the map was Manarola. We hiked a bit around the place, the views were breathtaking, before deciding to continue to drive ahead.
Our next stop was Vernazza where we stopped for quick lunch. We decided to try calamari and fried anchovies for the first time in our lives but weren’t big fans, haha. We took a short walk around the place and snapped a few pictures, but it was a bit too overcrowded (and overpriced) for my taste, so we continued on our journey.
Before we stopped in another village, we found a small restaurant on the top of one of the hills with beautiful scenery! We enjoyed the view of Corniglia and Manarola from the distance while sipping Chinotto, an Italian soft drink.
In Corniglia, we were on a hunt for a beach. We managed to find a small beach with no more than ten people, and Dominik decided to take a dip there. After a whole day of driving and the sun blazing down on us, we were grateful to be able to at least soak our legs in cold water.
We wanted to spend more time in the villages, however, we had limited time with our scooter and a tight itinerary after. Looking back, I wish we had spent at least two days exploring Cinque Terre because it was one of the most beautiful places I had the chance to visit. Driving the scooter was a bit stressful as there were a lot of serpentines and narrow roads, but the trip was definitely worth it!
We spent the night back in Pisa, and the next day we were back on the road heading to our next destination!
