Today we visited Pisa and Lucca.  In a single day.  So, whilst I do think that Pisa is very tourist oriented and, conversely enjoyed the guided tour of the exterior of the Baptistry and the leaning tower, together with an internal and external tour of the Cathedral (the tour guide really loved the pulpit), I still feel I need another half day to go inside the Baptistry and climb the leaning tower.  Such are the shortcomings of such a compressed trip as ours, although we sample many things.

Lucca is, at least to me, unique and refreshing; full of tourists but with its own independent character, lots of hidden gems and things to see.  Despite it being hot, we walked part of the wall, saw St Michelle, the Amphitheatre (complete with wedding couple), the Orthodox church, an antique market and the outside of San Martino, the Cathedral, as well as finding a shaded street to get a relaxing and cool lunch.  I’d like another couple of days to go into places we found, such as the Puccini museum and not have to worry about when our group needed to be back at the station!

Don’t let any of my negative sounding comments detract from what was an outstanding day; seeing so much and being tempted with more is tantalizing.  As the last day before we head to Venice, it was fantastic.

I had thought of avoiding the usual cliche’d pictures, but here are a few from today, beginning with Pisa …

… and Lucca …

Today we went up the funicular railway to Montecatini Alto.  There are impressive views of the area and of Montecatini Terme, where we are staying.

As well as the views, there is a clock tower, a castle (of sorts) and two churches.  The clock tower chimes every six hours, so the face is unusual.

One of the churches is particularly impressive.  St Peter’s looks well used and right up my street.

However, the unique thing about it is that it is the resting place of the relics of St Barbara who, according to the information there, is the patron saint of all sorts of dangerous occupations, from explosives handler to fireman; for some reason, also included in the list of occupations is bell ringer.  There is a modern memorial to her outside the church.

Inside the church her relics are on display.

Today we went to Florence.  I’ve had enough of taking pictures of trains, so there are no more.  Instead, below are some of the highlights that we saw.

We were given a guided tour of the Duomo, Baptistry, Piazza Dell Republica, Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio, but all from the outside.

So after a lovely lunch (excellent pizza) we went to Santa Cruce Basilica, where we saw tombs and monuments to some famous Italians – Michelangelo, Galileo, Marconi, Rossini (and infamous – Machiavelli!).

I mentioned we are in a tour group of forty.  We were surprised to discover that our tour guide spoke no Italian.  I only cope with a few phases from a book, but now have added one more phrase to my repertoire following a gelato experience this afternoon.  Having decided to have a cone each and been offered two flavours, I handed over a ten euro note, only to discover that these were €10 each!  Quanto costa (how much)?

Our night at the Hotel Milano in Turin was very good; basic but clean and comfortable.  The forty of us in the Treyn group had a meal together in a little restaurant across the road (in the background on the right in the picture below of the hotel).

We left Turin and travelled to Viareggio on a regional train.  As this went from the other station in Turin, we had another coach journey.  Below are some of the party assembled and collecting luggage before the train journey.

And onto the train …

Finally a local train – a double-decker (although with all our luggage we stayed downstairs).

Finally we are in Montecatini at the Hotel Francia e Quirinale. We’ve had a quick explore if the area (and a drink) and are getting ready for a meal in the hotel tonight.

Tomorrow we head to Florence on a day trip.

Our journey almost began with disaster when I managed to buy a parking ticket for the wrong car park at Kings Lynn station and then had to wait for a space in the section for which I had a ticket.  Overcoming this, we had a safe journey to London, a pleasant meal at Carluccios in St Pancras station and a sleepless night in a Travelodge.

This morning we began the day with a glass of Champagne at Searcys Champagne Bar before boarding the Eurostar to Paris from St Pancras.

We are now on the TGV from Paris to Turin, a five hour journey which will drive just after eight o’clock tonight.

I hope that we get a better night’s sleep tonight before we set off to Montecatini!

Next week Pearl and I embark on what we hope will be the holiday of our lives – so far!

Because for 17 years we took our two pedigree Persian cats (Peaches and Pebbles) with us on holiday, we have not spent a great amount of time out of the country.

We both love the idea of travel, the lack of stress by not flying and good Italian food.  So a train tour of Tuscany and, as a bonus, a few days in Venice will be an ideal holiday.

Watch this space!