City to Coast: A Weekend in Italy

This weekend my best friend and I managed to visit three wonderful spots in Italy, while enjoying the glorious weather which made it even more special.

We were based in Pisa, staying right by the iconic leaning tower, and it was a spectacular view to see on our morning walks. We arrived on Saturday morning, and headed out straight to see the tower and the cathedral, which was crazy to see in person. It was such a lovely and warm day, and the area was packed with people taking photos trying to 'push' the tower up, having gelato on the steps by the museum (we had delicious gelato here too) and taking tours of the Piazza del Duomo.

Pisa itself has so much to offer other than the leaning tower. In Knight's Square you can find stalls selling books, antiques, jewellery and paintings, as well as some selling fresh lemons for the spring and summer seasons. It's a great place to browse local crafts and finds, as well as enjoy some of the local shopping experiences.

In the afternoon, as it got even warmer, we jumped on the train from Pisa Centrale and headed to the stunning seaside town of Riomaggiore, on the Cinque Terre coast. This postcard town is bursting with colourful houses along the cliffs, beach areas perfect for sunbathing and swimming, and plenty of restaurants and local shops to browse when in need of a break from the sun. We toasted with a glass of Aperol, and spent a few hours sunbathing on the busy beach before buying some souvenirs in the town. I loved Riomaggiore, and would love to explore more of the Cinque Terre region for a longer period of time in the future!

On Sunday, we got up bright and early to go back to Pisa Centrale, this time to catch the train to Florence. We arrived in Florence with a full day ahead, and spent a few hours exploring the city, including the Odeon bookshop and theatre, the wonderful little wine windows, and of course the Duomo. One of my bucket list activities for this trip was to sketch the architecture in Florence, a city I've always seen as such an art hub, and so it was amazing to stand there with my little sketchbook and draw these buildings for a while.

In the afternoon, we went to the Accademie to see Michelangelo's David. An incredible sculpture, and so much bigger than we had thought, we spent some time learning about the art, sketching it, taking photos and exploring the rest of the fascinating museum. There are so many incredible statues and marble pieces in the museum to see and learn about, and it was definitely a highlight of the weekend.

With time to spare before our flight home, we ended our quick 48 hour trip with another gelato in front of the leaning tower and it was a picturesque way to end a wonderful Italian run around from the city to the coast.