My flight home left Pisa at 1:05 PM but the tour shuttle bus was leaving the hotel at 9:30 AM - way too early! With the long journey ahead, I decided to take a cab to the airport and sleep in a bit. Since I was used to getting up at roughly the same time every morning, I was awake before the alarm. So I got up, got ready and went down for a nice breakfast. That was the first time I've seen a cup of salad at a breakfast buffet.
I headed
out onto the street planning to walk the the river and back. I hadn't realized
what a nice area the hotel is in. About 2 blocks away in a square, there was an
open air market. Vendors sold clothing, trinkets, kitchenware and food.
There were cheeses, olives, chocolates, bread and buns, meats and dried fruits. Most of the displays were quite colourful and nicely arranged.
I continued on my walk and found that the street turned into a pedestrian-only walkway with many shops, mostly high end. The merchandise and price tags amaze me! Who buys this stuff? How do the businesses make a profit?
It was an overcast day so my photos at the river weren't great, but what the heck.
I spent more time there than I thought so I hustled back to the hotel, afraid of being late for check-in.
I needn't
have worried. The cab came in just 2 minutes, and it only took 7 minutes to get
to the airport. The cost was 7 Euros. That was a very small price to pay for the extra sleep and the opportunity to explore Pisa, if only for a short time. When I arrived
at the airport, I was surprised that the other people on the tour (who had
arrived almost 2 hours earlier) hadn't been able to check in yet. I had made
the right choice to stay back.
After
dropping my luggage off, I went in search of one final gelato just outside the
airport. I enjoyed a strawberry and hazelnut combo.
Then I went back in through security. That was easy peasy, but there was nowhere to wait in the airport. They are in sad need of enough seating for the number of passengers waiting to board.
My friends were taking the same flight to London but sat in a different row. The 2 1/2 hour flight went well. It was pouring rain when we disembarked from the plane onto a waiting bus. It was the first rain I had seen since leaving home!
Going
through Heathrow customs and security was a tedious process. I don't understand
why passengers can't stay in a secure area between flights and not have to do
the security checks again. Oh well, we all had plenty of time in between
flights.
I enjoyed
one last visit with my American friends before they had to leave. Then I
wandered a bit before finding my gate. The good thing is that I'm flying direct
to Calgary. The bad thing is the length of the flight and my restless legs. I
enjoyed 2 movies however: 'Big Eyes' and 'Selma' we're both very enjoyable.
Then my RLS kicked in. I was finally able to sleep for a couple of hours I
think. The plane is about to land. It's 8:30 PM Calgary time which is 4:30 AM
Italy time. Yikes!
I can
hardly wait to go through my photos. It's been a great vacation!
