Corfu: Beauty, Culture and Economic disparity

After our long but enjoyable first day in Greece, I slept wonderfully, probably something to do with the very little sleep we had the night before.
I was surprised and pleased that I actually woke up at 8:30 in the morning, ready for a morning swim. We had seen a sign the night before back a bit along the road that had indicated a beach, so we decided to follow that and hope it led to our swim. It was a bit of a walk, descending down a gentle slope of olive trees with not another soul in sight. The beach itself was a wonderful surprise as not only was it lovely, unbelievably we had it all to ourselves!

As a side note, I feel it is important to not show as if all was perfect with Greece, no matter how beautiful the scenery or friendly the people. Although tourism is keeping the islands pretty untouched, there were hints of problems, from empty or closed up cafes, to often almost deserted beaches, Greece was quiet. There was almost no sign of the mass tourism I had expected, except in very isolated areas. Even compared to my trip only two years before, Greece had become so much quieter. Additionally strikes were obviously a problem as we found rubbish littered the sides of the roads in Corfu, built into huge piles and rotting slowly in the heat. It was strange to see such a thing in the height of tourist season, and to notice the disparity between the cheerful bars and hotels, the shiny BMW car dealerships, and then the mountains of rubbish piled right outside.

After a breakfast of honey and yogurt (oh how I miss you Greece!) we headed the opposite direction than we had gone the day before, following the coast south. There was an extremely pretty coastal road that allowed us views of the beaches for most of the way. We followed this road for most of the morning, stopping first to buy some oh so stylish aqua shoes as we had unfortunately discovered the beaches were so full of sea urchins (although at least we knew the water was clean, as they will only live in non-polluted waters) that it would be almost impossible without them. After this purchase and feeling extremely silly wearing them, we went for a swim before deciding it was time to find somewhere for lunch.

Spotting a cute little taverna on the waterfront we decided to give it a try. It was fairly easy to find good food in Greece, as the staples are hard to screw up. Truly outstanding restaurants that we occasionally found were of course a notch above, but we only very occasionally got food that was actually disappointing.

This food was anything but disappointing here, for starters, they had Corfu beer! We also discovered Zucchini croquettes which were fluffy fried balls of Zucchini goodness. For lunches we would often do a tapa-style meal, getting a few little dishes so that we could try lots of things. Our staple was always tzatzicki however, which we always ordered to start. Finishing off with a complimentary baklava (another favorite thing of mine in Greece is on the islands especially, they will usually give you free dessert or a free shot of some sort of liquor at the end of your meal).
That view. 

After reaching the end of the coastal road, we decided to head back up and go visit the sight that most people picture when they hear the name Corfu: Vlacherna Monastery. Built in the 17th century and used as a nunnery until the 1980s, the whitewashed walls and ocean backdrop make it very pretty indeed.
Dad had taken an iconic photograph of the monastery back when he visited Corfu in 1973, and I was determined to replicate it. Unfortunately we soon discovered the look-out point with the view had of course been turned into a restaurant, cashing out on the unique view it offered.
All was not lost however, as dad had a cunning plan. Engaging the waiter in conversation on what time they opened the kitchen for dinner, I was able to sidle away and get this beautiful shot without paying for a drink. Success!

As it was growing late in the afternoon we headed back to Ipsos to use the internet at a little waterfront cafe that we had found the night before, to search out new accomodation for the night. Anna Apartments was the place we found, a little inland and away from the main road. We each had a little studio next to each other, on the ground floor so we had use of the gardens and tables and chairs. This was one of my favourite accommodations, as not only was the place very clean, well thought out and serene, but the people were absolutely lovely. One of the high points for me was wandering over to dad's studio to see that he had just been handed a freshly picked cucumber which apparently the lovely elderly Greek lady next door had given him whilst working in her garden, simply because he had said 'kalimera' (good morning) to her. I love greek people.
To finish the evening off, we decided to go find a beachfront bar serving some Corfu beer as we were having a craving. We found one fairly easily and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the seabreeze.

We had planned to go to Paxos the next day, but as we sat there enjoying our beers and thinking of our wonderful accomodation waiting for us, we looked at each other and said, shall we just stay another night? So we did. Why not!?
This extra day allowed us to not only go back to Avlaki for another swim, but also back to Agios Stefanos to try out the adorable restaurant we had seen on our first day. We decided to have something a bit different for lunch, so I tried chicken Souvlaki (chicken and vegetables grilled on skewers) and dad after being shown the what fresh seafood was on hand in the cooler, chose a fish. We washed it all down with a deliciously cool rosé, something that would quickly become my favorite drink in Greece.
Having the water so close to our table was so lovely that I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

Although the restaurant was very pleasant, it didn't have any natural shade, only a wooden cover, so it became very hot. To cool ourselves down we decided to try a swim at Ipsos, since it had become our base of operations on Corfu, and the town we continued coming back to.
The temperature of the water was surprisingly warm, so much so it didn't even cool us down! There is something uniquely frustrating about swimming in water on a hot day and not feeling cool.
After our tepid swim, we decided a Corfu Beer would be just the thing to cheer us up (I told you we were making the most of having them available didn't I?). Our waitress was an extremely happy, funny and friendly middle-aged Greek lady, who was so lovely that we couldn't help but stay, deciding to have dinner there and a few more Corfu Reds (what a shame). Dad had the typical and delicious Greek salad, while I settled for a scrumptious baked feta.  

The Adventure begins: Corfu

Although we were tired and hungry and nothing was yet open, I had a sense of pure delight, as it finally sunk in that we were really, truly, in Greece. That far off adventure that my dad and I had talked about throughout my childhood, that dream of exploring the Greek islands, discovering the archaeology, exploring the wild landscapes and becoming enthralled with the friendliness of the Greeks and their beautiful food, that was all about to become a reality. We had made it!
 Although 3:30AM in Corfu town wasn't fantastic as everything was shut, it felt worthwhile simply to watch the sun rise over the venetian fortress and the silent harbour.

After a wander around the silent town and a coffee and croissant to fill our stomachs and pass some time, we headed up north to follow the coast and see what we could find. We were on the lookout for a snorkel for me, and sandals for dad. As we entered a little village called Ipsos we began to drive along the waterfront, affording us views of clear, calm waters and green mountains.

We stopped so I could capture a photo of the sea and the clouds and the mountains beyond (is it any wonder that views like this inspired such writings as the Iliad and the Odyssey?) And as we walked along the beach we spotted a little shop that seemed to be selling all manner of things, so we popped in, successfully buying the items we needed as well as some fruit. The owner, an elderly Greek man, became rather cheerful upon finding out that dad was french and they soon began conversing in french. It turned out our quiet little town had once been home to a Club Med and thus the older locals still remembered their rusty french. 

With a smile on our faces from the light exchange, we headed further up north for Agios Stefanos, a tiny fishing village that was utterly adorable. There was a lovely restaurant on the water that looked rather tempting, but as it was only 10AM by this time, we drove on.

Avlaki was our destination for our first proper stop, as I had heard it was lovely (I would soon learn during this trip that relying on Lonely Planet for tucked away villages and beaches was usually an excellent option, with only a few misses along the way). Not only was the water crystal clear and the pebbles blindingly white, there were barely any people, making it a glorious place for our first swim of many in Greece. After exploring the whole island, I can happily say that this was my favourite place to swim on all of Corfu, and we returned a number of times for just that reason.

As it was still too early for lunch (you can accomplish so much when you wake up at 3:30 in the morning!) We decided to stop skirting the coast for the moment and head into the mountains to see an old Venetian village. Something I would notice as we explored the Ionian islands was how strong the vestiges of Venetian rule were, lingering strongly in the architecture and creating a rather uniquely different style to the rest of Greece.
Old Perithia is the oldest surviving village on Corfu (the others were unfortunately destroyed in an earthquake - a problem we would see recurring again and again throughout our travels in Greece) Built around the 14th century (although it may have been inhabited before) this ruined village was beautiful in a rather sad way. I had expected it to be full of tourists, however we had the place almost to ourselves apart from a couple of German tourists who looked ready to pass out from their cycle up the mountain.

The village at its largest had about 130 houses as people left their coastal homes and retreated here high in the mountains to escape from pirate attacks. Now most of it is entirely derelict (although it is slowly being renovated) as people began to live there only during the summer and the rest of the year descend down the mountain to tend and harvest their olive groves. Today only six people live there year round (some stay there only in summer to cater to tourists, having set up tavernas in the village)

Many of the buildings were sad with their second stories caving in and the roofs half gone.Some had the beginnings of being repaired but the attempt had clearly been abandoned some years before (perhaps with the financial crisis). Just as we were leaving, busloads of tourists turned up and, pleased with our timing, we happily fled.

We decided to follow the mountain road deeper into the centre of Corfu and cut across to reach the west coast. On our scenic journey we spotted a fortress (Venetian of course) looking out to sea. At the foot of the castle was a small carpark and an olive grove. Stopping to stretch our legs and admire the castle far above, we spotted a little stall backing into the olive trees, selling locally made honey. Never one to say no to local produce, and knowing it would be delicious on our thick Greek yogurt for breakfast, we bought a pot. (After trying it, I wished we had bought two; it was the best honey I tried on our entire trip).

Honey in hand, we headed to Palaiokastritsa as although we knew it had become a tourist resort, dad remembered it as a magnificent place and we were curious to see what it had become. The view from above was utterly breathtaking, the water crystal clear. It was easy to see why it had become such a tourist destination.
We did go for a quick dip here as we were feeling the heat of the day, but it was so crowded that although the water was extremely beautiful one almost couldn't enjoy it. I would take our quiet swim at Avlaki over this any day! One thing that was really positive was that although we had heard Corfu had become fairly overrun by tourists and thus had low expectations, this place was really the only one where we saw it. Every other place felt like true Greece, full of locals and beautiful beaches and lovely food and overall, surprisingly unspoiled.

Speaking of food, it was finally lunch time, and after our quick dip we were rather hungry. Having no idea where to eat, we decided to simply stop when we saw a likely looking place. We turned off at a sign for Sunset Beach as dad had a good feeling about it.

And like he always somehow does, the decision worked perfectly. The taverna perched on the edge of the cliff looked like nothing special, but the views were something we couldn't refuse. The view from our table was utterly spectacular.

To top it off, the food turned out to be absolutely delicious. We ordered far too much in our excitement at Greek cuisine, unable to choose.
Hummus and tzatziki, breads and dips, baked feta, stuffed aubergine and capsicum, the selection was to die for. And the beer! It was here that we discovered Corfu Beer, specifically the Red, one of the nicest beers I've ever tried. Local of course, it was to our dismay that we discovered we could only find it on or around Corfu (we of course took advantage of it while we could). Marketed as Greece's first brewery to brew 'real ale', it was unfiltered and unpasteurized and utterly delicious. I would happily come back to Corfu just for their beer!

Stuffed to the bursting, we meandered our way back to Ipsos to see if we couldn't find some accomodation for the night. Using trusty Booking.com we soon found reasonably priced apartments 5km out from Ipsos with beach views and balconies to sit out on. Could life get any better?

Narnian Castles and Roman Ruins, Italy - goodbye!

Having been picked up by dad in the morning and said my goodbyes and thank yous to Joy for inviting me on such a fantastic holiday, we drove for most of the day to get as close to Bari as possible. We stopped for the day the town of  Roccamandolfi as we had booked accommodation there ahead. We arrived a little earlier than our check-in time, and to our dismay the gate to the hotel was all locked tight, and no hint of anyone around!As we were early, we decided to kill some time in the hope that when we returned, everything would be open.

We soon passed out of the village and began climbing the rolling hills. The views were fantastic, and after a minor mishap with having to let a giant tractor go past us on the rather narrow road,spotted a ruined castle and pulled off to the side to get a closer look! There was a very overgrown path leading up, and we picked our way through the tall grass to get inside the castle. I was a little jumpy after having seen something long and dark green move from the corner of my eye, potentially a snake -though I attempted to convince myself it had simply been a large lizard.
















The castle was wild and beautiful and utterly abandoned, and as I climbed the worn steps to the entrance of the castle which was now entirely open to the skies, it reminded me strongly of Narnia, and the moment Peter, Lucy, Susan and Edmund find an old castle only to realise long ago it had been Cair Paravel - their own castle thousands of years before, now totally gone, and with it all the people they had once known.

 After a good wander we headed back to our hotel, Casale Maginulfo, in the hopes that it would be open. And it was! The owners were absolutely lovely, but had as much English as we had Italian (that is to say, pretty much nothing). They had a solution however, as they had an ipad they would proudly whip out to speak into and then hold it out as Google automatically translated. Whilst it was a nice idea, the mistakes in the translations were hilariously wrong, but we muddled along.
 After checking in we spent the late afternoon relaxing in the sunshine under apple trees, drinking beer and plotting our course for Greece. We were on the cusp of an adventure of a lifetime, and I could barely contain my excitement!
But first, dinner. We started with a delicious bean soup that was without a doubt the best I've ever had in my life, then on to beautiful loaf of bread which we dipped in lemon-infused olive oil (whoever had that genius idea should wine some kind of prize). This was followed by lamb, lovely grilled eggplant and zucchini. By then I could barely fit the deliciously decadent chocolate dessert they forced on us, followed by a tot of chestnut liquor for me (lovely and sweet, mild and not at all like my usual experience with chestnuts) and for dad a little shot of Grappa which I soon discovered tasted disturbingly like paint stripper. I was not a fan.

The next morning after an excellent sleep on full bellies, we headed down towards Bari, with one important pitstop on the way; Saepinum. A beautiful and fantastically preserved Roman town, Saepinum was entirely off the tourist maps. Having been told of its existence by Yannick and Necia, and heard their words of praise for it, I was determined to see it for myself. 

One of the best things about this place, was that there were no other tourists around! Aside from some gardeners tending to the grass, we had the place to ourselves. It was easy to see the layout of the town from the roads and houses to the shops on the other side. It didn't require a wonderful imagination to really see how the town would have been, and I really appreciated that, as it can sometimes be difficult to do.

Captured by Romans in 293 BC, they built this town far below the original one which was high up on the mountain, and apparently some of the original can still be seen today (although we unfortunately did not have the time to traverse to such heights). Instead we enjoyed wandering the peaceful ruin, taking in everything from the theatre to the bath complex. I would say we got our money's worth, but it was free!

I particularly enjoyed this main gateway, as from it you could see the road stretching into the town, and the clear layout of the houses and shops. Outside of the gate there were some areas ringing the town that were clearly unfinished excavations, covered over as protection from the elements. i couldn't help but wonder what they had found!
Unfortunately a gardener's van was parked in the way of the view from the gate so I couldn't get the photo I wanted. Instead I made do with one of me instead. Almost as good right?
It was here that I began to realise how much better travelling with someone is; aside from having a lot of fun travelling with my dad, you can talk about the places you see, share and enjoy good food together, and actually get my photo taken! (the latter I certainly took advantage of, as can be seen later).

Bidding Saepinum goodbye, we headed for the port town of Bari (a generally run-down town that I would suggest passing through and getting straight on the ferry, as we did). Upon arrival we wandered into the lounge, only for a steward to ask for our tickets and after looking at them, he uttered 'deck' and pointed to outside. Having been unceremoniously kicked out, we headed for the top deck, scoring a table and seats before it filled up too much.

 Huddled on the floor in our sleeping bags for the night (luckily it didn't rain!) was less than pleasant. This and the fact that the food they served on board looked so disgusting that we didn't dare even try it, made for a less than pleasant passage. 

However all was not bad, as we drank beers and watched the sun go down to pass the time. I awoke early in the morning, my sleeping bag damp from the sea-spray. We were arriving at around 4:30 in the morning, tired and hungry, but we would be stepping off the ferry and onto Corfu island!

Italy Part II: Captivating Campsites and Creepy Crevices in Abruzzo

 Having set out nice and early, hoping to arrive at a decent hour to our campsite, we were disappointed as we hit the dreaded Rome traffic on the ring road. As usual, we arrived around ten at night, totally exhausted. Luckily the owners were extremely lovely and knowing how tired we would be when we arrived, had set up our tents for us! It may seem like a small thing, but at the time it was absolutely fantastic. With that hurdle out of the way, we decided to make some quick pasta on the gas stoves provided. We chucked it into a pot and waited for it to boil. And waited....and waited...and finally at 11:30pm we finally sat down to eat, because apparently pasta takes forever to boil on a camp stove. We barely had time to look around, apart from quickly admiring the sunset as we arrived, and then we were too busy getting sorted to take in our surroundings in the new region of Abruzzo.












Waking up to a new day at Kokopelli camping was awesome. A small, family-run campsite, I can honestly say it was the best camping I have ever been to. Only a few families stayed there at a time, and as such, we soon knew their names and were having evenings chats as we cooked our dinners. Everything was run by honesty boxes, from being able to pick whatever you wanted from their veggie patch and herb garden, to the home-brewed beer they had in the fridge, to the boxes of red, white and rosé wine that flowed freely. Did I also mention there were hammocks? And that we were camping in an olive grove? And the fireflies that flittered through the camp at night?
















Evenings were my favourite time of day, as the heat lessened slightly and the shadows grew longer, allowing relaxing swinging in the hammocks. One evening as we watched the sun set over the mountains and the valley below, we could hear floating up from the village below the roars of the Italians winning the football match against Spain.
 Our first day waking up at the campsite, we decided to head to Lake Scanno which we heard was meant to be beautiful. Unfortunately as Italy so often does, a sudden thunderstorm occurred leaving us no longer quite so keen on swimming. We had heard that a pizzeria in the nearest village (which happened to be a beautifully medieval town) was meant to be excellent, but upon arriving discovered some sort of car event going on where incredibly beautiful cars from the 1920s and 1930s were driving and parked all over the town, effectively closing all the roads. And that pizzeria I mentioned? Just the place where they had all decided to meet for lunch. Knowing that it definitely must be delicious if that was the case, we nevertheless were forced to give up and feed Harvey a nutella sandwich to keep us going (this, upon reflection, may not have been the most intelligent of ideas).

Our next foray out was to a nearby river in the forest just alongside the camping which according to the owners had a great swimming spot. Although we had an initial problem of going completely the wrong way as nothing was signposted, we eventually made it to the lovely Abbey of San Liberatore a Maiella. Rebuilt after a huge earthquake in the 11th century, it had even older roots dating back to Charlemagne where supposedly he built the church after a great military victory at that spot. Becoming a Benedictine Abbey of enormous importance, it eventually developed workshops, oil presses and watermills as well as a granary, a hospital and many other buildings. It was difficult to imagine standing there today, as little is left but the restored church, which we picnicked outside of.












There was almost no signposting, but we found a well worn track leading into the forest and decided to follow it, crossing quaint little bridges and overgrown paths, following the faint sound of rushing water.

We finally reached the diving spot, and it was even more beautiful than I had imagined, and looked more like New Zealand than anywhere else I have seen in Europe. Although it was a burningly hot day and the water looked deliciously clear and refreshing, we quickly discovered it was the most bone-chilling water I've ever actually felt, coming straight from the mountains and far too cold to swim in. Great for paddling however!

As we explored further on, we found evidence of how sizeable the abbey's complex must once have been. An old stone wall along one side of the ravine, and then on the other, a clearing with carved crevices going into the cliff. The Tombe Rupestri as we found out later, were probably niches made by the original graves and hermit cells of those first monks who settled here, along with a tiny chapel carved into the rock. 

Although a somewhat perilous climb due to the narrowness of the crumbling 'path' once I reached the hollows themselves, I could see stairs cut into the rock, and niches where coffins would have been placed. Fascinating! Unfortunately there is no written evidence for these tombs at all, so the identity and purpose of their original settlers are nothing more than educated guesses.

All too soon our camping days were over (but I shall return one day!) and we were headed to our last airbnb, somewhere in the deep countryside a few hours from Siena. A big two story house all to ourselves for the price of peanuts was a pleasant surprise, even though it was a rather old and just slightly creepy house. Determined to enjoy ourselves and having a real kitchen - not to mention an outside table - at our disposal, we decided to cook Joy's speciality dish which I had yet to try. Spaghetti  Aglio e Olio (spaghetti with garlic and oil)  is a delicious and simple recipe involving lots of garlic, parsley and olive oil, along with a little chili and lemon juice. I highly recommend giving it a go. Aside from a minor mishap when we realised the mains were turned off and we had no water (somewhat problematic when trying to boil pasta) the owner soon turned up to save the day and gifted us with a bottle of wine in apology too! 

I spent the next few days there, admiring the nearby medieval villages and trying wild boar pasta for the first time, as well as enjoying the company of Joy and her little family. Then quite suddenly it was the morning of my departure, and to my great excitement, I would not only be heading to Greece for the summer, but getting to spend it with my dad, whom I had not seen in two years! 2016 was shaping up to be a fantastic year.

Italy: A bumpy beginning in Tuscany

The beginning of my trip in Italy with my good friend Joy and her family had a rather bumpy beginning, as not only did our luggage take an hour to arrive, once we had finally collected it and gone to pick up the pre-booked rental car, they had apparently lost it. And by that I don't mean the reservation, oh no no...the car itself.
After being made to wait an hour whilst they found said elusive car, we finally headed off in a bus to the car pick-up compound. It began to rain as we arrived, and we waited miserably to be seen. Finally it was our turn, only for us to be presented with a Fiat, after they had spent an hour looking for the Ford they had actually arranged for. At this point we gave up and just took it as it was five pm and we had expected to be off at two at the latest.
Horribly behind schedule, we spent our first day in Italy driving tiny mountains roads in the gathering dark (although the sunset was spectacular!) we finally arrived at our airbnb at the tiny village of Vagli Sotto deep in the mountains around 10pm at night, and went straight to bed, barely looking out our surrounds - the morning would be a nice surprise at least!

We awoke to a beautiful day and decided to make the most of it - first by enjoying a cup of coffee outside and admiring the lovely little village - and then by going on a hike around the lake that the village perched above.

Tuscany is a region I have always wanted to explore more, as my previous time was rushed and full of torrential rain and thunderstorms the entire time. Luck smiled on us this trip, as we had wonderful weather for most of it.

One thing I really loved about the village was that we were told every morning to go to the square around the corner, and fill up glass bottles of drinking water for the house from this tap - a source of clean fresh springwater that constantly flowed and has probably done so for many many years.


Lago di Vagli (the lake around the village) was very swimmable, unfortunately however, in the week leading up to our arrival it had apparently rained torrentially and the lake level was much higher than usual, covering all the little beaches and bays from which you would usually swim off.
We did find one spot however, and successfully swam there for a while until I saw something strange and black moving in the water near us. Thinking it was perhaps a branch but instantly feeling that it was a snake or an eel, I evicted myself from the water as quickly as possible, followed by a very befuddled Joy who didn't actually believe me until it came closer and we discovered it was indeed a rather terrifying metre-long black water snake. This situation was made worse by the fact that upon arriving back at the airbnb and casually asking if there were any poisonous snakes around (hoping to be reassured that there definitely weren't) the owner nonchalantly told us there were plenty and we had to be very careful (and she didn't tell us this before why!?)  I noped out of swimming there for the rest of the day, and was rather excited for the beaches that I knew we would soon be visiting instead.

The owner of the airbnb had told us about some old shepherd's huts up the mountain, some abandoned and some still in use, so we decided to go check that out and have a picnic at the same time. The tiny village of Campocatino at the foot of the mountains was little more than a road, a collection of jumbled huts and houses, and one tiny bar/pizzeria (where we got paninis and sat in the sunshine on the mountainside)

Our next airbnb was more in the region of Umbria, as we were slowly heading for our longest stay in one place, a campsite in the region of Abruzzo. It too was deep in the countryside, with the nearest supermarket over thirty minutes drive away. However in return, we found ourselves in a beautifully quiet area, full of vineyards and surrounded by olive groves. Unfortunately getting there proved to be difficult as the owner's daughter had not quite perfected her English and had mixed up 'right' and 'left' in her instructions, leading us on a wild goose chase. Eventually we ended up at a strange farm at the top of the dirt road we were driving on, where a friendly Italian lady offered to call the owner as we knew his English would be limited. Amusingly enough halfway through their phone call, she exclaimed 'ohhhh Giorgi !?' upon realising she was actually speaking to her friend and neighbour. so we were close by after all!

The owner turned out to be an older Italian man who had just enough English to be helpful, kind and hilarious. He was nice enough to give us some zucchini from his garden which we happily put in our homemade kebabs for dinner that night. However first we started with a relaxing sit down and sumptuous lunch.

The next morning, after a chat with Giorgi, we decided to take his advice and go to the local white-sand beach which he told us was called Cala Violina (violin beach) because of how when the atmospheric conditions were right, the sand apparently sang (or less poetically but perhaps more accurately, squeaked). Mysterious.
Alas upon our arrival we discovered the atmospheric conditions were not right (though who knows what the 'right' conditions would be!) and no squeaking could be produced. This however was not the biggest of our problems. Oh no. The pleasant walk through the bush that was meant to be about 1.5 km each way ended up being a total of about ten or more by the end of the day....because we took the wrong fork when there was a choice of three and all of them said beach, leaving us to pick one at random (how were we meant to know Italy?? How!?) and just...kept walking...(we did eventually make it, never fear).

Leaving the next day (extremely footsore from our mission day before) we headed for our camping spot a few hours further down into Italy. On our way however we stopped for something we had been wanting to see for a while, the leaning Tower of Pisa! Although not as horrifically touristy as I had prepared myself for, it was still teeming with people, so we took some photos and scarpered.
 I have to say it was honestly smaller than I expected, and on a far greater lean than I had expected. Worth the quick detour, but I wouldn't stick around too long.