Tuesday, March 22, 2011 (Part 3)We were on the road, headed for Pisa, by about 11:30 a.m. It took us about 2-1/2 hours to get to Pisa. On the recommendation of the desk clerk at the Hotel Athena, we took the back roads and stayed off the autostrada, or highway. It was a good choice. The Tuscan countryside is beautiful. We passed many old towns perched on hilltops and cliff sides. We also saw a goodly number of flocks of sheep grazing and cypress trees lining the crests of hills. We also passed a lot of vineyards -- although the vines are still dormant and not very colorful at this time of year.
We were much aided in our travels today by our two GPS systems. Katherine has become our chief navigator and she has figured out how to use the GPS system on my iPhone to great effect. Unfortunately, after 2 hours, the battery ran out and we had to revert to Dad's system. It works relatively well too, and we rather easily found our way into and through Pisa and
found a parking spot very close to the Pisa Cathedral and Tower.
I should add here that Dad is doing a great job driving. The car we rented is a standard transmission, so Dad is the only one of us who knows how to drive it. The driving can be stressful at times as we regularly make a wrong turn here and there. But Dad is steady as a rock. He takes it all in stride, and I am very impressed (and grateful).
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