The Tuscan Countryside – it’s a sensual wonderland steeped in the vineyards, rolling hills lined with endless olive groves, tangerine sunsets, and the musky smell of the earth.
It truly is the dream. But then there are the cities – popular, crowded, sometimes unbearably so. There’s no denying Pisa is one such corner of Tuscany. But when a city houses an attraction as popular as The Leaning Tower of Pisa even the most skeptical of travellers are willing to discard the Tuscan dream, if only for a day.
Most tourists visit Pisa on a day trip from the neighbouring Italian city of Florence. Pisa is sold as a package tour alongside cheese tasting in the countryside and a visit to an ethereal vineyard surrounded by rolling hills. You know what they say – if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
This kind of package tour might ferry you to Pisa but its regimented rhythm won’t allow you to absorb the importance of Pisa’s cultural and historical sites. We would highly suggest spending a night or two in Pisa instead of opting for a day tour.
We thought we’d keep the Tuscan dream alive by opting for dreamy white clothes. I can safely say this gorgeous dress is perfect for everything – a stroll in a city, a countryside jaunt, a spot of beach bumming – you name it. It’s virtually backless, making it ideal for a hot summer’s day when you want nothing besides gauzy layers of pristine white goodness wrapped around your body.
I play favourites with dresses all the time and tirelessly wear a dress till it’s begins to look decidedly raggedy. This wispy dress definitely one of those pieces.
OUTFIT DETAILS
Savi Wears :-
White Maxi Dress – still available at Lookbook Store (I love it! 🙂 )
Sandals – Peter Hahn
Vid Wears :-
Tropical print shirt – Topman
White chinos – ASOS
Shoes – River Island
If you do decide to spend a day or two in Pisa, make sure you stay in a rental apartment. We’ve spoken of our fondness for apartment rentals in Europe before – they’re cheaper and offer a perfect introduction to the less known residential alleys of the city. If that doesn’t convince you, just check out the entrance to our rental apartment in Pisa below. It was housed in a crumbling historic building and we wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Pisa is at its most magical late at night, when the tourists that visit the city on day trips have left. This is the only time that the Leaning Tower and its surrounding monuments seem to emit an exquisite glow which makes them seem special. Take a look :-
Bruised Passports’ Tips for exploring Pisa in a day
- Combine your visit to Pisa with a country-side retreat in Tuscany. If you visit the area just for the Leaning Tower, you’re bound to leave disappointed.
- Try not to visit Pisa on a day tour. The city is at its best early in the morning and late at night – when the day trippers (is that even a word?) have dispersed.
- Avoid overpriced hotels and stay in a rental apartment – you can acquaint yourself with Pisa’s gorgeous residential areas and save a bunch of cash while you’re at it. As always, we stayed with GowithOh and loved our apartment. We have a great discount code for our readers which you can avail by booking with GowithOh.
- You can visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, explore the complex, and climb up the tower during the day. But don’t forget to return to it late at night. The entire complex is lit and there are never more than a handful of people around. Sheer magic 🙂
- Make sure you set aside some time for a long walk by River Arno that flows through Pisa
- You know Vid’s fondness for good quality coffee – we strongly recommend a visit to Filter Coffee Lab. It’s at 47, Via Santa Maria which is just a 5 minute walk from the Leaning Tower.
Have you been to Pisa ? What did you like most about this busy Tuscan city ?
If you, like us, are obsessed with the food and culture of Italy, then don’t forget to check out our favourite things to do in Italy
Do you love the simplicity of a white maxi dress as much as I do? Check out this white maxi dress from Cambodia
Lovely pictures and a very detailed post. I have marked the coffee shop in my must visit list. 🙂 Hard to believe you guys hold full time day jobs looking at the effort that goes in putting up such wonderful posts. Time management ninjas 😉 Keep up the awesome work.
PS: Would love to see more videos
PPS: Savi I love the way you do ( or don’t do) your hair 🙂
Aww thanks Pallavi – we were already compiling blogs on our flight back home from Italy. Blogging is just so time consuming but I suppose it doesn’t really seem like ‘work’ when one is so passionate about the subject 🙂 PS ‘Don’t do’ is right – psssst don’t tell anyone 😉
love love love love love the dress
brilliant post.. .and i want to see Savi experiment more with her hair and lip colours
this is on my to-go list for honeymoon btw 😀
Thanks a ton Madhuri. You should pick it up for yourself too- it’s super comfortable. As for your request, you have to keep a lookout for next week’s outfit post. It features a chignon and a red lip 🙂
you look stunning Savi
Thanks Shikha 🙂
You guys are such an inspiration!!! I recently started blogging myself and keep coming back to your blog to learn from you guys 🙂 Keep up the good work guys… And Savi you are gorgeous , love your sense of style.. Am one of those 2pairs of jeans and sneakers traveller.. so I wonder how you manage the baggage constraints?? Some tips would help me to get rid of my dated travel style 🙂
Hey Neha, thanks a million. I hope your blog does well and you have as much fun blogging as we do 🙂 As for packing, Europe’s budget airlines have made us perfect the art of packing light. I’ve never been a jeans person – so I just pack loads of light maxi dresses and flimsy shorts that barely take up any space and sneak some colourful accessories into nooks and corners. I hope this helps you.
Savi as gorgeous as you look always, my eyes are drawn to Vid today. He looks really great and I love the print of that shirt.
I feel extremely stupid for staying in Italy for 8 months and not being able to make it to Pisa! I kept thinking one day for this lovely place isn’t enough and I couldn’t take a longer break from my classes, but you two proved me wrong :-p
xox
It’s easy to explore Pisa in a day or two Roxanne. There’s always a next time – you’ll be back in Italy before you know it 🙂 I must show your comment to Vid – that’s his favourite summer shirt these days
Savi, Vid the two of you look stunning together! A very stylish couple indeed 🙂 Savi, I love that maxi, it looks so breezy 🙂 And those shots of Vid with the leaning tower are so crazy and FUN 🙂 If I ever visit Tuscany (Oh I wish I could!) I’ll definitely keep all your tips in mind! 🙂
Being a regular reader of Bruised Passports has influenced me so much that I talked my friends into an offbeat trip to Goa next month.. This time I wanted to explore the non-touristy side, and I must say that reading your articles made me think differently about a vacation 🙂
Hey Ramya – that is the greatest compliment ever, seriously! I’m so glad to hear our blog inspired you to move out of your comfort zone and I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time exploring Goa. Happy travels 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂 <3 <3 .. justtt love this post !!!!! this town is no less than a coolest place to be at !!
Thanks Kushagr- it isn’t one of our favourite places in Italy but it’s definitely worth a short stop over 🙂
PAHAHAHAHAA, the leaning tower pictures are HILARIOUS.
We saw loads of funny poses that day Sara – it’s funny how a famous monument is all it takes to make matured adults behave like kids 😉
gorgeous photos. your dress is so lovely and you look so pretty! the leaning tower photos made me laugh hehe x
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Thanks a ton 🙂 I love this dress too.
Gosh – just stunning! Italy is on my “to visit” list – hopefully sometime next year our family will go! You look beautiful, too!
Thanks Chantelle- Italy is such a gorgeous country. I’m not-so-secretly in love with it 🙂
Stunning pictures, as always! 🙂 I was prepared to find Pisa over-hyped and meh, but the town’s quite lovely and my first glimpse ever of the Leaning Tower did make me gasp a bit, so that was worthwhile. 😀 One day is just about perfect for Pisa.
Yep, the entire Leaning Tower complex is rather striking and the Tuscan countryside is just a short drive away, so can’t really complain 🙂
Wow such gorgeous photos and your white dress 🙂 We were in Pisa in July 2014 and we made a mistake for going there in the middle of the day and afternoon. It was overcrowded with tourists and we could hardly get a decent photo of the tower lol. And we hated the cheapest and oldest train we took from Florence to Pisa, it felt like it was about to break. I still have to blog and upload more of our travel photos and blog about the places we visited but I just don’t have enough time. It’s out 3rd time in Europe and we always try to find more time to document our travels.
You guys are gorgeous 🙂
I hear you – Pisa can be terribly overcrowded, which just ruins the experience. If you’re ever there again, try tip-toeing to the Leaning Tower early in the morning 🙂