Balancing Act

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Today was all about balance.

- Firstly we had to balance our time. We drove over to Pisa which is a long way from Montone. We booked tickets to climb the leaning tower and we then drove to a little town nearby called Lucca where we hired push bikes. We had to finish with the bikes in time to get back for our climb. We then had to see if we had enough time without feeling too rushed to get back to Montone for the closing parade of the week's festivities. We actually made it back with loads of time because we had forgotten that Italy runs to a different clock. The 5pm start was really 6 pm and no one seemed to notice.

- We had to balance on the bikes in Lucca. Riding a bike is all about balance. It's the only way we can stay upright. There was a choice of two bike hire places next to each other and as the prices were the same it didn't seem to matter which we chose. We went to the least busy just to save time and then peddled up hill onto the towns fortified walls. The 4 km of wall have survived intact and are 12m above the town. The path around them is really wide and filled with tourists and locals on bikes, walking, reading and picnicking. It was an easy ride and the views into town were very pretty and quaint.

- We had to balance pushing Harriet and being sympathetic. She had complained a bit of not feeling well when we went to get the tower tickets. Half way around the bike ride she was doubled over in pain and saying she couldn't ride or walk and was going to chuck up. We had to coax her the whole way round promising her a rest in the car as soon as we got the bikes back. We gave her some nurofen and hoped she would be able to climb the tower, but by the time our turn came up, she was still complaining of pain. Fiona and Toby had climbed the tower before and had really only come to let Harriet see it and go up it. We weren't sure whether she was being a bit of a drama queen or not and so we had to balance how far to push her. Eventually she made the decision she wasn't going up and Toby and Fiona went alone.

- We had to balance the whole way up the leaning tower. It is a very weird feeling but because of the lean as you climb you are often actually going down and when you come down you are actually going up. The views from the top are lovely, but you can see that Pisa should be very happy that their tower leans. There really is not much else you would drive there for.

- And finally we had to balance being a bit fed up with being grateful with what we had.

Fiona and Toby could have been upset that the bike ride hadn't been a pleasant afternoon ride with quick diversions into the town, but we were grateful that we had made it the whole way round and had actually managed to see some of Lucca.

Harriet could have been really upset that she didn't get to climb the leaning tower, but she was really pleased just to have seen it and to have taken a stupid photo. Many tourists have their photos taken so that it looks like they are pushing the tower. Harriet didn't want one like that. Hers is a bit different.

We all could have been really upset that we rushed back to the parade and it didn't start on time and wasn't really very exciting. The villagers just walked past dressed up in medieval costume. But we were grateful that we could see a different part of Italian culture and we were back in time to eat at a local restaurant with lovely views and food.

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