Today we were off to Verona where we'd decided to stay for a couple of nights, but first was a slight 80km detour to make a morning stop in Pisa. There's not much to see or do here other than the famous leaning tower so we'd decided that a drive thru visit was the best option.

Back on the road we pushed on towards Verona, again the generous speed limits allowing us to cover ground in good time. Must say though I'm a bit over these damn tunnels, we must have gone through over a hundred of them by now, the Italian highways go straight through the mountains not around them. Tunnels can range from as little as 50meters up to a couple of kilometers and getting through the mountains is really an ongoing case of tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge etc...etc..etc....

Pulling in for a rest stop and the first possible place after the mountains we decided to make our own lunch. These highway stops often have little cafés and some have a mini-supermarket so we picked up a baguette, cheese and meats to get us through the next leg. With the aid of my trusty Swiss Army knife we cut up a delicious lunch on the back of the car, it was true roadside gourmet!

Arriving at our hotel by 3pm we decided to drive in and wonder around the romantic city of Verona, where Shakespeare based his play, Romeo & Juliet. Through the market stalls located in the old castle, past the colosseum and into the heart of Verona, this was a city pumping with tourists; boutique shops and cafés ready & waiting for their holiday spending.
Tired from a long day we went back to our hotel a little early for a rest and decided to go out and have dinner a little later on. The girl at reception was exceptional, happily helping us with all our questions and pointed us towards the local pizzeria a few hundred meters down the road. As we were staying just out of the city centre the place was buzzing with locals enjoying their Saturday night out. It's so great to be eating where the locals eat, avoiding the tourist price tag and experiencing the real culture of an area.