Arriving in Pisa

Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 April 2026 |

One thing we noticed everywhere in Italy, were the signs to support vision impaired people.  At parks, waterfronts and even the station were tactile maps supported by braille.

Art Burger cafe

We arrived in Pisa with a yearning for hot chips! Those big fat ones, that were at some point crispy, but now soft and juicy,t and probably lots of vinegar and  sauce.  We were chaneling a classic fish’n’chip, wrapped in shiny paper experience.

Olivia’s research revealed a cafe, http://artburger.it with an extensive vegan menu, including burgers. The chips weren’t fat and juicy, but thin hand-made crispy chips using the whole spud.  Still good, but not what we had dreamed of on the train.

The view from our table was of one of the famous mural “Tuttomondo”. It was on our list of things to see, and we didn’t notice until half our burgers had been devoured.

The worst hostel in the world

We then headed off to the meanest hostel in the world.  Safestay Pisa Central. Safestay is a chain of hostels in Europe and UK. Olivia had stayed with them before and had no issues.  Their website promises the world.

Because of their availability, we made two bookings, first night in a shared mixed dorm, and the next three nights in a female dorm.

When we arrived at lunch-time we were advised that we could check-in at 3pm (fair enough, but they actually made everyone wait in the lobby until 3:40 and ALL the rooms were ready!!?)

We knew that we would have to change rooms after the first night, so would be homeless for a few hours, but the best bit was that they would charge us for storing our bags during that time as we weren’t technically guests!

We headed off for an evening walk to get our bearings and collect groceries.  Pisa is a small town, and we quickly navigated our way between our accommodation, Carrefour supermarket, and the Pisa Historical Centre.

A run and then absolutely nothing

Sunday 19th April 2026

We were still annoyed and decided to spite the hostel, not pay the pirates to hold our bags, and to just hang in the courtyard.

Knowing that we were going to be confined from 11 until 3 (or 4!) we decided to go for an early morning run along the trail beside the Arno.

I hadn’t been on a parkrun since leaving Hobart and thought it would be ‘a good thing’.  This was no parkrun.  Our trail got smaller and thinner until it was the width of a mountain bike tyre.  The grassy verges were deceptively lumpy and we risked twisting and ankle if we stuck to them.  There was lots of walking.

Still moaning about the hostel

After showering, and packing, and checking out we spent the day catching up on reading, writing and research, and eating.

The hostel has NO FACILITES for guests. No fridge, no kitchen, no kettle, no sink. They will sell you food. At one stage Olivia asked to borrow a knife and they asked for 50 cents to cover the costs. 

Do not stay at this hostel! Ever!

We had another three days to go …….