We are away by 08:30 to nearby Lucca for our first visit of the day.
Lucca is a walled city and probably my favourite place of the week. It is a very popular destination but doesn't feel touristy. The wall surrounding Lucca is complete and can be walked around while the town it encirlcles is very Italian with lots of narrow streets and squares to explore.
We used to be able to drop off inside the walls by the tourist information centre but now have to drop outside and the coach goes off to park in the coach park. During the summer you have to check in at the Bus Terminal and buy your permit to drop off and park but from the 1st October you buy your permit online. This is what I have done and I think it is a bit cheaper doing it online although the cost is €68.50, the cheapest parking we will pay all week!
I leave the coach with the passengers and walk them into Lucca.
I love it here and sitting having a coffee in the main square on a hot sunny day is a delight.
I am taking some tablets at the moment and my prescription is about to run out. Before we came away I saw my doctor and she said I could buy the same tablets over the counter in Italy if I needed any more. I need some more and I indeed buy them in a pharmacy.
After my coffee I go for a leisurely stroll around the streets before making my way back to the pick up point.
Brian calls and says he can't get out of the coach park! He is at the barrier but it won't lift up! A bit of a panic ensues before another drives helps with a passcode that opens the barrier! The reality of booking weeks ago online is that it is not always better!
At least he is out and at the pick up point on time. It is still very hot and getting back on a cool coach is very welcoming.
From Lucca we drive across country to the famous town of Pisa. The ride is very pretty going through some lovely countryside and gorgeous villages.
Pisa is so popular that you must go straight to the coach park and the group then have a choice of walking (about 10 mins) or catching the shuttle bus that drops close to the leaning tower and cathedral. This is where we used to be able to drop the passengers but not any more. I don't mind using the coach park as it is a gentle walk, the shuttle busses are frequent and there is a cafe and toilets on site. What I object to is the price. To park for 2 hours is €134.50! And Brian still has to pay for a piss!!! I think they are taking it! Feel like I've been robbed. And the shuttle bus costs €1!
Each way!
Anyway it is still hot and sunny as I walk most of the group while a few catch the bus.
As you approach the centre you walk alongside a high wall and through a market selling all types of tower! An idea for the mileage quiz. And then you walk through the entrance and see the tower and cathedral in what can only be decribed as a wow moment. The monuments are bright white sitting on a lovely green lawn. A special sight nearly worth the parking! There are a lot more market stalls here and as I'm looking at one a rather large chap is leaningforward to look at something when he topples over in to the stall sending all sorts everywhere. Bloody funny! It made me laugh out loud. The stall holder didn't look too pleased though!
Another amusing sight is the many people leaning with their arms outstretched and their palms open as if holding up the leaning Tower!
I have a look, take some snaps and then start to wander back stopping at a cafe in full view of people coming and going. We have a couple of people who are finding the walking coupled with the heat a bit hard and I wanted to either see them or be seen by them in case they need any help. I see the people I'm watching for go into a cafe for their lunch. When I've finished I go over to speak to them and make sure they are okay to get back to the coach.
Back at the coach we manage to find a tap to top up the drinks water before the passengers arrive back.
One of the passengers arrives back very upset and shaken after being robbed on the walk back. She was jostled by some people and only when they had run off did she realise she had been relieved of her money, all €450 of it! This is nasty and horrible and puts a real dampener on the day. It will also ruin a happy holiday for the couple involved. I feel sad, angry and a little helpless as there is no chance of getting the money back and all we can do is report it and let the insurnce claim run its course.
We depart Pisa at 14:30 for the drive to a wine tasting in the village of Monte Carlo and the Frattoria il Poggio.
The Frattoria il Poggio is located outside of the village and is a working farm producing wine and olive oil. We are given a short tour of the farm seeing olive trees, vineyards and a small exhibition on the wine making and olive oil making process. Our (whose name I can't remember!) was very good and her jokes very funny.
We were then taken into the restaurant area where we are sat on two long tables. Normally on a wine tasting you are given a few small glasses to taste and then it is off to the shop to buy what you tasted! Here it is very different with numerous bottles put on the tables. We are quickly given a few words on each wine and the preferred order to taste them and then we are let loose!
There are three different red wines and two white as well as plates of salami, cheese, olives and sun dried tomatoes, as well as as much bread as you can eat. There is also their own olive oil on the table. As soon as a plate of food is finished the empty plate is replaced with a full one. The wine is delicious and I'm sat with Barry, Jayne, Sheila and Brian making the most of it! Brian is driving today as it is my day off (well planned that!!) so I can enjoy the wine while Brian will have to stick to coke.
This is excellent tasting has got to be the best I have been to in terms of generosity of wine and food. A lot of the wine is ledt unfinished but we make a little dent in our five bottles! Once we have tried these wines and eaten all the food another wine is brought out! This is a dessert wine that is 15% proof, strong for wine. Plates of Amaretto biscuits are also brought out and the idea is to put your wine in a glass and dunk the biscuits before eating them. I am not a dessert wine man but this is a sensational taste. Wow! I'll have some of that!
When this has finished our lovely guide appears with a bottle of Grappa for anybody who wants to try some. I am not a big fan of this kind of drink, a bit like schnapps, but it does round off a very enjoyable afternoon. Now to the shop!
I think they do well with a lot of people purchasing products and I indulge in some bottles of red and a bottle of olive oil which I use a lot of at home.
I have really enjoyed this visit and will definitely come back again when we return to Tuscany in 2014. Next time I think we shall do it over lunch time when the Frattoria will make a pasta dish as well. Fantastic.
It doesn't take long to return to the hotel and once we are back I book a taxi to take myself and the couple who lost their money to report it at the police station. As I've said earlier there is no chance of getting the money back but by reporting it and receiving a report sheet from the police an insurance claim can be made on our return home.
At the police station the policewoman had prepared forms ready to be filled in as it is a common occurrence especially in Pisa with the hordes of tourists. We are not here very long and armed with our signed report take a taxi back to the hotel. Again a different price each way!
The taxi's are well organised (except in their pricing!) here and when you book one you are given a number. On the side and back of each taxi (they are all the same colour) is a large black number and this tells you if it is the taxi you have booked. Am becoming an expert on Viareggio taxi's!
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