New Year's Day, Florence

We set off for 2 nights in Florence, having a window of time between dinner dates and wanting to make a visit, if only for picture-taking purposes. There was a crowd (surprise!), mostly comprised of locals using the holiday for a stroll around the old town. Unfortunately, the owners of the private parking garages also took the day off as well. leaving us with no alternative but to leave our car at the train station parcheggio about a mile from our hotel.
New Year's evening was beautiful though, and despite temperates near freezing, hundreds of citizens were bundled up for a walk in the old city, content to window-shop at closed stores in the glow of holiday lights.

Happy New Year!

There was talk of going to Lucca, but in the end we stayed in all day and read, enjoying the warmth of sunshine coming in the windows. We went out to the boardwalk around 10 P.M. and went as far as Viareggio. There was a stage and skating rink set up a mile or so down the beach; we had been hearing its booming P.A. system from the house for most of the evening. It turned out to be for the benefit of only 50 or 60 people (as of 11 P.M.): mostly 70's R&B and disco music, virtually all in English -- some done karaoke-style by the M.C.s.
At midnight, there was a great barrage of fireworks all around, though by this time we were back in the house and watching from the windows.

Rainy Day in Lucca.

Nancy waiting for a fresh frase (a kind of donut).

We probably should have had a better plan, but it just seemed like time to go back to Lucca. After a cold and rainy afternoon spent doing nothing in particular, we were thoroughly irritated with ourselves (although we did manage to visit the cathedral of San Frediano and make sure St. Vita's mummy was still holding up). In the end we bought a box of chocolates and took them as an offering to cousin Luanna's family, where we were welcomed in and spent some pleasant hours before heading back.

Massa Marittima.

We got up fairly early today and make a quick decision to make a fairly long day trip to see Massa Marittima, a hill town further south. It was a pleasant enough place with a substantial cathedral, a nifty local archaeological museum and the requisite absurdly steep and narrow cobbled streets. We had swell lunch with a unique polenta dish and beat it back to Lido in the early evening.

Torre del Lago Puccini.

We rousted ourselves and made a hasty plan to visit one of the nearby attractions, a villa once owned by Giacomo Puccini, one of the the great operatic composers (and a favorite son of Lucca). It's located on the edge of a lagoon on the broad seaside plain near Viareggio. The lagoon, called Lago (lake) di Massaciuccoli, is actually never more than about 6 feet deep. In the photo, by the way, the bridge structure in the distance is the autostrada pointed towards Lucca.

Puccini's house was quite interesting, a real turn-of-the-century time capsule crammed with momentos, photos, artwork and ephemeria. Oddly, there was a tiny chapel in the center of the house containing the tombs of the composer, his wife and his son.

We took the tour with an Italian foursome and a young Japanese couple. Apparently we were taken for Italians as well (because we followed instructions from the attendant and responded correctly?) and were given Italian-language audioguides. Fortunately the recorded voice spoke clearly and slowly and we didn't have much trouble.

We had planned to stop at the beach walk in Viareggio on the way back, but being Friday night, it was very crowded so we gave it up. In our meandering, though, we caught a look at the boatyards by the marina and were fairly amazed by the number and size of the private yachts being built and housed there -- quite remarkable, all the wealth in the world.

Prices.

We are living "on the cheap" for most of this trip; due to the generosity of Roland's family, we are escaping-- for most of our time here -- the costs of lodging and car rental. And although the euro/dollar exchange is not to our advantage right now (about $1.44/euro as of this writing), we had a sizable bankroll of foreign currency from previous trips, so that has helped.

But, how expensive is it here? I've taken some notes and make some conversions in U.S. dollars and measures. Hopefully my math is correct.

• A good dinner for two at our local trattoria, including (free) appetizers and bread, pizza, sausages, roasted potatoes, bottled water and glasses of wine and beer and complimentary limoncello: about 30 euro / $43
• Hot sandwiches, bottles of water, and coffees at an upscale bar in the center of Lucca: about 11 euro / $15
• One caffè normale (espresso shot), about $1.15
• Gasoline figures to cost about $7.40 per US gallon (this includes some considerable taxes, of course)
• Autostrada tolls: about $3-4 for 20-30 min. runs
• 1/2 gallon of milk, about $3.67
• Large loaf of bread $2.12
• Mortadella (like bologna, but better) about $10 / lb.
• 1 lb. "muelsi" type breakfast cereal, $4.53
• 12 oz. good ground coffee, about $10.70
• Butter, about $6 /lb.
• Cookies (cantuccini - biscotti) about $4.30 for 12 oz.

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Portovenere.

Following the advice of many, we head up the coast into Liguria, through the harbor city of La Spezia and out on the peninsula to the certifiably picturesque seaside village of Portovenere.

It's a bit chilly and after a short walk we park ourselves for pranzo at a quayside restaurant for a multi-course meal (not at a small price, but ranking high with Nancy as a gastronomic event). Then we're on to our trek out to the chapel/lighthouse on the point and to the fortress up on the hill. There are picture postcards in every direction, and the memory card on the Nikon fills as the magic hour passes. We get back to the car minutes before the parking pass expires and the TomTom leads us home.

Boxing Day / Presepi.

We had an invite from cousin Isabella to come back to Lucca (neighborhood of San Concordio) to see a local holiday exhibition, but we begged off, feeling a little tired and also in need of doing some laundry. Later on, a failed trip for groceries (nearly everything was still closed) had us wandering down the road a bit to Camaiore. We had a nice walk there, managed to grab some coffee and some crepes, and fell into checking out some of the presepi the (nativity scenes) set up in various niches and churches around the village. There were a range of types, from children's assemblages to elaborate, animatronic villages with running water, sound effects, working villagers and day-to-night sequences.

Image, borrowed.

Apparently there is quite a market in providing the means for these expressions: see www.presepi.com

Transportation.

We're driving Vivienne's Opel Agila. We've also been left the keys to Roland's BMW 5 series, but we haven't had the need (or the courage) to drive it. The Agila has good space inside, turns on a tight radius, and affords good visibility all around-- perfect for us. The 1.2 liter engine keeps us in a relative passive attitude when on the autostrada, but that is not a problem. If I read the on-line specs right, it's getting better than 40 mpg.

We feel special to be driving a vehicle which is obviously not from a rental company-- it sports local provincial (Lucca) license plates. Hopefully this gets us some consideration in the queue at the toll gates and at roundabouts.

Buon Natale!

We took ourselves back to Lucca to share Christmas Day with cousin Anna and her family. She and her husband Rolando are the heads of a large extended family which now includes a few great-grandchildren. Our midday meal, a sitting for about 14, included tortellini in brodo, quadrucci al ragù (pasta) ; a meat course with choices of roast guinea hen, pork, salsicce; patate arrosto, patate cipolle, torta agli spinaci and piselli e prosciutto; a green salad; deserts: tiramisu, panettone, torta di riso, fruit, peanuts, walnuts, candied dates---Nancy's contribution: banket, a almond pastry from her Dutch tradition.. and coffee.

The meal was followed a passeggiata with Gabriella, Pietro, and cousin Ilaria's husband Raffaello around the city walls (about 4 kilometers). Then it was back to the house for more visiting with additional family members who had come by for a visit.

We said our goodbyes around 8:30 P.M. Despite having the all the shops and cafes closed, Via Fillugo was filled with after-dinner strollers, and there was a small crowd --mostly teenagers-- hanging around the skating rink set up in Piazza Maggiore. The parking lot near Viale Europa was empty except for our car and a few others, more evidence that there are relatively few tourists in town.

Fairly exhausted after some seven hours of our best efforts to follow the conversation with our elemental Italian skills, we "debrief" on the trip back to Lido, checking each other's comprehension of the evening's topics: work, hobbies, cell phones, Formula One, changes brought by computers, soccer (calcio); the health of trees in the park, tourism, poor church attendance, and, of course -- cooking. It's been a qualified victory -- our understanding is better than on earlier trips, but dealing with different speakers in multiple simultaneous conversations is always a struggle.