Day 20 Lerici
As we checked out of our Florence hotel the internet was restored and all was well with the world. It was too late to post the blog. That will have to wait till we get to Lerici.
Johnny deserved the Italian road medal of valor for getting us safely out of Florence and on the road to Prato. We had 2 navigators but neither of them captured all the road diversions due to road works. The greatest danger was not posed by the cars and trucks, but by the motorcyclists who seemed to make outrageous decisions at times.
We planned to take a mixture of autostrada and local roads but in the end the autostrada made more sense as the countryside was picturesque and the journey much faster. No matter how fast we travelled, there was always someone overtaking us. Curiously in Italy there is a mandatory minimum rather than a maximum.
We reached Prato in about half an hour. I was keen to see it as I remembered it from the Monash art faculty open day we attended when Ginny was looking at universities. Even when we got well into the older part of the city it did not seem remarkable so we drove on to Luca but before arriving there we stopped at highway services for a break and some lunch. We had really tasty grainy rolls filled with roasted vegetables and ricotta. That and the juices we were carrying made an excellent lunch. The Italian services have a reputation for supplying quite decent food.
Luca. Now this place really was special. we think it’s the only European city with fully intact city walls dating from the Renaissance period. We parked our little black Yaris outside the walls and walked in. The walls were so thick that the top has been converted into the most picturesque walking route and cycling track. We walked a considerable was around before taking the steps down into the town. It looked like a very prosperous place with an enormous ducal Palace, endless piazzas and open cafes. It was a peaceful place as it was Monday and that is often taken by some of the shop owners as their day off. The place was full of students and oldies making good use of the places that were open.
On this journey we passed such rugged mountains. The ones closer to the road were well wooded but in the distance there were some that looked bare and rugged, as if they has just been formed. Some had snowy mantles but there were also areas where quarrying looked to be taking place. This was Carrera and the home of the most famous marble in the world. Then next to the freeway we started to see row after row of enormous quarried blocks the size of cars and busses. Acres were covered with blocks ready to be wrestled into shipping containers and taken all over the world. This must also be a hugely fertile part of the country because we passed several kilometres of plant nurseries. There was kilometre after kilometre of all sorts of advanced plants and trees.The topiary sculpting of plants was extraordinary. You could get life sized dinosaurs and giraffes, but for me the most astonishing shapes were the twisted and gnarled gigantic bonsai trees, each as big as our dining room.
On this journey we passed such rugged mountains. The ones closer to the road were well wooded but in the distance there were some that looked bare and rugged, as if they has just been formed. Some had snowy mantles but there were also areas where quarrying looked to be taking place. This was Carrera and the home of the most famous marble in the world. Then next to the freeway we started to see row after row of enormous quarried blocks the size of cars and busses. Acres were covered with blocks ready to be wrestled into shipping containers and taken all over the world. This must also be a hugely fertile part of the country because we passed several kilometres of plant nurseries. There was kilometre after kilometre of all sorts of advanced plants and trees.The topiary sculpting of plants was extraordinary. You could get life sized dinosaurs and giraffes, but for me the most astonishing shapes were the twisted and gnarled gigantic bonsai trees, each as big as our dining room.
Up until this point, the navigator was working but was not speaking to us. Suddenly Madam Navigator woke up and offered timely and correct advice for the rest of the journey. The Italian highway system is a real marvel. They make short work of boring enormous tunnels through mountains, and they truly are spaghetti junctions here. It looks as if the on and off ramps were inspired by a twirling fork full of pasta.
We got to Lerici no worries and found the hotel. We were hanging over the road in an elevated position with a great view of the sea and the far curve of the coast. The rooms is fine but the downstairs is a bit eccentric decor wise. The big plus as far as dad was concerned is that there is free onsite parking for the car and it’s close to the strip of restaurants that have spread across the full curve of this beautiful bay.
We dumped our luggage and went straight out. We wanted to get down to the beach to scope out a place for dinner and explore the seafront. Lerici is known as the gulf of poets with a huge number of them having visited over the years and said highly flattering things about it. I think Virginia Wolfe, Shelley, Byron and a stack of others were taken by its beauty and I have to agree that it is very beautiful around the bay.
There are impossibly steep cliffs that plunge into the sea, and the ruins of a vast defensive castle perched on one side of the harbour. The arc of the seafront is fringed with trees and cafes. There is a vast marina for pleasure boats and yachts. Lerici is also a small working fishing port and we were lucky enough to catch the last of the small fleet chugging into shore late this afternoon, circled by screaming gulls that had followed it all the way in. The local fishermen caught the fish, unloaded it and sold it from their stall on the waterfront. The fish, squid, prawns and lobsters seriously are out of the sea and onto the plates of the myriad seafood restaurants in the area. The locals hanging around the fish stall once they saw the boat pulling in reminded me of the hungry gulls.
We watched the blood red sun sink into the sea and extinguish itself between the two island that lay beyond the castle. It had to be seen to be believed. People of all ages were promenading around the bay. This was low season. God knows what it looks like in high season. As we walked back around the curve of the shore the lights from villas on the surrounding hills began to light. The hill began to look like the most marvelous Christmas tree.
Our path down to the beach did not take us down a very pleasant route so we searched for a new way to climb back up. Johnny found a path that shot up the hill in a steep 400 metres of steps. Yes our hearts were racing by the time we reached the top but when we did pause, what a view there was. By now it was quite dark and there was no footpath on the road so we walked in single file against the traffic with me waving a white cap so that drivers could see us as they hurtled around the curves in the road.
Back at the hotel we made quick work of the beer I had the foresight to pop into the fridge. It was nearly 8pm before we sat down to an evening meal on the seafront. We navigated back down the mountain in the darkness and found one of the rare parking stations on the seafront. Then we walked the arc of the bay back to near the foot of the fort. We stopped at best looking place on the strip, by far. In very swish surroundings, warmed by a roaring fire, we had an enormous plate each of mixed seafood, a salad, chips, wine, fizzy water and finally coffee all for 42 E! Astonishing.
