lunch

Monday: Viareggio

Posted on by Susan

It was bittersweet to leave Siena late this morning. Our hotel – Hotel Ravizza – was so comfortable and a great place to stay and Siena is a wonderful city. But we will be in Viareggio for the next few days and I’m sure we will live it there too.

We stopped for lunch in Pistoia, an old city about an hour from Viareggio. It is Monday, so many restaurants are closed but we found a good place for lunch and spent some time there since check-in for our Airbnb was at four o’clock.

We drove around Viareggio and checked out the marina. The largest and most expensive yachts in the world are made here by Benzetti boatyard. They are spectacular to see, but since it was pouring rain we couldn’t walk around at all. We will do that tomorrow.

We will also take the train one day to Cinque Terre to hike and see the five seaside villages and beautiful views. We are hoping for some nice days ahead after almost a week of rain but we will make it work regardless. For now we are settling in at Viareggio.

photos: seen along the way as we drove today – a farmer apparently has a sense of humor about hay bales; this evening’s view from our Viareggio home; little round eggplants for sale

Saturday, Alba

Posted on by Susan

Saturdays are the huge market day here, and I walked over early to see what it was all about. I was in search of fruit and vegetables, but there were streets full of everything else: men’s and women’s clothes, shoes, purses, and all sorts of household goods. The tables were chock-full of merchandise. I walked around for about an hour, then went back to where we are staying so the two of us could check things out.

We took a different route and eventually came upon the produce I was looking for.

After coffee, we dropped our bags back at our apartment and headed toward our tour of underground Alba. By now – 10:30- the streets were full of people, children, strollers, and dogs, and it took some time to get around.

We eventually found the meeting place. We knew the tour would be in Italian, but they gave us the script typed in English, which was nice and helpful.

It was interesting to see what archaeologists uncovered under the streets of the city, some under a church, a bank, and the police station.

The tour lasted about two hours and we had lunch at our apartment then walked around some more, this time in a direction we had not checked out before. We eventually headed back to make dinner.


photos: fruits and vegetables at the market today

underground Alba

the busy market

Friday: Alba

Posted on by Susan

We continued to explore Alba on foot today and made plans to take a tour of the old underground city tomorrow. It should be interesting.

We had a lunch in an underground restaurant today, coincidentally. The storefront is on street level but once through the door, there are steps down.

The sand sculpture artist from yesterday was back today making an identical dog. I went for a run and passed his spot at 8am. He wasn’t there yet. An hour later when we walked by, he already had most of the dog sculpted. So it seems to be a sand art scam and he will do great with it this weekend, I’m sure.

photos: early morning in the city

pigeon on the back terrace

pigeon on the lunch menu

Sunday: Lyon

Posted on by Susan

We left Clermont-Ferrand this morning and drove to Lyon. The city was just over two hours away, but we had to take our time because check-in for our Airbnb was not until 4pm.

We stopped a few times along the way, most notably about an hour outside the city of Roanne, which was described online as having some delicious restaurants. Not on Sunday though. We drove through the town and nothing at all was open on Dimanche.

I found an open restaurant in a town about twenty minutes away. Yes, it was open but no, they couldn’t serve us. They were packed. I asked the woman who turned us away if there was anything at all open. “Not on Sunday,” she told me in French. Okay, we would wait until Lyon.

So we drove into the big, busy city, located the parking garage suggested by our host, and found dozens of restaurants open along the river and beyond. We ate, then found our rental apartment, then went back to the car to get our luggage. All the walking helped us get our bearings.

The tiny apartment is great: centrally located so we can walk everywhere, and super-cute in a very old building.

We will have fun discovering Lyon this week.

photos: A small part of our pretty drive to Lyon

below: used books for sale along the Rhone

The River Rhone

Friday: Clermont-Ferrand

Posted on by Susan

We drove from Saint Emilion to Clermont-Ferrand today, about a four-hour trip. We had such a nice stay in Saint-Emilion and now have bottles of wine to enjoy for the rremainder of our trip.

We stopped at about 12:30 for lunch at a place I discovered online: Chez Juju. It was the only restaurant around and we had to drive along narrow roads to get there.

When we finally arrived we saw it was a very cute place, but just eight tables, all full. The owner said we could wait, which we decided to do since we had no alternative. There was nothing at all around.

We soon got a table and enjoyed a delicious lunch. The owner serves everyone the same lunch fare and changes it each day. Today: pate and salad; chicken, rice, cauliflower; cheese; walnut cake. plus house wine. It was a nice treat.

We continued on to our destination, an old city with breathtaking views, inactive volcanoes, a university, and lots to see. We will do all that tomorrow.


photos: all beautiful cows, all we saw today while driving.