Sunday (September 23) after returning from Cinque Terre, we slept in!  Many of us did laundry in the morning - most of the clotheslines are full!  We did "grab your own" breakfasts and moaned a bit about sore calves, thighs and knees, but we are all still moving.

While John elected to stay home to read and nap, Dave, Katie and I are seeing our vacation days whittling away and we headed off to the mountains.  We ran into way more traffic than we have ever seen at the roundabout just down the street.  Apparently the beach is going to be crowded this afternoon!   We picked up some croissants and stopped in Vecchiano to take a picture of the nice town square we have passed several times.   The statue is a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi and I believe the tower belongs to Chiesa San Augustine.  

The instructions we have for Monte Serra say to "follow the signs from Calci" so we drove on to Calci.  I know there are some Untours apartments in Calci, also, but I don't know exactly where.  It seemed to be a much larger community than Migliarino.  As advertised, once we got there, the signs weren't hard to find (that means we only had to turn around at a dead end road once).  

The road up and down the mountain was pretty narrow but I think it was two lane the whole way which is more than I can say for many of the other roads we've driven on!  The views were wonderful.  We passed numerous trail heads and, if we hadn't just been hiking for two days, it would be a great place for hikes.  We were suitably impressed by the bicyclists we passed - this has got to be hard training.  

The Rosa dei Venti restaurant is halfway up the mountain and was quite full this afternoon.  We didn't stop but I imagine it's a very pleasant place to sit and enjoy the scenery.  We stopped at a couple of places just to look.  Here are Barb, Dave and Mr. Penguin at the Calci viewpoint.  You see that Italy has its share of graffiti also.  At a different stop, we found some interesting rock types as well as more views of the towns below.  There is a nice informational sign there that I will work on translating - the only things that I caught right away were that it had to do with the rock formations in the area, thermal activity, calcium carbonate, and fossils.  Katie is standing by the relevant rocks!


We continued on over the mountain, ending up at Buti, a small town that is home to crumbling medieval Castel Tonini (right).  We didn't spend long there (partly because we were loath to walk very much since we felt every step in various leg muscles we had forgotten we had).  To the left you see Katie and Dave looking at the city park - perhaps trying to decide whether it was worth the climb!  (We did it.)  Below are two views of Chiesa San Giovanni Battista.  Records of the church exist from before the year 1000, but traces of the original building are almost nonexistent now.  Beginning in 1607 the church was reconstructed to conform to the more baroque styles of the times (said the parish priest of the time).  In 1901 the church was expanded and remodeled again, though the facade was retained.  This is probably why the building itself appears to be much newer than its imposing bell tower.




John had not been idle all afternoon - he had been planning and collecting ingredients for supper.  He served us a three course Tuscan meal including fava bean and farro soup, pasta pesto and insalata made with Tuscan bread and locally picked greens.  Very good!   The picture also gives you a look at our dining room and the front door with windows and shutters.   

Katie and I were on cleanup duty and that gives me a chance to talk about recycling.  According to our observations, this is universal in Tuscany since we saw them in the larger cities as well as in the tiny towns.  There is apparently no individual residence garbage pickup here, but every couple of blocks there is what we would call a recycling center so nobody has to walk very far to get to one.  Different dumpsters are labeled for glass, plastics, bottles (apparently plastic and glass bottles go together), cardboard, organic material and just plain trash.  I got Katie to demonstrate the operation for the camera (she's a good sport) - you just step on the bar and the top opens up so that you can operate it with your hands full.  

We made a gelato run down to the crossroads after supper.  The fairly standard price for a 2 gusti is 2€ - here in Migliarino it is only 1.5€ and they have a pretty good selection of flavors, too.  That may vary but my favorite right now is the mint chocolate chip.

 It was very cool Sunday night and on Monday we got our first sample of fall weather, but it was still a lovely day.   This morning we went back to Lucca because we each had things we didn't get to see that first afternoon.  John went to the Orto Botanica (only open mornings) which he said was basically an arboretum but he enjoyed it very much.  Dave was doing some shopping and Katie and I went to the Duomo (main entrance at the left).  Entrance is free, though there is a fee to see the tombs in the sacristy.  No photography was permitted inside so the only pictures I have are the exterior.  Like all of the other churches we have visited in Tuscany, it is rich with artwork - both canvases and frescoes.  The Volto Santo in its "birdcage" display is pretty impressive.  The date on the enclosure is 1484; it is a gilt and marble composition by Matteo Civitali known as "Tempietto."  Below, left to right, the Duomo (cattedrale di San Martino) with its 13th century bell tower, labyrinth carved on a front pillar, detail of the bas relief on the facade.  Notice the asymmetry in the left picture below - the bell tower predates the rest of the building and so the right side was squeezed down to fit!


Also on the Piazza is Chiesa San Giovanni e Reparata - originally built in the 5th century, this was Lucca's original cathedral until 715.  

Next we headed to Torre Guinigi.  We noticed it the first day as we walked around the walls - it's the tower with the trees on top!   These  apparently are descendants of the holm oak tree that was planted there in the 14th century.   Our legs were recovered enough from Cinque Terre that we all climbed it.  We met Dave as we were going in and John as we were coming out!  I loved the views - particularly since we could now identify the Duomo, San Michele, and other landmarks.  

Below is a view from the story just below the top of the tower, out one of the windows which I thought made a nice frame.  In the center is another view, I think to the East - I was rather taken by the pigeon so decided to included him.  Finally, Katie, Dave and Mr. Penguin made it all the way up to the top and are standing under the oak trees.  Below you will see that I made it to the top, too!






By the time we came back down the mountain (right), it was really too late to go "window shopping" at spas so we just hopped back on the autostrada and headed home.  (The toll was 2.30€)  We ate dessert first tonight and had a gelato when we got back, then went out later to Vecchiano for pizza.  We found a charming pizza place on the main highway, on the left side just as you come into Vecchiano.   Pizzeria Italia, Via Argine Vecchio, 230.  It's real Italian pizza, which is not the same as American pizza (though we did see "American style" pizzas in the frozen food case at the grocery store)!   They don't speak English but that really didn't pose any problem; they have a huge variety of pizzas (also wine and beer) at very reasonable costs.  They are about 12" in diameter and cost 4-5€ each, depending on toppings.  I only ate half of mine (they cheerfully provided a box to bring it home) but everyone else ate the whole thing - Italian pizzas have both thin crusts and toppings.  They have some outside seating but the ambiance inside is delightful - there are murals of country vineyard scenes.  I think that meal was our best value per euro at 35€ total.

 Tuesday morning John made yummy pancakes again with chestnut flour.  (And we brought a bag home, too!)  It's a little late, but we discovered a great produce market by getting out of the house early!  Just before the bank in Migliarino (go straight through the light and it's on the left side before you get to the pink church) is Poldo Frutta at Via Mazzini, 21.  It is only open in the morning and maybe not every morning.  But if you catch them open, they have lots of great produce, herbs and a few other basic groceries (e.g. pasta).  We did get some fruit for the trip.

 We each had leftovers for lunch; John and Dave made an airport run in the afternoon so they'd know for sure where we were going in the dark tomorrow morning.  (We have to leave here at 5 AM.   )  That was a wise idea - it's very close and only took 15 minutes but the route was not perfectly obvious!

John, Dave and I went to the beach one more time while Katie wrestled with packing.   I elected to finish my packing and finish up our leftovers for supper - they went to the small restaurant in the middle of the "strip mall" at the Migliarino crossroads (Tre Ruote; Piazza Mazzini, 8) and said it was a very nice, family run place.   Everybody had good food - John was determined to try anguilla (eel) before he left and Katie was interested in the cinghiale (wild boar).

Miraculously, all of our flights worked and, in spite of a long, long line at Passport Control in Amsterdam, we made all of the connections and came home to a lovely fall day in the midwest.