Another local excursion today, this time to Fortezza delle Verrucole. Adding to the long list of places you’ve never heard of, for several hundred years, this was the main fortress in northern Garfagnana. I’ve praised Google Maps often and we have pretty much entrusted our entire well-being to the tech giant, but once in a while, it does us dirty. Google, is this really what you call a street? Just an opinion, but if you can’t exit a vehicle without using the sunroof, you’re probably not on a recommended route. On a regular day the Roberts’ would be cruising a minivan with French fries stuck in the seats and Google wouldn’t know the difference, so on a street like this, how would that work?

Nevertheless, after a few three-point turns to get around corners, we arrive at the small town below the fort. From here it is a short hike to the gate. Along the way, we pass a small chapel overlooking the valley the, sadly, had a need to post a sign like this. smh.

There are no people watching us from the tower today, however, as the fort is locked up tight. We find enough of a cell signal to learn that it is only open on Fridays. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve wandered into somewhere I shouldn’t be and feigned tourist ignorance so, having driven all this way, I set out in search of a spot we can get in to look around. Or course, this is a fort, whose express purpose is to keep people out so…

With a good chunk of the day suddenly back at our disposal, we drive back to Barga and use the time to check out the old city. It is like many others around here, slightly larger, but with equally few places to eat. For as much great food as there is here in Italy, sometimes they really make you work for it.

There aren’t any big-name places near our hotel (Pisa is the closest), but the hotel gave us a map at check in with a list of local sights that seem worth checking out. Roughly 30 minutes away, Castiglione di Garfagnana is an old fortification that dates back to the 1100s. Today, and probably most others I suspect, it is a sleepy, old, Italian mountain town with streets that are completely devoid of tourists (or locals for that matter).

Unlike myself, the population of Italy is ageing, and most young people would rather live in one of the bigger cities like Rome or Florence. There are new articles about small towns all over the country trying to attract new residents by selling homes for $1 in hopes they will refurbish them and bring in young families. Castiglione di Garfagnana is probably the kind of town that fits that profile. It has a certain quiet charm that is appealing in the short-term but could easily end up in a “Here’s Johnny” moment if weeks started turning into months.

As we wander the streets, one of the locals quickly latches on to us in hopes that we may prove to be a ticket to civilization. Years ago, a cat showed up at our cabin that followed Nick everywhere, just like a faithful dog. This fellow is the same, falling in right behind me all over the town, failing to pick up that I’m not much of a cat person.

There is an old bridge about 500 meters out of town and we are finally able to shake our feline shadow about halfway down the trail. It is a storybook spot, with tall trees, a little waterfall, and not a person in sight. Definitely a different side of Tuscany that I imagined, but a worthwhile one, nonetheless.

Back in town, we try to find a place to eat, but aside from some sandwiches of questionable provenance at the small convenience store, there is nothing open here to choose from. In our search though, we do come across a clever resident that has converted a rusty old wash machine into a chestnut roaster and I can’t help but appreciate the ingenuity, recalling how my Dad used to turn useless junk into something entirely unexpected. Bravo!

It turns out that one of resources of value here is chestnuts. Back in the day, that may have been worth protecting with a castle, but you don’t hear much about the chestnut trade in the news so, now, probably not. Either way, they are still enough of a reason to throw a party and, back down the road towards the hotel, we come across a festival, I think celebrating chestnuts. We don’t speak the language, but there are tables full of people eating bags of roasted chestnuts having a grand old time.

Years ago we tried roasted chestnuts in Turkey and were thoroughly unimpressed. However, figuring Nat King Cole wouldn’t sing about them if they weren’t something to look forward to, we decide that maybe it was a bad batch and perhaps we should give them another try. The process is a little confusing as we can see where they are handing out the bags of nuts, but people wave us around the building and before we know it, we are staring a giant pot of pig parts and holding a couple of bowls of brown goo, that we have been assured is “dolce”.

We pass on the pork but add a few crepe-looking concoctions to our collection before grabbing a seat at a picnic table. Lots of people eating nuts, nobody eating brown goo – hmmmm.

The story goes as you might image, only worse. The more I try to spoon the sticky, flavorless blob into my body, the harder my protective reflexes try to push it back out. In honor of the only awful thing I’ve eaten that does it justice, we’ve dubbed this treat “Italian schlopnik”. Officially, it is Polenta e Ossi, and of all the items for sale, it is the most expensive. One bowl of Italian schlopnik is the same price as a delicious cheese pizza, yet it is one of very few foods that look worse going in that it does coming out. Somewhere, as I write this, there are Italians laughing their asses off at telling the story of the two tourists who were dumb enough to order not one, but two bowls of (thank you Google) “polenta made from chestnut flour and pork bones” (so they got us with the pig parts after all).

It’s hard to recover after that experience and, with the rain starting to fall, we take advantage of the few remaining hours of afternoon to get some laundry done and try to reset our taste buds with gelato.

By the way, we did get a chance to try those roasted chestnuts again. Just as bad as we remembered them. WTF, Nat?

That’s all for today.

Now matter how much we do here, it always seems like there is something else for us to see. Most places, after a week or so of going HAM, things start to slow down and the days becomes less and less full of activities. I miss the days where a simple post took just a few minutes to say we didn’t do anything but lay by the pool. Writing those is easy. Alas, we’re not at that point yet.

It is an overcast day today and up higher in the mountains you can definitely feel that it is fall. From our balcony, the view down into the valley is quite peaceful, but has me contemplating whether shorts and sandals season has come to an end. Hopefully not, as there’s plenty of time to feel cold and miserable when we get back to Seattle in a few weeks.

Today’s adventure takes us to Pisa, about an hour’s drive from our hotel. It is only 35 miles or so, but we’ve learned that driving anywhere here takes much longer than expected. The roads are good, but unless you are on the freeway, there are small towns every few miles and through each one you slow to a crawl. They also have the most confusing collection of traffic circles I have seen anywhere. Without Google Maps, we’d be totally screwed.

The slower speeds aren’t necessarily a barrier though given that we are driving a glorified golf cart. On the bright side, it gets excellent gas mileage and, once you open to sun roof, there’s plenty of head room.

The drive to Pisa is uneventful and, in a few spots where the scenery stands out, even quite pleasant. After all the effort though, we’re a little discouraged to see this we’ve come on a bad day. Nowhere in our guide books did it tell us to check the status before making the trip.

Entering the old city we’re happy to see things are still off-kilter as expected. When they say “leaning”, they really aren’t kidding. People much smarter than me can probably explain the physics for why this sucker is even still standing (and we’re seeing it after they already tilted it back almost 25% of the way), but on a windy day I know which side I’m walking on.

You can walk the 300ish steps to the top, but you need to ticket which gives you access at a specific time. While we are waiting, we check out the church. No surprise that it is over the top.

When our allotted time finally arrives, we head up the winding, noticeably slopped, staircase until we emerge at the top. The views are fantastic, but as you walk the perimeter your body constantly tells you that something isn’t quite right.

Next to the tower is a small museum that is focused mostly on the history of the church and the original sculptures that decorated it. After the museums we’ve been to in the past few days it doesn’t hold our attention as much as it otherwise might, but we find a jewel in the form of an empty courtyard where we can take a bit of a break from the noise and activity of the crowds. It also provides a great spot for a photo without having to shoot around the ever-present group of duck-lipped teenage girls who all think they are Instagram models.

We’ve been told that, aside from the tower, there isn’t a whole lot to do in Pisa and, having checked that box, the advice seems pretty accurate. We wander through a few shots, stop for some gelato (of course), and pop into the market for some essentials.

We see postcards of the tower all lit up and, since it is fairly close to sunset figure it is worth holding out for a bit longer. We grab dinner and then settle in on the steps of the church, waiting for the big event. And waiting. And waiting.

The good news is that the fully illuminated tower looks amazing.

The bad news is they only light it up once a year. On June 16th.

On October 19th, you get this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Our ticket to the Uffizi Gallery yesterday also included access to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, but with all we had packed in, there was no way we could fit in two more stops (or mentally focus on what was there). We’re picking up a rental car at lunch and heading deeper into Tuscany which leaves the morning to tick a couple more items off the list. Not before we power up with a quick morning jolt and what may very well be the most delicious pastry of all time.

The Pitti Palace was the primary residence of the rulers of Tuscany, starting with the Medici family who purchased it in 1549 and set about both enlarging it and adding the surrounding land that would become the formal gardens (the Boboli Gardens). It is a few blocks and across the Arno river from the Palazzo Vechhio and Uffizi (which were government offices before being converted to a museum) but all were connected together to allow those in power to move freely without having to mix with the common folk. Above the shops on the Ponte Vechhio you can still see the passageway

As with all things Medici, the palace was soon filled with art from all of the usual suspects. Unlike the Uffizi though, this place is virtually empty, making it far more relaxing to try and take it all in. The collection is no less impressive with rooms full of works from Raphael, Ruebens, Van Dyck and others. In a museum back home, just having a couple of these pieces would be enough to draw a crowd yet here it seems like they are everywhere you look.

Behind the palace are 11 acres of gardens. We’re starting to run short on time at this point so walk through just small potion, but you could easily spend the better part of a day here.

For a big city, we’ve enjoyed Florence more than expected and, should our travels take us this way again, it wouldn’t take much convincing to hang out here for a bit and take things at a slower pace. However, armed with a car only slightly longer than it is tall (and a bag of pastries because we couldn’t walk back by the bakery and not stop), we’re now free to explore the countryside. For the next five days, the small town of Barga (about 90 minutes from Florence) will be our new base of operations. It is much more mountainous than we were expecting (when I think of Tuscany it is rolling hills covered in grape vines) so we are curious to do some exploring and start the next chapter of our adventure.

We have three main things on tap for today: find a place to sleep tonight; tour the Uffizi Gallery; and, see the statue of David at the Galleria dell’Accademia. The latter two have specific times we had to choose when we booked the tickets in Sorrento, so the agenda is pretty rigid. Friday night means pretty slim pickings hotel-wise, but we finally manage to find a room in a B&B right in the center of the old town. Not 100% sure what we’ll find when we check in, but we have no time to worry about it as we rush off to make our first appointment.

The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most visited museums in the world and today is no exception. It feels as crowded, if not more, than the Vatican Museum and, despite the hassle, it makes sense now why they limit access. Our tickets do not include a guide and, in retrospect, that was probably a mistake, but after a great deal of struggle (and a minor crisis prompted by my trip photographer temporarily losing her phone, we manage to get a podcast loaded onto our phone to at least get some of the highlights.

Throughout the gallery, there are fantastic examples of Roman sculpture and pre-Renaissance art (the original collection was gifted to the city of Florence by the last of the Medici), but its claim to fame is the mind-boggling collection of works from nearly all of the Ninja Turtles. Leonardo (including another one he didn’t finish – what is up with that guy?), Michelangelo, and Raphael all have dedicated rooms here (Donatello is also well-represented in Florence, but I didn’t see anything of his in the Uffizi – could be the work of Shredder), surrounded by Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio, Lippi, and others.

Growing up in a town where the museum consists of old farm tools and an owl collection it overloads the circuits and, before long, we’re gliding by 500 year old paintings worth millions of dollars each with little more than a glance. One item that does catch my eye is this sculpture by Bernini.

It was finished when he was 15 years old. 15. At 15 I think I did a rug hook Snoopy like this one:

After the Uffizi, we have a bit of a gap that we put to good use by squeezing in a visit to the Duomo. It suits what was one of the richest cities in Italy, with soaring spaces, incredible stained glass windows, and a dome that holds its own with the one at St. Peter’s.

If we had more time in Florence, the Duomo is another place that would be better with a knowledgeable guide but, absent that, we do find a kiosk with a multimedia tour you can watch for two Euros. Better than nothing.

Our last scheduled stop is the Galleria dell’Accademia. Compared to the Uffizi, this museum is tiny, taking up just a handful of rooms. In the center of one, however, is Michelangelo’s David. Everyone has seen pictures at one time or another and these won’t be any different. You simply have to see it.

While David steals the show, there are some other interesting pieces, including some other unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo and an interesting exhibit showing the process of turning original, scaled-down clay sculptures into plaster casts and, finally, the full-sized marble work. Turns out they don’t just find a nice block of marble and start going to town with a hammer and chisel.

By the time we leave the Galleria, we can’t possibly take any more in. We pick up our bags, check into our new digs, which are surprisingly nice, once you figure out you have to check in at a hotel three blocks away to get the key. The location couldn’t be better and, after a nice dinner and some over the top gelato at a place called Venchi, we kick back and relax, windows open listening to the sounds of the performers in the plaza below. What a day!

Travel day today. We start fairly early (for us) with the train back to Naples. While in Sorrento we discovered that, for a few dollars more, there is an express train that comes with guaranteed seating, although it only runs a few times each day. It is pretty much the same graffiti-covered subway car as the regular train, but skipping more than a dozen stops is well worth skipping out on a little sleep.

In Naples, we switch to the high-speed lines. Everything seems to route back through Rome, but at 225 km/h, even with the extra distance, we make arrive in Florence in a little more than two hours. It still feels crazy busy here and, like Rome, we had a tough time finding a place to stay. In fact, so far we only have reservations for tonight, which some members of our group are a little nervous about.

We didn’t expect much out of Florence today since it is was almost 4pm before we have checked in and walked downtown, but somehow we still manage to cram a day’s worth of sights into the little time we had left.

We start by heading to the Duomo. It is closing for the day, but it is amazing to look at even from the outside. The scale and detail of the cathedrals here are so over the top compared to what we are used to that we still can’t really wrap our heads around the fact they were built before Columbus was even on the scene.

Not much further on is the Palazzo Vecchio, the City Hall of old Florence. It is still open and, since we are already booked with tours tomorrow, now is a good time to knock something off the list. There is some good history here (mostly involving the Medicis alternating between holding power and either being imprisoned or banished from the city), and an interesting story about a fresco originally painted by Leonardo da Vinci that he never finished and was eventually painted over (oops!).

Palazzo Vecchio sits just a block off the Arno river (the Uffizi Gallery, which is on tomorrow’s agenda separates the two) so it is just a short walk to the Ponte Vecchio (vecchio in Italian translates to old, so Old Bridge in this case, or Old Palace for Palazzo Vecchio). Seeing shops lining both sides of the bridge is a little different and, if not for the odd gap here and there, you’d think you were walking down just another street (albeit one with nothing but jewelry stores as they seem to be the only businesses that can afford what I’m sure is pretty steep rent).

We’ve pretty much exhausted daylight by this point, so all that remains is finding a good spot for dinner. Our book mentions a food market not far away that sounds like something different so head off to find it. We’re not disappointed, although at first glance it looks like a mall food court. The food is far from industrial and the place is packed with tourists and locals alike. Best of all, pizza and gelato in the very same place!!

While it can be a little chaotic at times, the nice thing about traveling with no set plans is that you can make adjustments on the fly. We’ve enjoyed our time in this area a lot, to the point that we really don’t want to leave. With so much of the country yet to explore though, we compromise on bumping our departure one more day and just hanging out – no tours, no day trips. Fortunately, our room was also available for an extra night so with a few quick texts everything was set.

Something new for us last night was the rain. It has been so long since we have seen anything but blue skies it seemed like there was only one flavor of weather here. Not so. It poured, but at least it waited until we were back in for the night.

As a down day, there isn’t much exciting to report. We enjoyed some breakfast on the balcony and booked some reservations to cover us for the next part of our trip. These days, to see the statue of David and The Last Supper you need to book days in advance (weeks if you come during the high season) and we are happy to have those finally squared away.

After that, it’s down the to marina to relax and catch up on things (yes, including these posts) that are falling further and further behind.

Tomorrow we’re off to Florence.

We’re pretty content in Sorrento, all things considered, but the whole coast came so highly recommended that it seems like we’d be missing out if we didn’t at least day trip further south. So today (after breakfast on the balcony) we’re out the door to catch a bus to Positano. The trains don’t go to the coastal towns and the guide books say only a fool would take a rental car, so bus it is.

It takes a while to get out of town, but before long, we can see ocean. Not long after that, we’re several hundred feet up a sheer cliff on a road so narrow the buses almost rub together as they pass each other. The views are breathtaking and I’m thankful I get to enjoy them instead of having to focus on not banging a car into the guardrails or oncoming traffic. Nevertheless, an hour of this experience is plenty and we’re more than happy to arrive in Positano.

The cities along the Amalfi Coast are famous for rising straight up from the ocean and they really are amazing to see. Living here and having to get from your house to the city center and back may be less so, although it comes with a free gym membership.

As the first stop south from Sorrento (the towns of Amalfi and Ravello are the other popular spots), Positano definitely gets the lion’s share of the day trippers. The place is crawling with tour groups and other free agents who bused in like us. There are dozens of souvenir shops, restaurants, ceramic “factories” and other options that can easily separate one from their cash. The one that catches our eye, of course, is selling lemon gelato packed into the frozen shell of a hollowed out lemon. Here I am looking not at all like a tourist.

The crowds are a little much for us so we decide to move on to Amalfi. A little wiser, we opt to do this leg in a boat. Easily our best decision of the day. Not only is the trip much more relaxing, but from the water you get a whole difference perspective.

Amalfi is night and day different from Positano. There are people here, but the town is far less crowded and the prices much less inflated. It was also the the original seat of power when this region was its own kingdom so there is some history for us to explore. We also give it two enthusiastic thumbs up for the lemon cream gelato (it is unreal just how good this is) but a giant raspberry for the industrial pizza overlooking the Duomo.

We take a quiet break by the ocean for a bit before piling back aboard the bus for the return trip to Sorrento. It’s an hour and forty minutes from Amalfi and just as harrowing on the way back (although going this direction we’re on the inside lane). We arrive just in time for dinner at a local place outside the city center. At some point, my body will reject anymore pizza or ice cream, but not yet…not yet.

Taking the Fresh Prince train about 30 minutes back towards Naples, the remains of Pompeii rise up right next to the station (all of which is further surrounded by the modern city of Pompei). The excavation covers 170 acres and there are constant stream of guided tours for us to join in on. Otherwise, for a high profile tourist attraction, there are surprisingly few hawkers trying to sell you useless trinkets.

We start with some history of the city which, prior to the eruption that buried it in 79 AD, was a valuable port, conquered by several civilizations before finally ending up as part of the Roman Empire. A significant earthquake had damaged much of the city in 62 AD, and it was rebuilt over the intervening 17 years only to be completed destroyed along with several neighboring cities such as Herculaneum. While most of the population was killed by the the intense heat from the blast (up to 480 °F), anyone fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to survive soon found themselves crushed by up to 80 feet of ash and stone that rained done for six hours.

For the most part, Pompeii faded from history until the late 1500s, when it was rediscovered by workmen digging a channel. Over the next 400 years, various excavations and restorations took place leaving what we are able to see today.

On our tour, we see a number buildings that were bakeries and restaurants, homes, and baths. The walls are still painted and the mosaic floors are as they were nearly two thousand years ago.

There is even a brothel, complete with a pictograph menu so clients who couldn’t speak the language wouldn’t feel left out. It is just as busy today as it probably was in 79 AD.

Once the tour is complete, we are free to explore our own. The site is huge and once you break away from the main tourist spots, it is easy to find entire streets all to yourself. It is both amazing and a little unsettling at the same time.

In our travels, my fellow adventurer and I often come across things that speak to our different personalities. Here are two examples from today. Can you guess who picked each one?

Yes, I sure do love that tree.

At the far end of the excavation is the original amphitheater, one of the earliest ever built (Pompeii was already underground when the Colosseum in Rome was completed). The seating areas are mostly grown over but you can still feel a little of what it must have been like for someone standing in the center of the arena, in front of 15,000 cheering Romans.

The most somber part of Pompeii are the plaster casts, showing some of the residents, including children, that never survived the eruption. Because the bodies were buried in ash and rock, as they decomposed, they left detailed cavities in the ground. Archaeologists were able to fill these voids with plaster as they excavated, with the resulting casts capturing the expressions on the victims’ faces as they died.

We poke around a few more corners of the city before calling it a day. There’s still more to see, but after a while your brain just won’t take any more in.

For all the activity on our street at night, the morning is the polar opposite. The is a small market a block or two away and as I walk over to pick up some bread, cheese, and a few other provisions for breakfast, I pass only one other person. When my plus one tells you that Italy is amazing, it isn’t the food or the history that she is raving about, it is that they stay up late and sleep through the morning.

Given the location, our space is surprisingly quiet, unless you count the very loud tiles that clearly came in bulk.

A small balcony hanging over the street below provides a perfect spot to fuel up, although I am deathly afraid of knocking something over with my foot and taking out an unsuspecting tourist below.

Sorrento has a very mellow feel to it and I think we’ll be happy to relax here for awhile after being constantly on the go in Rome. There are plenty of shops and cafes in the old part of town and just a short walk down the hill is a quiet little marina with a small beach and restaurants along the water.

And if lemons are your thing, this is your little piece of heaven, as you can’t walk more than a dozen steps without seeing lemon soap, lemon liqueur, lemon pottery and, of course, lemon gelato. We also see these desserts all over the place and force ourselves to try one out. It’s cake with a lemon (shocking) cream filling covered with more lemon cream. Need I say more?

Not much else to report…