Adrienne Silcock

Yes, it’s time to bid farewell to their furry friends and set off from Lucca, not before the two intrepid travellers have been well and truly rocked by what turns out to be an earthquake north-east of Parma.  Near Aix-en-Provence they discover what a dangerous place it can be, warned by two very gallant gendarmes to park the van in front of a garage in case of armed robbers! They are very well protected by police, guard dog, security, etc, and escape unscathed…

It’s a cold journey north, snowing in Lyon, and bitter near Troyes where we find a campsite that is open with facilities that remind me of camping with my parents forty years ago… However, we make it up to Dunkerque and on to Lincolnshire without a hitch…

And that, dear friends, as they say, brings our travels to an end for the time being. Somehow it feels like a new adventure is just beginnning…

It’s a fine day, so what better than a jaunt out to Pietrasanta, a small, arty town in the foothills of the Apuane? It’s a delight!

We meet some interesting people and some unlikely characters…

And enjoy a Calzone in a very pleasant and friendly snack bar. Then one of us has to do the tourist thing, don’t we….he’s been framed….

Time for a day away from the creative activities again, and we head back down into civilisation – we catch the train from Lucca to Firenze (Florence) – a very reasonable 5.30 euros per trip, and head for the sights!

Lovely city, but it’s only dipping your toe into the water, there is so much to see. We do manage the Uffizi – no queues and a very civilised number of people, and superb classics! Oddly, my love is for the wood block prints – they are so dainty and well crafted and interesting, but also the ceilings in the corridors take some beating, as well as the “big” pieces. Fabulous!

Some of these guys are pretty cruel, but hey, this chap looks as though he’s enjoying himself…

Time to emerge from our hidey-hole in the hills and seek a little bit of winter beach, so we head down to Viareggio…

It’s actually a large built up strip which is part of the Versilia – the Northern Tuscan riviera. It has its pretty pockets and there’s a long stretch of sand, most of which appears, today, to be flying horizontally into our faces. Yes, apparently when they come, these winds batter Viareggio for two to three days at a time… they certainly seem to have whipped the sea up…

…the slice of pizza I attempt to eat whilst sitting on a bench seems strangely crunchy…better seek shelter in a café for one of those excellent cappucini….

What better way to spend yet another sunny Tuscan day than strolling the walls at Lucca? Everyone else seems to have the same idea to walk off that Christmas Panetone…

However, it’s an interesting walk around the old city…

with plenty to see and some art exhibitions in various buildings along the way, not to mention the odd cheerful lion…

Then it’s the inevitable coffee in the sunshine…

…before heading back up into the hills to see what the menagerie have been getting up to…

What better way to spend Christmas Day than a nice sunny walk in Tuscany… we even have the pantomime scene for Jack and the Beanstalk….

…but both of my actors are too chicken to climb up to see the giant, so we have to settle for a stroll back to the house and coffee on the terrace….

Mind you, I’m not complaining…

Yes, I must stop coming up with these corny blog titles, but in the meantime… we’re ever so lucky with the most brilliant sunshine for our day wandering around Lucca… there is stacks to see in this centro storico, but even though it’s the Friday before Christmas it isn’t too busy. We have a pleasant stroll across the old ampitheatre in the sunshine…

It’s a beautiful old city…

….Then we have some monument hunting to do….

Is that a tree I see poking out of the top of this tower?

‘Fraid so….apparently it’s one of eight Holm oaks growing in the hanging garden of the Guinigi Tower…You can go up for a closer look, but there’s a Christmas market to visit…

…and lunch to eat in the sunshine…

…and some window shopping to do…

…so it’ll have to wait for another day….

Then it’s back to the mountains and the view from our window of the sun setting…

We leave Arezzo and head to Lucca and our next house-sit…yes, it’s time to buckle down to some serious pet-minding and mince pies, teetering over the Tuscan hills….

Apart from Terry’s near nervous breakdown at driving the van up here, this place is stunning. We do a massive food-shop and prepare to baton down the hatches for a while…Did someone mention Christmas….?

We leave the balmy Peloponnese climate and catch our ferry to Ancona… even manage to drive over to Arezzo before it is dark. Next day we awake to white frost and brilliant blue skies, and decide to investigate Siena…via the mountains….it’s a spectacular route, and we’re not taking any notice of the snow on the ground – I think it’s a denial thing….

Siena is lovely…

Can’t think why they’ve got a Christmas tree up….

…when we’re soaking up the sunshine…

…and wandering round the streets sight-seeing…

…and getting lost…?

It’s time to bid farewell to the olive groves and vineyards of Aristomenis…

…and leave our house-sit in the Pelopponese, so it’s a fond farewell to The Dog (who didn’t look as if he cared one jot) and the three amigos (the cats) and off we head towards Pilos, on the West Coast. What a beautiful town…

…despite the heavy skies and the rain…

Next day, we head up the coast, stopping for lunch in a desert wilderness…with a huge mirage that looks rather like the sea…

…and on to a lovely campsite by the name of Ionian Beach, and of course, it is right on the….

We even make friends in case we were missing our kitty companions from the house-sit…

…or was it this way round…..?