Month: June 2025

2024)

I’m slowly catching up!

Much of this week was without travel, I’m afraid to say. We spent most of the daytime smartworking – the company for which we work allows us to ‘work away’ from your home or the office for up to 20 days a year. It might not sound like a heap, but I am really grateful for the benefit! Much of this week is a blur of food and walks, but I’ll jot a paragraph or two in respect of photos that stir more specific memories.

It looks messy, and it kinda is to eat, but this burger from La Sosta del Priore was damn delicious – and lunch for one of the days

Have a look at the photo on the right above. The man, in order to perform some works underneath the tiles, painstakingly removed the tiles and placed them in their correct order for re-applying later on. A day or two later – this is how things looked:

And now this year, you wouldn’t know anything had occurred!

A great job, no? The above pic is from a blast from the future (past?) in March 2025.

I did a little walking the following morning and evening:

I’m looking at the food photos and I am not entirely sure where we ate, which is unusual – I can often tell where we ate by the crockery, glassware and table-layout, let alone food. I suspect it was Antica Taverna, but I can’t be 100% sure. The quality looks good, but they’re service spag bol… the soup presentation is unfamiliar to me – at the same time, the cacio e pepe looks great!

Moving on through the week, I had a gelato before we had a larger lunch from a wonderful place run by sisters and their mother: La Carabaccia. They have a couple of set things on the menu e.g. antipasti platters, zuppa alla Volterrana (yay!) and desserts, they rotate their menu every day – they just have a couple of pasta dishes and a couple of secondi (meats or vegetarian). It’s nonna-style Tuscan cooking all the way – delicious, and all the ladies are very sweet too.

We had an early evening walk that day:

One of the best shots you can take in Volterra

And I kept up the cardio-vascular the next day – both first thing in the morning, and a quick mid-morning stroll and gelato raid!

Yes, I have Volterra wallpaper on my laptop

That evening, we decided we’d had enough of Tuscan cuisine (yes, it happens – about once every two weeks), and headed with a friend to Cecina and an Asian Fusion place called SUSHI.BA. We were still on our quest to find a decent Asian place to eat. One has since opened up in Volterra (Ristorante Kibou sushi), and both Niamh and I think it’s one of the better ones – but we don’t each much sushi – so it’s largely the stir-fry, rice, dumpling and noodle dishes we prefer. Are either as good as a Chinese restaurant back home, no. You have to go to one of two Element Restaurants for some wonderful Cantonese goodness.

Anyway, this place was ok – I really liked my beef stir fry – it was well-presented and the beef didn’t taste cheap. I have since returned, but the quality of that dish had deteriorated.

Deep-fried icecream – it’s been a while!

All-in-all, not a bad place. If I recall correctly, the spicy tuna roll was nice this time around.

The following day was work, walk and eating as usual.

Finally, thank the good Lord, we did something on our last full day. We must have felt like cooped-up chickens, because we split to the coast. Both Marisa from Tales from Tuscany and Marie and Lorenzo from Authentic Tuscany all recommended that we visit a little coastal village of Quercinella, so we did!

This is a small place with a rocky, sheltered beach, a couple of hotels and restaurants, just a little south of Livorno. It’s nice and peaceful, although it can get busy. But most of the people who land there are Italian. So, having spotted a couple of carparks, we grabbed one, but Niamh declared it slightly too far away and so we grabbed the other. If you’re lucky, you can actually find some street parking closer to the coast, or maybe the unmarked carpark will be opened.

Anyway, we got out, walked up to the busy street and crossed it, and aimed towards a suburban offshoot. We got about halfway down this, when a kindly resident told us that it was a cul-de-sac, and we should aim for the tunnel underneath the railway tracks which will bring us to the beach. So, back up we went, and walked back to the carpark and found that it did indeed snake under the tracks.

We walked under a second archway, which brought us to the lungomare (seaside promenade).

It was kinda busy. We could see the entire stretch of promenade and knew enough that we had seen it in its entirety. It might be a cosy getaway for the local Italians, but an explorer’s dream it is not. However, it intrigued us enough to make a second visit another time (with find company) and stroll along the rocky pier you can see in the centre photo above.

Italians like their skimpy bathing costumes, and both Niamh and I were in civvies and opted not to walk along the beach. I always feel a bit of a perv if I do so when I’m dressed and everyone else is nearly naked – especially since I sometimes have my phone out to take photos or video. So, really, that was enough of that! There’s a small village area to the south which we still yet haven’t walked around. Instead, we walked back towards a restaurant recommended again by both parties (Lentisco). On the way, we chose to duck into their half-closed carpark and along their outdoor space to the restaurant itself.

If there’s one thing that can be said about Lentisco, it’s that they are located like few other restaurants: on top of short cliffs, with incredible views of the coast – it must be amazing for sundown parties. Today, we would just have a little lunch. We got a seat a little away from a window, so at least one of us (Niamh) could gaze out over Mediterranean loveliness. The people were pretty nice and the good was above average. Sometimes you sacrifice quality for great location, and this was only mildly the case here.

I wanted something light, as I knew we were going to eat later to cap off our holiday, so I went for a fillet of fish with veggies in a broth. Both veggies and broth were yummy, and the fish mostly good, but it still had a fair few bones and was undercooked (as you can see in the pic) in places. They also served us “when ready”, meaning that Niamh was finished her sandwich before I got my fish. Anyway, do me a favour and go in the evening and let me know what it’s like!

On the way back, we went back the way we came, got in the car, and I assumed that rather than taking the fairly dangerous left-hand turn onto the SS1, we turned right and then took the next left back towards Lentisco – cooing at the fabulous very-neo-gothic-looking Villa Jana, thinking we’d have an easier right-hand turn when we completed our loop through the village.

We turned left before Lentisco, and saw a couple of young boys, dressed for the sea, stopping cars and trying to sell the occupants glasses of water. Cute as it was, we didn’t succumb and I took the the second left, which I immediately recognised as the pedestrian route we took, which led us back to the carpark. I felt a complete idiot, but still negotiated the tricky left-hand onto the SS1. This road does have a speed limit, but those who drive coaches and logistical transport on it do not seem to be aware. There are two pieces of good news: the first is that the far lane has a short painted merging lane you can use. Italians are used to these and so won’t panic if they see a car suddenly pull out into one in what looks like the same lane. Tourists, on the other hand, will shit their britches (excuse me), so be careful.

The other piece of good news, of which I have only become aware in the writing of this, is that if I had taken the next left on the promenade, I would have found a much safer route onto the SS1 after about a kilometer through a suburban area.

We were on our way home along the coast, when I decided to drift off somewhere else we’d never visited before: Rosignano Marittimo. It was only a fleeting visit, though. I needed both a drink and a bathroom break, so after parking, we sat for a little while in the cute Caffè Carducci, just off a small piazza.

Although we were refreshed, the weather had taken a bit of a cloudy turn over these mountains, and overall the atmosphere oppressively humid, so we only explored a few hundred meters, gave the gorgeous castle a nod and drove home! We will explore farther another time – apologies!

So, we were at the end of another holiday, and visited La Vecchia Lira to cap it all off.

You can look at the video linked in the last blog, the last couple of minutes of which cover Quercinella and Rosignano Marittimo.

Thanks for getting to the end of this one. I’m happy with the pace, and soon I’ll have caught up with 2025! Drop me a line and let me know what you think!

Viareggio, Pietrasanta, Sunsets, Art, Friends and Buti (31/05-02/06/2024)

The one good thing about saying goodbye to a guest, is that we get a chance to head north – a direction we rarely travel in beyond Pisa. We said goodbye to my brother, and I had in mind to visit once place we had been before a loooong time ago – and one new place I had read about.

We took the road to Viareggio! Our first introduction to Tuscany back in (I think) 2008, was on a Travel Department tour. One of the places they took us to was Viareggio – one of the classic seaside towns lining the Versilian coast in Tuscany.

It took us longer than expected to arrive, and we ended up parking a ways away from the promenade, here (at the time of writing this, this is temporarily closed). I’m sure you can find somewhere closer! I thought we’d enjoy a walk through the town, until we reached the promenade strip. The truth be told, however, is that in the main part of the town, once you get to a block beyond the coastal road, Viareggio becomes incredibly workaday. Little neighbourhoods in blocks, served by bars and bakeries and the occasional craft store. Not unpleasant, but nothing inspirational either.

Our walk took us the guts of 15 minutes, but sight of the promenade walk is so worth it. It’s really lovely just on the coast.

It was still early enough in the morning, and we hadn’t had breakfast yet, so we found Gran Caffè Margherita, which is a lovely café with an old-style feel, attached to a bookshop. We had a pastry and drink each.

Once done, we walked a little bit of the promenade, and then up one of the piers, stopping only momentarily (honest) to look at a couple of lady beach volleyballers being coached – they looked quite pro, from what very little I saw of them. We got to the end and took snaps. The wind was up and the sea was rough.

A nice town, but we didn’t really want to explore up the far end, and so walked back to the car. Several blocks in, we came across one of the above-mentioned craft stores – this one was more householdy. Italians always dress their stores really well, so we had a good nose in there for a little while.

One last thing about Viareggio: it hosts the largest mardi gras in Europe, with gigantic floats parading down its promenade – I haven’t been there yet during this celebration, but hope to some year.

It was still morning, and I thought seeing as we were so far north (for us!), we could visit Pietrasanta for an explore and some lunch. Pietrasanta is to marble-work and statuary as Volterra is to alabaster. I’d read an old travelogue by an American, who travelled along the Versilian coast (Hidden Tuscany by John Keahey), lauding Pietrasanta and it’s artistic inhabitants and their workshops. I was excited to maybe see live some marble being worked, so off we went. Parking was free and easy, but a little walking is required to bring you back under the train tracks via an underpass. There is one there in the carpark linked above, so don’t go to the trouble of hiking along the roads to make it to the old town, or you’ll add 10 minutes to your journey!

You come out at the train station, and just a little beyond it, around a bend, you’ll spy one of the arched entrances to the centro storico.

Not the straightest of photos I ever took!

We walked through the archway and immediately to the right were shelves of marble knick-knacks in a window. Ah cool! I thought, The first workshop! But it was no such thing, but rather a Tabaccheria! I thought that if a Tabaccheria is displaying items like this, the rest of the town must be pure gold for marble-work. Well, I soon discovered that it is, and it isn’t.

The book I mentioned above had been published back in 2014, and it would seem a lot had happened in the intervening decade. Once you entered the archway, you are practically in the main square, directly ahead with a slight left, and it is impressive. We decided an explore of the square and its church, before looking for a place for lunch.

Ugh! I hope this isn’t as crass as it looks!

After that, we hit the streets to check out the workshops of Pietrasanta. Except there weren’t any. Not on a streets, anyway. There were plenty of art stores and boutiques, all lavishly appointed – even by Italian standards, the shop-fronting and fitting was impressive for many of these places. But it wasn’t exactly what I came for – which indicates the importance of doing more relevant research to ensure that expectation-setting is performed correctly. I can’t blame Pietrasanta – I blame myself. I guess sometimes that while 1000 years doesn’t diminish architecture in Italy, a mere 10 can heavily influence local economies.

We killed another half an hour by having a refreshing drink at the bar in the main square (Bar Michelangelo), before settling on Ristorante Quarantuno for a bite. Dishes were ok – mine a little salty, Niamh’s a little soupy.

We were tempted to take the coastal route home, but instead opted for speed and were back in Volterra in time to take a nap!

That evening, we had a pizza-date in La Mangiatoia, and took a walk and had enjoyed the tramonto (sunset) in Piazzetta dei Fornelli. I had one of the newer fancy pizzas on their expanded menu – mozzerella blob with sun-dried tomatoes and anchovies. It was nice, but next time I will stick with the regular recipes.

The next day, we spent as tourists in our own adopted town. Banksy, the legendary urban artist, had an exhibition in the exhibition centre, which is worth a visit anyway as it has semi permanent showings from local artists, and Etruscan ruins in its basement.

NOTE – BANKSY ISN’T FOR EVERYONE, AND A COUPLE OF THE WORKS BELOW MAY OFFEND.

Back in Piazza dei Priori, we noted that they were getting ready for the palio di cere – Volterra’s tug-of-war competition between the neighbourhoods. We had a lightish lunch in Ristorante Etruria.

Afterwards, we went, for the first time, to the new Mauro Staccioli exhibition hall, which is in itself quite lovely. You might remember Staccioli created the geometric sculptures found around the Val di Cecina – the most famous of which are the two ‘O’s on roads just outside of Volterra.

Later that evening, we went to Torre del Porcellino for a large dinner! We over-ate, really.

You may or may not be pleased to know that we have started to eat not as voraciously in the past year.

Bring on the next day and its walk around Volterra!

Today, we were supposed to go to Lari for their cherry festival (we have since done so – check out the video here). We managed to get as far as Lari and park in a looong row of cars, just outside town. Then the heavens opened. It was like being in a carwash. We checked with friends on our WhatsApp group and were told that Vicopisano was still dry, so several cars’ worth of people hightailed it there instead.

We spent an afternoon nibbling, drinking (except for designated drivers, of course) and laughing. Before long, several hours have passed – if that makes any sense. We were getting our hunger on. Marie (of Authentic Tuscany) suggested a place she knows in the nearby village of Buti. We hadn’t been there, and food was on the menu (literally!), so we leapt at the chance and went.

It was only a short drive, and it began to drizzle a little bit – but it didn’t dampen our spirits (I apologise for these awful puns). We parked (here), and had a short walk to the main square. Marie took us to a bar first to kill a little time before the restaurant opened. Niamh and I had a crema al caffe, and marvelled at the loveliness of the place. Marie assured us that the people here were mad and loved to party. I still haven’t been back, but I don’t know why – perhaps I need some sort of sanity test. Anyway, when Enoteca Acetone opened, we bundled ourselves inside, and after aperitivi and snacks, were presented with antipasti on clotheslines (no, really!) and some wonderful pasta dishes!

And after more laughs, we trundled home. Cheers, Fran and Nick and Marie!

Thanks for reading this – I hope you enjoyed it – but please check out the video below which covers the last couple of blogs, but in video form! Enjoy that too!