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.

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.

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!

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