Return to the Shire

"We'll always have Laon..."

  It was dark by the time we finally reached Laon. Strangely, we both felt an enormous sense of homecoming as we approached the now-familiar towers of the cathedral (although we were still in France), having driven into the town twice now on this trip (and having had such an emotional time there with the lost passport... ).

Blowout

After having breakfast in Beaune we got packed up and got back onto the road. We had just got out of the centre when I felt that the car did not feel quite right. Parth was driving and I insisted that he stop so that we could check around the car. We had a look at the tyres and the exhaust pipe but didn’t see anything out of order so we set off again.

 

Beaune

rrr

Gressoney-St-Jean

We discussed where we would like to go on our first day after leaving Lucca. We had planned to go to Siena but we would have had to come back on ourselves to head home. So Parth suggested that we spend a couple of nights in the foothills of the Italian Alps. After visiting so many towns and cathedrals, lovely though they were, it did seem like a really nice idea to have a change of scenery.

 

The place we headed for was Gressoney-St-Jean. We arrived there in the early evening, checked into a hotel and then had a look around the town and planned what we would do the following day.

 

 

 

After an early breakfast we headed out. We walked along a river and then crossed over and headed up into the hills. The sun was shining and I wished I hadn’t put on my coat. We hiked up for just under two hours and reached the Alpenzu, an Alpine Refuge, where we had some lunch. At the Alpenzu we saw there were other paths going higher up into the mountains. As we were not wearing hiking boots we asked the locals whether they thought it would be okay to carry on. They advised against it. However we optimistically decided to carry on.


We got up to over 2000 metres above sea level but then it started to rain and we looked up to see dark clouds gathering. We thought it might be a good idea to start heading back. Then it started to thunder. We quickened our pace but it was slow going as we didn’t really have the proper gear and as the rain was getting harder the ground was getting more slippery. Now I was glad I did have my coat! The thunder started getting louder which sounded awesome echoing across the mountains but it was a bit scary. It felt like the storm was chasing us back down the hill. We made it safely back to the Alpenzu and waited until the storm subsided. The sun came back out and we climbed back down.
 

Last day in Lucca

On Tuesday Morning after having breakfast with Mary and Massimo we finished packing up and said goodbye to Lucca. We had such a wonderful time staying with them as they were so generous and made us feel like family.

 

Mary & Massimo

 

 

Lucca will always be a special place for us and I’d like to think we’ll go there again. (Parth has already promised to bring me back to Tuscany as we didn’t make it to Siena!)

Pistoia

So on Monday we decided to visit Pistoia. As we set off in the morning the clouds looked amazing after the storm the night before.

 

Lucca Notte Bianca

On Saturday night there was a festival with many different things happening in Lucca centre. It was scheduled to go on into the early hours.

 

Pisa

Well, so it’s about time for one of my posts to be in here.

Our Wedding

Today has been wonderful!

We got up early and had coffee and cakes with Mary and Massimo. Then we got dressed up and had a glass of Italian sparkling wine before setting off for the Palazzo Orsetto. On our way there Parth deliberately led us through the Piazza San Michele so that we could make a splash.

When we got to the Palazzo Orsetto we were very happy to be met by not only Chiara, the interpreter but Mary and Massimo as well. It was also nice to hear the harpist already playing.

Bagni di Lucca

As it was our wedding the next day we decided that instead of another busy day sightseeing we would do something a bit more relaxing. Massimo had told us of a little town called Bagni di Lucca which had thermal pools which were supposed to have therapeutic properties so we decided to go and have a look.


 

Florence

On Tuesday we visited Florence. We decided to take the train there as Massimo told us it would be very difficult and expensive to park.

 

Yippee!

When we got to the station we bought the tickets and as we had about an hour to wait for the next train went and had gelato. Parth was very happy as you can see.

 

 

 

 

 

The Opera

Puccini

Yesterday we decided to go to the Opera. I had found an advertisement for the Puccini festival when we were still in Derby, and as La Boheme was one of the performances I thought it would be a nice treat as this is one of Parth’s favourite operas.

We drove out to Torre del Lago which turned out to be a beautiful place. The venue was the Great Open Air Theatre which is right next to Lake Massaciuccoli.

Our Hill

This hill overlooks the Ponte della Maddalena near Borgo, in the Garfagnana. When I'm sixty-four, I will build a house on this hill, and Sophie and I will live there happily ever after.

Garfagnana

Yesterday, on Massimo's recommendation, we drove into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful.

The Garfagnana is actually the valley of the river Serchio and it lies to the North of Lucca.

Serchio River

Our first stop was the town of Borgo a Mozzano to see the Ponte della Maddalena.

We then drove on to the little town of Gallicano from where we turned onto a narrow, winding road up into the hills.
Our destination was the Grotta del Vento, the Cave of the Winds.
It was a nail biting drive up the hill having to contend with crazy Italian drivers coming in the opposite direction. One even tried to overtake us. Maddness on such a tight road with so many bends.
We managed to get to the top without a scratch.

The cave was very interesting and had a lot of stalactites and stalagmites. Parth claims to have seen a goblin swimming in one of the pools. I think Parth found the temperature in the cave a relief as it was only 10 degrees. Outside it was reaching around 37 degrees!

Rock pool in the cave

Lucca Town

Lucca Cathedral of Saint Martin

On Friday we spent some time walking around Lucca centre. There are several churches and a cathedral.



West front of Lucca Cathedral



Piazza San Giovanni



Detail of facade of SS Giovanni

Lucca

We're here!!

We arrived at the apartment around 11.30pm on Wednesday. Massimo came out to meet us on his bicycle as we couldn't find the right turning.

Mary and Massimo are so lovely. They showed us around the flat and Mary showed us in the fridge she had made us several portions of home made pasta and jars of home made pasta sauce.

We love the flat it really feels homely.

The road to Italy

What a relief to be in Italy at last. We would probably be back in Derby right now if we had decided to give up. Fortunately we put on our positive mental attitude (Parth was wonderful).

Here are some pics from our road from France to Italy.



We think this is Mont Blanc

Just out of the tunnel. It says Italy.

Got to Lucca last night and I have a mobile phone now in Italy.
The number is

327-9968860

The country code for Italy is +39
To call from England it would be

00(39)-327-9968860

The Registry in Lucca has confirmed that my Emergency Passport from the Consulate in Paris is a valid form of identification for the wedding so we will be getting married after all on the 24th!

Avallon

Okay, so yesterday after getting Parth's emergency passport sorted in Paris, we got back on the road to Italy. We had planned to make our next stop Dijon, but as it would have been quite late when we got there, we decided to stop earlier and there was a nice sounding town called Avallon.

Statue in the park

                  



We arrived in Avallon around 8.30 pm and found a Hotel, then had something to eat. After that we went for a pleasant evening stroll then came back and had the best nights sleep of the trip so far. (Catching up from having little sleep the night before, no doubt!)

Smile and say...

Garish French street decorations.

Nightmare

To all our loved ones, we are well. It has been one hell of a bloody nightmare these last two days, but I have had an Emergency Passport issued and we are on our way to Tuscany again.

So tonight I can finally have a good night's sleep.

Another Day...

...and another three hundred miles to go. Driving to Tuscany doesn't seem like such a clever idea at the moment. My legs feel like jelly.

Good thing Sophie can take the wheel as well.

Laon

Laon Cathedral

We are in Laon and staying at a hotel called Les Chevaliers. The telephone number here is 0323271750. You will have to add the country code for France before telephoning of course.


It's been a lovely day in Laon. We got here around 2.30 and had a good look around the cathedral and town.

The weather is gorgeous. Parth keeps moaning it's too hot but I love it.

Tomorrow we'll be setting off for Dijon. The driving is not as scary as I thought it would be. The motorways are quite nice to drive on.




 

St. Omer

Finally got internet access this morning after getting their WiFi access code from the reception desk. We are staying in a hotel in a small town called St. Omer.

Annoying French Road Regulations.

Just found out yesterday that we need a warning triangle, reflective vests and headlamp converters to drive in Europe. This alone is inconvenient enough, but the French have to go the extra mile.

In France, you also need a set of light bulbs AND a breathalyser in your car. And of course because we have to drive through France to get to Italy, we have to pay extra to buy all this junk.

The adventure is about to begin

Not long to go before Parth and I set off on our adventure.
Very excited!

Car has had a service. We are all set.