On the road again

We have had only a couple of long days on the road and today was one of them, from Arcola to Castiglion Fiorentino.  It was with slight sadness that we were to leave our host Giacomo this morning, he was a pleasure to stay with and could not come with a more higher recommendation from us.  His knowledge of the area and hospitality was second to none, thanks Giacomo. If we are ever in the LaSpezia area again we will stay at Villa Ducci.

For us the drive from Arcola to Castiglion Fiorentino took the whole day, but included two stops, one to Borgo a Mozzano and Lucca.

Borgo a Mozzano is the location of Ponte della Maddalena (bridge) which is a 95 meter bridge over Serchio river. It was built between 1080 and 1100 and had a renovation in 1300. The detour to this bridge required a 50 minute detour but had been on my list of things to see for many years. 

Lucca and also the capital of the province of the same name is an ancient, fully walled medieval city.  As we were passing by these very walls it was decided to stop off and have a look and some lunch. We also used the opportunity evaluate the city for future trips.

Being so close to Florence I believe the town is effected by many day trippers and in turn the town inside the walled city has changed to suit the tourist needs rather than the needs of a town. It now misses some of the key points needed that places like Modena have, for us to be enticed to return.

The final part of the day was spent on the AutoStrada, and Pietro kept up with the Audis, BMW's and Mercedes. It was by no means a race but it is surprising how well the little diesel engine performed at 130 kmh.

This evening we had dinner with other guests at LaMaesta, two from Canada, three others from Australia and Rosalinda's family. The dinner was a Basil Pesto Lasagna followed by Roast duck with roast potatoes and a simple lettuce and olive oil salad and panna cotta for dessert.

Tomorrow, on the tour bus.