Mikes Blog

Florence to Puccini to Porta Nueva and the Cinque Terre.

15th April

Shower and shave and then breakfast on the Terrace at the camp ground restaurant. It's another great day and another great view - over Florence towards the Dome of Duomo. We pay our E40.50 which has been good value for a nites accomodation and safe parking for our car - all within the inner city area. We have bought phone cards for E5 to ring for tonights accomodation at La Specia and have lots of time left so I rind my mum in New Zealand. She doesn't answer which is always a worry. We think it may be 11.30 pm. I try my sister . Matt my nephew answers. It is 7.30 pm. The remainder on the card still gives me about 20 minutes talk time to New Zealand so I chat a lot with Karen, my mum, Matt. Zita chats with mum as well. She always does that so well.

We check out and drive out of te city we drove in. No cross city driving for us. It all works but I am in a high level of concern as we squeeze down the narrow roads with cars parked everywhere illegally on footpaths and road sides and drivers from behind pushing you along. On the Autostrada we head north towards Genoa. Although these are toll roads, costs are low - about E7 for an hours driving at 110 kph. On our right are the ??? mountains which sharp ridges and big rocky faces. They rise up to about ?? metres. There are some skericks of winter snow remaining.

After an hour or so we turn off to 'Torre del Lago Puccini" - a small community beside a large lake where the opera composer Puccini lived for the last 30 years of his life. Zita had discovered that the house has been set up as a "Museo". We fuss around with some frustration driving back and foward through a couple of small towns before finding our way to Via Puccini - which led us down to the lake and the house. There was also a yatch club and a couple of laser yatchs out sailing - like I have raced in New Zealand. Nice for me to see. It was 12.30 and the opening time for the house was 3 -> 5.30 pm. A bit more frustration on my part. But I ease off, we have some lunch and walk about a bit. At 3 pm we ring the bell on the gate and are let in. We are the only visitors. It is probably busier when the Puccini festival is on in August and September at the open theatre at the lake edge 1/2 a kilometre away. In side it is all very low key. With audio guides we are led through te various rooms of the ground floor. In the first room is the piano and work table on which he did most of his composing. The room was decorated in Art Nouveau by artist friends - and everything remains in original state.

There are many different glass cases showing awards, notes, manuscripts and letters, photos. One room has been made into a chapel and this room also contains his remains. Another room was his hunting room with many stuffed animals and rifles - including one that was about 3 metres long and required a fixed mounting! Does seem fair really.

It is always easy at a place like this to buy a CD as a memory, but the poor quality means you never listen to it again. Across the road at a tourist shop I found a double 'best of' CD with famous orchestra's, conductors and singers. I took the risk and have had great pleasure becoming more familiar with many Puccini highlights. I am determined to see a good production of Tosca sometime.

We drive on, back to the Autostrada, further west, and then off again to La Specia. We have arranged accomodation here - as recommended by the Lonely Planet guide. But we have truble navigating through this 100,000 population city which is also Italys manin naval base. Getting around the narrow narrow streets with the pushy pushy traffic, most of which looks knocks and scrapes is pretty stressful. I have decided I am not happy to leave the car parked out on the street over night (or two nights while we are away at Cinque Terre). After trying a couple of hotels to see if they offered secure car parking, we give up on LA Specia and , late in the afternoon, head off out of the city and on towards Porto Venere - with little idea of what we might find. This is travelling without research or plans.

Porto Venere is a small ancient fishing town at the very head of the northern entrance to the large bay of La Specia. We drive along a narrow windy traffic choaked road for about 20 kms in the evening light with a gorgeous outlook of liitle bays with highly coloured fishing boats, and multicoloured house clinging to the steep hill sides. As the road drops down the kilometre into Porto Venere multiple road signs tell us that parking will cost us E1 / hour - if we can find it. I stop in the only available gap - a disabled park - while Zita checks out a couple of Hotels. Pretty pricey - but this is almost the Riviera! We drive a little further, to the water front - another Restaurant/Hotel. Zita sends me off to ask them. A good natured waiter talks us into staying. E90 / night + safe parking at E10 / 24 hours. We check the room - a real treat. A great bathroom, views out over the marina, habour, water front, to the Island on te other side of the channel. And the car should be safe. And our friendly waiter has all the information we need for our Cinque Terre walk. We had thought we were going to have to give up on this bit of our tour (the walk) as it was all getting too complicated. Now everything has changed. We take the room. I am 100 times happier than in LA Specia. Everything here is so much better.

We put stuff away and go for a walk around town. New and old boats. The town is built on a very steep hill side and the up to 6 story buildings are all highly coloured. I love the sense of this being a coastal village with a long tradition of fishing, the sea, boats and seafaring.

Past the town there is a remarkable headland which marks one side of the narrow channel, the other side of which is an island which pokes out into the main bay of La Specia. This channel and this town would be a wild place in an onshore storm.

The headland has been developed over the centuries with various rocky walls and buildings and a final headland church high above the sea.. With the setting sun over the Medditereaean, we look north along the steep coast where we will walk tomorrow. Lord Byron and friends used to visit here attracted by the romantic drama and beauty of the area. We later come across a Hotel Byron in Athenes.

We walk back through the town to our Hotel. I have a beer with dinner, Zta and I share a salmon Pizza and a Catalonia Cream dessert. Our present situation compared with how things had looked earlier in the day encourages a lightness of spirit. We thought we might be sleeping in the car. Now we are set up we will walk all the way from here to the beginning of the Cinque Terre walk, about 10 Kms, and then complete the Cinque Terre walk itself as well and get the boat back down the coast. It should take about 8 hours (at a quick pace) and we will stay here another night. And to think - we left Florence this morning.