Tag Archives: beach towns

adventure, house hunting

Bad vibes and beach views (part five)

On Wednesday morning, we got up and had breakfast– the very same as we had the day before. I notice in Italy, things get started a bit later. Breakfast started at eight o’clock at each of our lodgings, although at the B&B, we were requested to have it at 8:30 AM, due to kids going to school. It was not a big deal for us, although we usually rise early. I probably wouldn’t do that if I lived alone, but Bill is like a rooster, and he wakes up early most days. Then, by about nine in the evening, he can’t keep his eyes open anymore. I have repeatedly tried to get him to go to bed without me, but he refuses to do it.

We had big plans for Wednesday, having decided to visit another town called Castiglione Messer Marino. I had seen a villa there at a very good price that I liked a lot. I wanted to see what the town looked like. After we ate, we set off for our destination, which took us down the Autostrada and then on another, more rural road. I was enjoying the scenery, and we were on track to reach our destination at about 11:00 AM or so.

But then, Bill took a wrong turn, and that fucked up our journey for about an hour. We ended up on a very primitive road that sent us through some more towns, including one called Bomba. I kind of liked the look of Bomba, which was situated on a hillside. I took a few photos as we passed through. It was easy, because Bill was creeping behind an elderly man with no sense of urgency as he walked to his compact car. I couldn’t blame him. The town looked like the kind of place where people don’t feel the need to hurry.

After we left Bomba, we kept driving through the very rural countryside. At least an hour was added to our travel time. Both Bill and I were needing to pee, and it was getting close to lunchtime. But things appeared to be fairly dead in that part of Abruzzo, so we kept driving. I kept taking pictures. A lot of these look very similar, but the landscape was so striking that I felt like I had to keep taking photos.

We finally reached Castiglione Messer Marino, and I immediately didn’t like the look of the town. And then, we pulled into a parking lot near what appeared to be a school, and a rather aggressive looking man stepped out of what appeared to be a booth of some sort. He came near our car and seemed notice us. I got hinky vibes from him, and given that we were victims of shady folks in France once, I decided not to get out of the car. The guy gave off a belligerent aura.

Luckily, Bill agreed, and we kept going, at first to what turned out to be a closed restaurant, and then in another direction. Bill got out and did the European thing, peeing on the side of the road. I continued to wait for a toilet. Fortunately, we like the same kind of music and talking to each other… the weather was getting colder and rainy, so we headed back to a more populated area.

Castiglione Messer Marino

I’m not sure I will consider that villa anymore, even though it’s going for a very good price and looks pretty well kept. I just didn’t like the town’s vibe… It wasn’t just the belligerent aura from the stranger, but the overall feel of the place. And now, I wonder if the town is the reason why the price recently went down on that property. I also noticed there weren’t many trees there, which gave the area kind of a desolate quality.

We ended up heading toward San Salvo, which is a beach town. Bill pulled up to an open restaurant, which was a blessing, since I was getting pretty cranky. We were the only ones there for lunch, and we both had pasta dishes. I also availed myself of the ladies room… whew! The very young and kind server spoke some English, and we enjoyed Forst beers, which come from Bolzano. We encountered them in 2020, when we visited Parcines.

Salmone Carbonara for me
Tagliatelle Bolognese for Bill
They have karaoke there, too…

After lunch, we stopped by the beach so I could get a few photos. The weather was getting worse, so I hurried. I’m sure in the summer, that place is packed with people…

Once again, we stopped by a grocery store for snacks, because we had a somewhat late lunch, and because after our day’s driving on hairpin, primitive roads, we were just kind of ready to be in for the night. I love Italy, but it can be kind of overwhelming and chaotic!

Can’t seem to escape the JWs…

So ends my report of Wednesday. I am glad we went to Castiglione Messer Marino, even though I doubt it will be our future home. If nothing else, I did get some good photos, and I liked some of the other little towns we passed through as we traveled to and from there. Maybe we will find something in one of those places.

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beaches

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part six

Now comes the scenic part of our trip… moving from Emilia-Romagna to Florence by way of the west coast…

As we were preparing to leave La Locanda del Borgo at Torrechiara Castle, Bill asked me if I wanted to go to Florence by way of Bologna, or by way of the Italian coast. Bill knew that I had visited Viareggio in 1997, back when I was just 25 years old and had a second class one month Eurail pass. At that time, I was broke, and traveling with friends who are now married to each other, live in Northern Ireland, and have six kids! We stopped there by chance, mainly because it had a beach, and we wanted to swim.

I had been wanting to visit Viareggio again, mainly because I have such fond memories of the pension where we stayed. It was a one star place– very cheap! But you could get half board there, and the food was excellent. Plus, I remembered that they asked us what kind of wine we preferred. My friends preferred white wine, so that’s what we got. They brought out a big jug of it every time we ate, over our couple of nights there.

We didn’t have time to stay in Viareggio for more than just lunch, but I was excited to see it again. Going by way of the coast also meant that we could finally visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is only about a half an hour from Viareggio. I’ve been to Italy a bunch of times, but never managed to see that very well touristed monument before last week.

Another bonus to going by way of the coast was that it took us through some absolutely GORGEOUS terrain… much prettier than what we would have seen, and did see on the way back, going by way of Bologna. Below are some photos I managed to get on our way to the coast as we made our way to Florence. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to get a good shot of Torrechiara Castle from the drive out. The view of the castle was much better on that route, but there was never a convenient opportunity to catch a shot of it from the car, nor were there any good pull off points. Pity. But at least I got some very beautiful photos of the countryside.

Speaking of Lamborghinis… about a dozen of them passed us.
First view of Viareggio for Bill… second for me.

As soon as we stopped in Viareggio, I noticed a small “healthy fish restaurant” called e.Dai near where we parked the car. I knew that was where we’d have lunch, after we went to the sea, so I could touch the water. It was confirmed when I saw the toilet near the door (not every place obviously had one, and we both needed one). It was still too chilly for swimming, but lots of people were walking on the beach, and there were guys there hawking their wares. One tried to sell us a beach blanket, but we were only there to look at the water for a minute. I would like to go an Italian beach and stay for a few days. But it was nice to smell the air and look at the water… I even enjoyed seeing the seagulls. I grew up near the ocean, and I have missed beaches in the time we’ve been in Germany. Below are some scenes from Viareggio. It has kind of a carnival vibe.

The Tyrrhenian Sea.
Soon, this will be suitable for swimming.

After our quick visit to the water, we headed to e.Dai, where we were promised “healthy fish” dishes. I don’t know about that, but it was a nice change of pace to have fish instead of Parma ham or meat from other hooved animals. I miss seafood, too. The fish place did offer something new, but it wasn’t a cheap place at all. We both had sandwiches and wine, and the bill was about the euro equivalent of $50.

15 euros for a shrimp sandwich.
And 15 euros for a smoked salmon sandwich.
On the way out of Viareggio.

After lunch, we made our way south to Pisa, where we found a very convenient pay parking lot with a sparkling clean public toilet. A kind looking lady was collecting one euro from those who needed to use the toilet. I heard one American guy grumble about the price and say he wouldn’t pay it. I was happy to pay, because I had a feeling it cost the same at Pisa; the facilities wouldn’t be nearly as clean; and there would be a line. Sure enough, I was right. So, if you ever find yourself at that parking lot in Pisa and you need the facilities, I’m telling you it’s a good deal. Go ahead and pay the euro for a glorious piss. At least it’s clean, and you don’t have to wait. The lady who collects the euros keeps it immaculately clean!

We chose not to buy a ticket to see the Tower of Pisa, the cathedral, and the baptistery up close, mainly because we were pressed for time. These photos are just of the exterior, which one can visit free of charge. We also knew that climbing the tower meant lots of heavy breathing in confined spaces while wearing masks. I would like to visit again and do a proper visit. I’d also like to see the city itself, which I know is very vibrant and interesting in its own right. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity. April is a nice time to visit. It’s not too hot!

Gay pride in Pisa.
The tower from outside the gates.
Literally, a tourist restaurant.
No, I didn’t feel the need to take a photo “pushing it up”.
But lots of people were doing that. I’m just too cool for that nonsense. 😉

After our brief visit, we got back on the road to Florence, where we would spend the next three nights, and meet our wine tour group. More on that in the next post.

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