Thursday: Volterra to Levanto
The plan was to start the day with a bus ride, so I decided to stretch my legs after breakfast. I left the historical part of Volterra and walked past a big parking lot where people who worked in the historic area and lived elsewhere parked. I could see apartment buildings across the street. It made me kind of wish I had headed this way the day before, to get a better idea of how Italians live today.
Yes, some people do live in the historic areas like where we stayed, but I did not see a grocery store or furniture store, though I did see a daycare. While Italy has history all over it, Italy is also a living thriving modern state and I think as tourists we often miss that.
When I got back we headed for the bus. Our destination was Levanto, near Cinque Terra, but on the way we stopped at an old castle which has been turned into an Agri-business. The farm grows grapes and olives and they make olive oil and wine. They also have a restaurant, give tours and feed tourists.
Yes, some people do live in the historic areas like where we stayed, but I did not see a grocery store or furniture store, though I did see a daycare. While Italy has history all over it, Italy is also a living thriving modern state and I think as tourists we often miss that.
When I got back we headed for the bus. Our destination was Levanto, near Cinque Terra, but on the way we stopped at an old castle which has been turned into an Agri-business. The farm grows grapes and olives and they make olive oil and wine. They also have a restaurant, give tours and feed tourists.
After the tour we had an olive oil tasting which my husband enjoyed. I don't like olive oil and this didn't change my mind. Then we had a nice lunch, with wine made there.
After lunch it back on the bus; we were off to the seaside resort of Levanto. Is that snow on that mountain?
No, according to Colleen that white stuff is Carrera marble, that stuff you want for kitchen counters.
When we got to Levanto, we checked into our hotel and then were free until dinner. We needed to do laundry so we headed out to the laundromat which was across the street from the town park. We got a bench at the park, had a snack and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Levanto is a beach town--all roads lead to the beach, and like other places we visited, vehicular traffic was limited.
Our dinner Thursday was a seafood buffet served at our hotel and as someone from the Gulf Coast I don't do bad seafood. We did not have bad seafood, it was different, but good. Since the beach is my happy place, we headed down there after dinner, along with some of our tour friends. What a nice end to the day.
When we got to Levanto, we checked into our hotel and then were free until dinner. We needed to do laundry so we headed out to the laundromat which was across the street from the town park. We got a bench at the park, had a snack and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Levanto is a beach town--all roads lead to the beach, and like other places we visited, vehicular traffic was limited.
Our dinner Thursday was a seafood buffet served at our hotel and as someone from the Gulf Coast I don't do bad seafood. We did not have bad seafood, it was different, but good. Since the beach is my happy place, we headed down there after dinner, along with some of our tour friends. What a nice end to the day.