Twenty-two days of one trip. Day ten
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If you have to visit any podere (farm) agriturismo in Tuscany, go out at night in the yard and look at the sky. Just go out and see! Then try to describe everything you saw. I couldn't, sorry.
We say goodbye to a wonderful hotel, wonderful people, I shake hands with Leonello - the owner (who with a knife and a glass begged), gifts were given on the first day.
On the way refreshed in the pool.
We had breakfast, loaded our belongings into the car and drove to Liguria with a sour expression on our faces.
A small digression.
We were not going to go to any Liguria at first, the apartments were booked in the small town of Caldana ( Caldana ) in Booking. Two-room, new, with free parking ...
...separate exit to the terrace ...
...and the view of Tuscan beauty, without a credit card, without the possibility of cancellation from the moment of booking (100% fine), with cash payment on the spot at 50 euros / day - strange conditions, but it did not embarrass me, because it's funny the price and location are great. From there they wanted to spend a day on the Elbe, live a week like real Italians - cook yourself, go to the market, to the store, do something useful in this town, and then on the way to Florence stop in Siena, where August 16 counterattacks in the square Campo.
In early July, I sent a request to Booking to confirm the reservation - silence for five days, a call to Amsterdam, a call to Caldan. Booking promises to call back after contact with Kaldana, and the apartments themselves do not show signs of life. In mid-July, Booking asked for another three days - he did not succeed, sent a letter in which he was allowed to cancel the reservation and I will not get anything for it. I canceled, Booking offered a replacement, which I had to refuse, and began to look hard for a decent shelter that meets my requirements. And found, a little more expensive, in Liguria, at the foot of the Apennines in the province of La Spezia, the commune of Castelnuovo Magra, the village of Vallecchia. After returning to Ukraine, sending Booking receipts for new bookings in this period, my credit card dropped 110 euros in compensation, although I overpaid 70 euros. Thanks for booking!
In the ancient three-hundred-year-old renovated house, there are three one-room apartments under the common name " C a sa Dell 'Angolo " for 56 euros / day.
That's where we went, and drive only 150 km, no more than two and a half hours, and could not stop in Pisa, especially since the tower falls there and it must be somehow supported. We went like this:
Follow the pre-arranged route to the paid car park (EUR 2 / hour), from which Piazza dei Miracoli with the tower is just 5-7 minutes on foot.
Pisa is located on the banks of the famous Arno River.
Passing through its streets, I immediately saw and noted that it deserves closer attention from our brother-tourist, and do not rush to the tower - walk two or three kilometers to other attractions (find them in guides, maps, Wikipedia ), and then you can "support" the tower. On the waterfront you will see similarities with the waterfront of Florence, few tourists, and many impressions.
We had only one and a half hours to Pisa, so we went straight to the tower. After reading and looking at photos of this place for life, I thought I would walk through the square, like Khreshchatyk, where every brick is familiar. Pipes, no figs like that! Captivated and impressed, put my confidence in place forever. Hotspots, the same yesterday's 36 degrees. , drove the majority into the shadows, but the eyes did not look away from this miracle.
Although I was critical of the approach to the construction of the tower - now we have to constantly monitor the slope and prevent its increase, but I can not recognize the skills of architects and builders of the whole complex, still worth 700 years!
Visitors support the tower in every way.
Many "push" it and it brings success - approaching the tower itself, we see that it is flat.
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta senior, he is 900 years old, he is beautiful.
In my opinion, Siena is more beautiful inside, less strict. They didn't take photos, the photos still don't come out. Admission to the Cathedral is free, at least passed with others without hindrance. The square where the complex is located is also called the Square of Miracles, and this is pure truth.
Eternal symbol of Italy
The Fallen Angel
Baptistery - place for baptism.
Pisa is the largest in Italy
Come and see for yourself.
We bought a magnet with the image of Pisa, sat in a cafe, went to the parking lot, paid 4 euros and went north. David, the landlord, sent a message that he would not be able to meet me, that I should come to the village, call Betty, and she would arrange everything. The road with stops took two hours.
Liguria, Apennines
We stopped at Fort dei Marmi, where we bought something for dinner, watched how our and Russian oligarchs and just wealthy citizens live and have a rest, looked at one of the beaches - did not like, on the white toxic sands Rosignano was more cozy, more places for people and for free. But to be honest - cool, the prices of rooms on the first line start at $ 2.000. per night, but you can find an apartment in the suburbs for 100 euros.
Soon the navigator ordered to turn right. After a short drive through the valley, we went uphill, winding a narrow road with a couple of dozen sharp closed turns. It is easier to drive on Transfegerash, there the road is one and a half times wider, and there are no closed turns. We drove to a familiar place on Google maps, but the road to the parking lot was blocked by road chips. I went to push them away, but a man was already running towards me, waving his arms and shouting vietato (forbidden), it was a little tense.
I asked why ("perche"), and he replied - "sagra", ie a festival, a holiday in the village.
Unloaded bags, suitcases, wife and went to park the car on a mountain road outside the village, as said a man who turned out to be the head of the village and drove on holidays. One hundred and fifty meters from the village he found a niche along the road under a steep mountain.
There are a lot of cars - guests, and in the village of twenty houses, no more.
Betty turned out to be a nice, smiling and lively woman who has never seen Ukrainian license plates (we are the first in this region).
I should ask if it is safe to leave the car there, all her eloquence was opened at the speed of ten words per second, she managed to snatch only " niente ladri " - there are no thieves, other phrases said that you can park your car in the parking lot in three days, and on the road it is better away from the slope, because the stones fall when it shakes a little, and the branches of trees, but it all worked out. The car spent five days there and spent the night.
The house is a hundred meters from the cobblestones, streets and courtyards are full of people.
We pull bags and suitcases, everyone smiles at us, waves hands and says a very nice word "benvenuti ", and we answer them " grazie ", "< strong> buona sera "or just sera " - this is how Italians greet each other in the evening.
Waiters
They came, came in, saw, admired - did not wait.
Everything is new, perfectly clean, on and off.
Gas stove with electric ignition, large refrigerator, set of utensils and kitchen utensils, table for two, as well as apartments, bathroom with shower. On the second floor, of course, 2x2 m bed, wardrobe, TV.
Вперше сфоткав санвузол
And the main thing is this:
View from the window
A couple of hours later we put ourselves in order and went out on the porch - our whole small yard was filled with tables, where forty people sat, in other courtyards the same thing was happening - the people were at a low start at the tables, with only one water. We walked down the street and with each step it became clear what was happening in this small village - the unwritten laws of human dormitory, mutual aid and mutual respect, preservation of cultural and culinary traditions. Not for free, it is almost impossible for such villages to earn money for common needs (road, lighting, repair of religious and public buildings).
Vallecchia together with several neighboring villages became part of the commune (in Ukrainian - a united community) led by Castelnuovo Magra (a new fortress on the river Magra), it happened long ago and sometimes painlessly but gave obvious positive results.
The fortress really is, in it the great and restless Dante Alighieri reconciled the hostile neighboring villages 700 years ago, the fortress of Dante - so it is called by locals.
Let's go back to the holiday of life. It happens like this: guests at the entrance to the village from the menu ...
...choose dishes and their quantity, drinks and pay through the cash terminal, you can also cash. Receive a check and a coupon with the number of the place where the waiters will deliver the order. Dishes are prepared by local chefs.
Кухня
In huge numbers (this evening numbered about 300 people. ), Guests rate each dish, and at the end of the holiday catch the winner, give him gifts and common love.
Seller of honey who" lost "to a Ukrainian
Along with this, local craftsmen will be festivaling - beekeepers, producers of olive oil, wine, sausages and all sorts of clowns, in front of everyone for a small amount of money weave all sorts of things from the vine.
Attention! In the tasting comparison of Poltava honey from milk thistle, presented by me, and local linden, our Ukrainian won unanimously. In this regard, half a liter of pepper was uncorked, poured on ten people and thrown inside by the lucky ones, shouting "voglio ancora " - we want more. It was the second day of the holiday, yesterday it was the same and ended tomorrow. Seven hundred guests visited in three days, who won, I don't know and it doesn't matter. We were happy to be in the whirlpool of life of Italians who know how to work and have fun - they know how to live. We only lived Italian life for about four hours, and four more days.
At the beginning of the twelfth hour, they fell, as if mown down, from fatigue and emotions.
In the morning - no one, amazing cleanliness throughout the village, no signs of yesterday. I will also talk about cleanliness and cleaning-sorting of garbage later. Tomorrow we go to the shops, to the market, then prepare the main course (borsch, of course, meat or fish for all four days).
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