Riviera & Villa Camelie Lucca

... and limited to pastry or pizza at 5pm, but I found Brasserie La Loggia near the station that had a full menu all day.
Walked in to order a pasta and was amazed and delighted that they also had a display case full of Belgian, German, Dutch and other quality beers.
Had a La Trappe with my bolognese. Even though it's made in the Netherlands it was still a good tripel.
Was ready to go after that but ...

... Leaning Tower began to lean after its architect had completed only three tiers of the building. Most believe that the tower began leaning because of "shifting soil" – and then it continued to incline about 1mm every year since it was built! In 1998, however, the City of Pisa (realizing, I think, that if the tower ever fell over, their tourism industry would be severely curtailed!) wrapped cables around the third story of the ...

... mais apres presque 900 ans, elle est toujours la. dans le meme espace, il y a la cathedrale et un autre batiment , tous ca, en marbre blanc. En dehors de cette attraction, pise possede encore une bonne partie de ces fortification. si non, c'est une ville etudiante, avec 3 universites,donc il y a quand meme pas mal de vie

Cinque Terre photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=163678&id=613699523&l=b ae7645b89

Stayed at Affittacamere Patrizia Hostel in Rio Maggiore in Cinque Terre and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
When we got to the Hostel it was just an office and no one was there. Our keys were stuck to the door with instructions on how to get to our dorm room. There was another set of keys there too so we could have taken those too and ...

We are finally home and it is actually Nov. 20th. We finally got in last night around midnight and could not download anything for the last several days because WiFi is too advanced for the small town we were in. It was the most relaxing of all the ...

... on internet and then back to the bar for more wine and tapas.

Sun 15
Did some chores... yes we have some, we are not totaly void of resposibility. Went to the supermarket to stock up on food and went to an Aire d'service to empty Theo (our Thescott cassette toilet). Enough of that and we were back in the walls checking out the Antiques Market and eating Gelati... YUM!!

... an attempt to complain met with laughter. We were sure we weren't the only ones to have an issue with the place - Paul had noted that the table behind me had been scrutinising their bill very intently as well. In the end, I made a complaint about the place at the Tourist Office, who were really helpful; however, the experience had definitely soured our brief stay in Lucca and the city could do without this kind of thing - so worth making a small fuss, perhaps..

... tomoroww we leave early in the morning for Sorrento. I may not be able to update the BLOG tomorrow but I will try. Don't forget to sign the guestbook on the BLOG so we know how you all are back home !!! The weather here has been incredible. This is just a goegeous part of Italy. >Well I best go, we have another dinner tonight...and more vinno rosso !!! CIO !!

After the World Cup, it took an awful lot of persuasion for me to convince Mick that Italy wasn,t completely full of cheating *******s, and really wouldn,t be that bad. We have spent the last week or so doing nothing but sleep, stare at the sunset over the Mediterranian, and eat. Sounds miserable, doesn,t it? We are staying in a tiny little fishing village called Riomaggiore, which is collectively part of a region known as the Cinque Terre (literally 5 towns). There are no cars allowed, so ...

... picnic goodies, olive oil to take home, and of course some Chianti to wash down our picnic. Passing through the main market stalls outside, we buy cheap but handsome leather belts ($5.00!). The Bargello was formerly a prison, now, it houses some of the greatest Renaissance sculpture. Michelangelo's Bacchus truly has a tipsy look to him, and there's several Cellini works as well as a fascinating Giambologna featuring a half-finished figure who seems to be trying to ...