Piazza al Serchio, San Michele and Minucciano

When we are in Lucca looking for a train home, it will usually be destined for Piazza al Serchio, a small town pretty much at the top of the valley of the Serchio river.  San Michele stand a mile or so on, and is an almost perfect medieval village. A few miles farther on, is the hilltop town of Minucciano.

Since we rarely drive up the valley, we took advantage of the good weather to explore this area by car,

A prominent mountain visible all around the Garfagnano - the Pania di Corfino

The doglioni - black volcanic intrusions - whose fantastic shapes are a feature of Piazza al Serchio.  We watched a pair of peregrine falcons who were nesting on the central pinnacle

The train line up the valley was finished in the 1950s - this mothballed engine is one of fifty commissioned for use in the Appenines

Picture postcard perfect San Michele

Minucciano - Giving San Michele a run for its money

A street in Minucciano, with local resident considerately trying to be invisible for the photo!

San Luigi - flowers and butterflies

Yesterday we went into the mountains opposite us to walk up to the shepherds' village of San Luigi, where we knew we would find crocuses.

We walked from the village of Vallico di Sopra up the winding old mule track.  At the top we were rewarded by idyllic pastures resounding to the sound of sheep and goat bells, and carpeted with thousands of beautiful crocuses.

This brilliant clump of coltsfoot got us in the mood ...

While the more demure hellebores are still going strong

It's a steep but well-graded path

And then the crocuses came singly ...

... and in their multitudes

The houses in the small hamlet nestle in meadows of colour ...

A very few are pure white ...

... while some are an intense deep purple

On the way down, we saw this beautiful Peacock butterfly ...

... and this Great Tortoiseshell - we often see the Small Tortoiseshell at home, but this larger species has been extinct in the UK since the 1950s

Carnevale 2

The Viarreggio floats are without doubt artistically and technically excellent.  However, though they all are transmitting some sort of message - this is not always obvious to the casual observer.  Fortunately, there is an excellent website to clarify things (or not) ...

This year, there were fewer "walkers" than usual, but one struck us poignantly (the first one below).  It depicts the plight of the young educated Italian who now must fly abroad to find work which is not available for them in their own country.  We  have met quite a lot of this - including a sad conversation with a couple of students who are on the waiting staff at the Kirkwall Italian restaurant!

Matteo Raciti with his sad flying student ...

Our beautiful Earth - before(right) and after ...

No caption required

A beautiful float representing the story of Medea - with a mime and dance performance carrying on in the foreground, on the float

Homage to Frida Kahlo - she looked so real - even though she was 20 feet high

An arresting image - best explained by the blurb in the brochure - "A sort of gigantic carousel, the carousel of life, in which ancestral female figures have large screens instead of faces, on which they transmit images of the chaotic actuality in which we live. While the giant stroboscopic ball acts as a skylight, and the pig, a symbol of economic power, makes its shady games."!

February - time for Carnevale!

Yesterday we got the train to Viareggio at the seaside, to see their magnificent Carnival float procession.  We knew it would be magnificent - it has been the last five times we've seen it ...

Despite everyone appearing to be very happy - it was an angry parade - nothing was spared the ire of the designers - Italian politics, American politics, the environment, human rights ...

Renaissance costume, 21st century mirror shades - we always come across some strollers getting ready for the off ...

... a quick coffee and a smoke in the last five minutes

An arresting foat of terrifying hyenas recalling the horribleness of bullying

A modern take on the sirens of the Odyssey - with psychedelic jellyfish!

The Four horses of the Apocalypse canter by between the pizza and candy-floss stalls ..

Here come the animals - and they're not happy ...

Naples continued ...

On Thursday, we hiked from our B&B quite a distance uphill through the poor district of Sanità to the hill of Capodimonte where there is a grand royal palace of the Bourbons which now houses the city's art collection - Naples' answer to the Uffizi in Florence.

We also visited the nearby catacombs of San Gennaro, which have been recently renovated for tourism by a very professional, but voluntary, group which is bringing new life to this deprived area.

The last photo here is however, taken in the historic centre of Naples, on the main street called Spaccanapoli (splits Naples) right in front of the door of our B&B.  The singer has found a custom-made niche from which to perform Neapolitan songs to a backing track.  He had a fine tenor voice.  The graffiti, however, is a feature of Naples (though all cities are more or less afflicted with it), and it takes a bit of getting used to - in "Bella Napoli".

Street food -  a local alternative to the supermarket in Sanità

All kinds of tripe available in this butcher

Vista to the south, of the city seen from Capodimonte

The extensive catacombs comprising temples and tombs from pagan times to medieval christian

Frescoes in an early Christian tomb of a wealthy family

Back at our B&B, the sun is shining on the obelisk - one of three in Naples which provide good landmarks - seen from our window

Naples revisited ...

We have enjoyed both our trips to Naples. but it's not for the faint-hearted!  It has the edgy anarchic feel of a city in India or Morocco. People frequently tell you to keep a tight hold on bags and cameras.  Despite this we've had no trouble, and people we met were very helpful.

As well as the usual sights, we went underground (twice - lots of ancient stuff underneath Naples!), climbed Vesuvius (most of it by bus) and visited Herculaneum, which was inundated with volcanic ash as was Pompeii in the eruption of AD 79 ...

Down at the seafront - the imposing castle of the French Angevin kings - built in 1279 - it took only three years!

In the nearby Galleria Umberto ...

Down in the ancient Greek-Roman aqueducts - dating from 400BC.  There were quite long stretches of tunnel which were only 18 inches wide - rather claustrophobic, and impossible to take photos ...

Fuming Vesuvius!

From the summit - looking across to Sorrento and Capri - 

At the crater rim

Herculaneum - smaller than Pompeii, but just as good! Vesuvius still lurking in the background ...

At the shops in Herculaneum - olives anyone?

Standing at the gateway of our palatial B& B

Naples ...

Just back from trip to Naples - here is a picture, taken last year, of the city and the bay with Vesuvius (which we climbed this time) in the distance.  More soon ...

Rain and sun ...

We've had a mixture of weather in the last week.  Quite a lot of rain - over 5 inches one night (rain-gauge was too small!).  We went in to Pisa for a look on Friday.

Tomorrow, we're off to Naples by high-speed train ...

Even the tower looks forlorn in this weather, but it was still January!

But the oranges are undaunted ...

A better scene - Barga seen from the terrace on Monday 

Winter warmer ...

On Wednesday, Luciana at the farm invited us to join the family at lunch-time for their annual meal of chestnut polenta - it was kind of them to think of us ...

Despite the unfamiliar taste and texture, we enjoyed our meal of the polenta and "ossi di maiale" - "pig bones" (boiled pork) and their company.  This chestnut polenta - with or without meat - was an absolute mainstay in the Garfagnana in the past - especially during the hard times of World War II.

We've had very little snow, but a little fell on Tuesday night, so I managed this photo taken on the path down to Barga - a bit chilly for a palm ...

Luciano stirs the mixture with a big "spurtle" ...

... and pours it out onto a big board in preparation for cutting up