Day 9 - Tuscan Countryside & Viareggio

‍‍‍I went to breakfast at 7 am.  I had pain yogurt with honey and pumpkin seeds.  We boarded the bus at 8:30 am. We drive through the Tuscan Countryside.  We took a detour so that we could get a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

At around noon we stopped at an Italian Manor house. We were greeted with prosecco; Parmesan cheese (with honey); brocheta Witness chicken liver pate; brocheta with mushroom pate; olives and prochetta. Then we went to the table where we had smelt pasta with bougenaise sauce.  And wine, of course.

Then we returned to the bus and arrived in Viareggio at around 4 pm.  We were welcomed to the hotel with a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade.  Instead of waiting for our luggage to be brought up to the room, we went across the street to the beach.  I walked to the end of the beach, took off my shoes and walked in the water for a few minutes so I could say I had been in the Adriatic Sea.  Then I cleaned my feet, put on my shoes and John and I walked down the beach avenue.  Then we returned to the hotel showered, changed and headed down to dinner. 

The restaurant staff recommended that I avoid any dishes on the menu that had not been made in house.  I ended up selecting the shrimp ”cocktail” which was actually shrimp on a bed of shredded cabbage and drizzled with a mayonnaise and spice sauce.  For my second course I chose the Minestrone soup. For my third course I selected the grilled salmon with a side of artichoke mousse and a side of grilled potatoes.  For dessert I had Panna Cotta. Muy entire meal was delicious.   And, of course, we had wine.  I have been photographing all bottles of the wines we have been drinking since I can get many of them in the States.  John has liked all whites we have had so far.

After dinner we headed up to our room to pack for luggage pickup at 7:30 am.  Then, after reading a bit, I headed to bed.Read more