Thanks to the efficient folks at Lufthansa we and our luggage arrived in Rome at the same time yesterday--23 hours after we left Seattle. At Sea-Tac Brunhilda, the trainee flight attendant, insisted we remove items from our carry on because it exceeded the 8 kg allowance. She also tried to insist that the lady sitting next to me was over weight as well. I had to explain to her, politely of course, that my neighbor was flying Asiana airlines to Ho Chi Minh city-- not really any of Lufthansa's business.
After a fabulous dinner on board and a restorative nights sleep we had a beautiful breakfast overlooking the harbor.
As we have been to Florence and Pisa we decided to spend the day in Livorno. As with many of the places we visit I immediately dubbed it a favorite and put it on our list to come back to for much longer. It is a wonderfully walkable city, with canals and classically Italian crumbling buildings. We especially loved the central market, built in 1893, with it's wide variety of fish mongers, cheese sellers, pastry shops (we did give in), delis with freshly made pesto, a guy selling only tripe, salami shops and on and on! In the outside market were all of the clothing and wares.
I did my best to find some covered buttons for Molly's wedding dress. Either the shop owner's English was not as good as he thinks, or I was being a bad communicator because the closest we came was glue on strips of bling!
Walking along the canals we passed schools where you could hear the students reciting, and violins and songs being practiced. We sat outside at a cafe and had gelato while watching workmen hoist one wheelbarrow at a time up to the roof of the Chesi di Greci Uniti.
It was so much more satisfying than watching a pump truck! My gelato was either cherries soaked in brandy or the prune special. Since this isn't a tourist hot spot there was no English translation. In fact it was nice that no one really paid any attention to the tourists. Even the Nigerian "Prada" salesmen were decidedly low key and didn't say anything as you went past.
Add to that---blue skies and 26 (82) degrees and this trip is off to a great start!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
After a fabulous dinner on board and a restorative nights sleep we had a beautiful breakfast overlooking the harbor.
As we have been to Florence and Pisa we decided to spend the day in Livorno. As with many of the places we visit I immediately dubbed it a favorite and put it on our list to come back to for much longer. It is a wonderfully walkable city, with canals and classically Italian crumbling buildings. We especially loved the central market, built in 1893, with it's wide variety of fish mongers, cheese sellers, pastry shops (we did give in), delis with freshly made pesto, a guy selling only tripe, salami shops and on and on! In the outside market were all of the clothing and wares.
I did my best to find some covered buttons for Molly's wedding dress. Either the shop owner's English was not as good as he thinks, or I was being a bad communicator because the closest we came was glue on strips of bling!
Walking along the canals we passed schools where you could hear the students reciting, and violins and songs being practiced. We sat outside at a cafe and had gelato while watching workmen hoist one wheelbarrow at a time up to the roof of the Chesi di Greci Uniti.
It was so much more satisfying than watching a pump truck! My gelato was either cherries soaked in brandy or the prune special. Since this isn't a tourist hot spot there was no English translation. In fact it was nice that no one really paid any attention to the tourists. Even the Nigerian "Prada" salesmen were decidedly low key and didn't say anything as you went past.
Add to that---blue skies and 26 (82) degrees and this trip is off to a great start!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Livorno, Italy
1 comment:
very jealous! I could definitely go for some warm weather, delicious pastries, and strolling through little towns! So glad to hear you made it there safely and jumped right into having a good time. Miss you of course, but am glad you're having fun.
Love you!
Molly
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