Moving On . . .

. . . but before we leave Lucca, I must report that I had the thrill of being mistaken for an Italian. A woman approached me and asked a long question in rapid-fire Italian while pointing toward a nearby building. I caught a few words, but not enough in-a-row to work out what she was asking, and, in any case, I knew nothing about that building which to me looked long abandoned and possibly haunted. Non parlo Italiano, I told her, and we both made our oops gestures and moved on. Even so, I felt this was a minor victory, having spent several days being instantly pegged as a tourist.

I was lucky that today was my travel day and not yesterday, because yesterday there was a train workers’ strike which ruined everybody’s plans. Consequently, today’s trains were double crowded which was kind of drag, but less than having canceled trains would have been. My second train dropped me at La Spezia Centrale which is not in the loveliest of neighborhoods, and from there I took a bus down the peninsula to Porto Venere.

Upon exiting the bus, I was worried I had made a huge mistake; I didn’t see much going on and I still had the images of unlovely La Spezia in mind. But I got checked into my room, gratified with its beautiful view of the Ligurian sea and across to the national parkland on Palmaria Island.

Then I hustled out to find food; I happened into a small restaurant nearby where I enjoyed this Ligurian specialty, which was delicious. My mood improved.

Those discs are pasta (pasta pancakes?) Topped with cheese, pesto, tomato and lots of olive oil

Then I walked maybe 100 feet, rounded a corner, and discovered that Porto Venere is everything I was hoping it would be after all. There are plenty of restaurants and shops and an old castle to explore which google says “overlooks the Gulf of Poets.” Poets! Besides that, there are hiking/walking paths both here and on the island, as well as ferries to get there and to other nearby towns. It's all going to turn out fine!