Bye, bye Albissola, hello Viareggio

The first stop was Carara, with its marble extraction. Boy, the sun was shining and at first I thought: Wow, what a lot of snow around here 🤣 Wrong, it is so white of the marble, of course. A great view and if you like souvenirs you can really enjoy yourself here! The mine was closed and the view disappointing. You’d better enjoy it from the main road.

On to Viareggio, the carnival town of Italy famous for its beautiful carnival vehicles made entirely of papier-mâché.

When entering our hotel for the night, the receptionist's face was very sad so my first thought was ooh, ooh, and yes …. “Scusa signora, we tried to reach you 4 times yesterday but your telephone number is wrong.” I had no idea what he was talking about until the cat came out of the bag: he had called ++31, as normally you would dial 00 ????

But what he tried calling for is to tell us that a water pipe had burst and our room plus 4 others were flooded. They were very sorry about it, but contacted a hotel around the corner and booked for us. Luckily, I didn't have to search in the dark.

We were welcomed very kindly and I could park the car in front of the door. That is pure luxury.

Across the road is a good restaurant where I thoroughly enjoy my delicious fish dish.

The other morning I had a wonderful surprise that I didn't see in the evening. We are located at the Lungomare. Nice shopping, strolling along the boulevard like the Italians do, ice cream, coffee with mini cakes. Lovely, isn't it?

At 13.00 lunchtime.... Nice little restaurant, fine menu. Yes, SPAGHETTI ALLA VONGELE and a good wine from the region, what more could you want? Oh well... tiramisu of course. Mmmm really well made.

After lunch a brisk walk to the carnival museum. It is a disappointment😥. To see all those beautiful cars, we have to do it with life-size plates where they are depicted. I am very impressed. All Limburgers should definitely take a look here.

I took comfort on a nice terrace in the sun with an apperativo. Am I right or wrong? Ha ha

And unbelievably, what do I find here??? A POFFERTJESKRAAM!!!🤣🤣 Of course I immediately ordered a portion with Grand Marnier. They were very reasonable, a bit dark and of slightly different dough, but okay. Although I prefer the Dutch poffertjes.

At 8 the restaurant opens and we enjoy a light meal with a glass of wine. Off to bed early because it’s early departure tomorrow!