Some Suggestions for Day Trips

• Exploring Old Barga
  Don't miss the opportunity to casually explore old Barga, the oldest part of the city of about 10,000 laid out below our terrace.  The Duomo in old Barga was built about 1000; the views from there are panoramic and 360 degrees!  Wander through the streets and shops of old Barga.  Look in each of the churches up on the hill.  There is a wonderful new restaurant, "Ristorante Scacciaguiai," inside the large gates into old Barga and down the street toward Teatro dei Differenti, the restored Opera theater.  It is unquestionably the best restaurant in Barga and one of our very favorites in all of Tuscany -- and, believe me, that is some endorsement!
   
• Shopping and Sightseeing in Lucca:
  Lucca is a shopping destination for — Italians.  If the stores of Lucca don’t have it, you don’t need it.  Tourists have now discovered Lucca, also, unfortunately.  Lucca is about 50 minutes down the valley from Barga.  The west side of the river is generally faster.  Lucca was a Roman settlement (notice the grid-like layout of the central square - the Forum and the remnants of the amphitheater, now a shopping area.)  Remember your ancient history?  The first Roman triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Lisinius Crassus) was formed there. Shops are closed from noon to three or four, generally.  Rent bicycles (several places near the walls) and ride around the road on the wall.  4.5 Kilometers – the longest intact walls in Europe.  Turned into a municipal park by Napoleon’s sister, who was given Lucca after Napoleon conquered Italy.  If you drove, park inside the walls in one of the public or private spots, marked with a Blue P.
  
  Incidentally, north of Lucca back toward the mountains are a number of beautiful country villas and gardens that were owned by wealthy Lucchese families.  Many of these can be toured.  Villa Marlia Reale has particularly lovely gardens, fountains, and grounds with a guided tour.  The house, however, is private and closed to visitors.
   
• Castelnuovo and the Marble Quarries:
  The best day for this adventure is Thursday, market day in Castelnuovo.  Drive about ten kilometers up the valley along the west side of the river.  Entering the city, turn right across the narrow bridge and then right again twice, down the hill to the fruit and vegetable market.  If you get there early enough, you may find parking there.  Shop there first, and then walk back across the bridge into the walled city.  Wander around the street markets, etc.  Have a gelato or cappuccino.  Then, before noon, go back to your car, retrace your route across the bridge and then turn right toward Arni (Massa-Carrara).  On your way up this narrow valley higher into the mountains, note the tall peaks surrounding you.  When you get to Isola Santa, the little dammed lake with the ancient village, note the restaurant on your left – Giacco’s.  That is where you are returning for lunch.
  
  Continue up the road into the mountains, up all the way through the village of Arni, and through the two tunnels that will take you to the other side of the mountains.  Immediately after the second tunnel pull over to the right side of the road; you will be in the midst of the marble mountains.  Park just off the road at the exit of the tunnel.  Look down into the quarry below you; it may be active.  The quarry above you has been abandoned and is easily accessed up the path.  It is well worth the effort.  Then, retrace your route back to the restaurant, where the food is prepared over open fires.  Wonderful!  Featured in Bon Appetite Magazine.
   
• Shopping and Sightseeing in Florence:
  It takes about an hour and a half to drive into the center of Florence on the autostrada.  Follow the signs to "Centro" and then to "Stazione" (the Santa Maria Novella train station).  Park in the underground garage under the train station.  It’s very large and centrally located.  Easy to find your way back to your car after a day of shopping and sightseeing.  Tourists galore, though!
  
  Be sure to see Michelangelo's statue of David at the Accademia, and the many art-filled gallery rooms in the Uffizi.  Walk the Ponte Vecchio to the Altra Arno and the Pitti Palace.
   
• Lunch in the Mountains at Fornovolasco:
  Here is how you have lunch at the base of the two (yes, I know it looks like only one from Sommocolonia, but they are lined up perfectly) large mountains directly across the valley to our west.  Drive through Gallicano, the town across the river that is readily visible.  Go to the end of that road to the mountain village of Fornovolasco.  After wandering a little around this tiny, picturesque village, have lunch at Buca.  This is a refugio (inn for hikers and mountain climbers) and serves very fresh trout and other traditional Tuscan foods. Notice the extensive collection from the American Southwest!  Incidentally, Europe’s largest cave (Grotto del Vento) is just up the mountain outside this village.  Follow the signs.  Regular tours (1,2 or 4 hours), some in English.
   
• Dinner in Montecarlo:
  Drive down toward Lucca, but turn off at the big supermarcato (Esselungo) north of Lucca and drive east toward the village of Montecarlo.  The Medicis got some of their wine from Montecarlo.  A number of nice wineries near here.  For reliable, everyday wines, we like both the whites and reds from Fattoria Buonamico.  Walk through the village, tour the Medici fortress, and find the tiny jewel-like Opera house. 
  
  Then have dinner at La Nina which is just outside the north side of the village.  You could inexpensively stay the night in their restored villa for about 50 Euros, in a beautifully decorated, high ceilinged, marble bathroomed room, if you didn’t want to drive home after a late evening of dinner and wine.  We highly recommend this as a great experience.
   
• The Spas in Bagne di Lucca
  Some of our guests have driven down to the thermal spas in Bagne di Lucca, just south of Barga.  However, we have never gone to the spas there ourselves.  This was a classic old resort community (lots of famous English visitors) and it still has some nice restaurants, one of which is very high above the city.  One of the earliest casinos in Europe was there and has been restored; it is where roulette was invented.   The posh spa center of Italy, Montacatini, is around the mountains to the east, toward Florence.
   
• The Old Grain Mill, the Cheese Maker, and the Weaver
  Just on the north outskirts of Castelnuovo on the west side of the river is a shop actually producing woven silk and wool fabrics, etc. -- trades revived from the middle ages in this part of Tuscany.  There are about a dozen looms, providing income to the ladies of the area.  The workmanship is exquisite and the items are sent to the finest shops of New York, London, Milan and Paris.  Some of the fabrics are then cut into couture clothing.  The lady who owns the shop will sell fabrics, scarves, shawls, throws, table cloths, etc., directly to visitors.
  
  Just north of Castelnuovo near Pieve Fosciana on the east side of the valley is a mulino vecchia, an old mill that grinds chestnuts into flour and corn for polenta.  It is water-powered by the small stream that actually flows through and under the building, has been fully restored, and is in operation.  We have purchased our polenta there, as well as flour for pasta.  The fifth generation miller is very proud of hs Slow Food certification.
  
  Also, north of Castelnuovo on the east side of the valley above San Romano, much higher at Vibbiana is a cassaficeo, a cheese maker.  You can park at the bottom of the village and walk up the steep road into the village. The cheese maker’s shop and facility is just inside the village on the right.  Great views of the mountains to the west.  Wonderful cheeses.  You can buy direct and bring them home.
   
• Lunch in the Cinque Terre (by Train)
  The Cinque Terre (the five lands) are five fishing villages on the Mediterranean coast just above La Spezia.  Accessible by train or by foot.  Very difficult by car.  The hiking trail along these villages has been well publicized by Rick Steves in his travel guides.  There are lots of student travelers going through here, but it is well worth the trip.  Spectacular views and villages and food and wine, particularly the local white produced in the very steep hillsides above the villages!
  
  Our favorite way to go is by train.  Board a train going north to Aulla at the Barga-Gallicano station at the bottom of our hill.  Leave your car there in the parking lot.  You will need to catch a train leaving about 7:30 am.  Buy a round trip ticket to Vernazza from the vending machine in the lobby.  (Tickets can also be purchased at the adjacent bar across the parking area.)  Ride the train north past Castelnuovo, through the long tunnel, and over the pass to Aulla.  Then get off the train and transfer to the train for La Spezia; it should be waiting at the station for you.  At La Spezia, board a "locale" train for the Cinque Terre.  Get off at the fourth village, Vernazza.  Wander down the street to the water.  Lots of good restaurants, but our favorite table is hanging off the edge of the castle over the water at the west end of the village.  Hang out, swim or sun bathe, paint or photograph.  Board the train back to La Spezia and retrace your route back to Barga-Gallicano station.  You’ll be back about twelve hours later as I recall.  Train schedules are sold in magazine shops, if there is not one on our coffee table.
   
• Why not Pisa?
  Well, good question, I guess.  The primary place to go is the Campo di Miracoli.  Besides the Leaning Tower (which is leaning more than you can imagine and now open to adventurous climbers), the beautiful and acoustically wonderful Baptistry, the Camposanto (cemetary made up of soil transported by hundreds of ships from Jerusalem), and the Duomo, there is not a lot to see.  Pisa was a major sea port and sea power in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but now it is about 13 miles from the sea, as a result of silt from the Arno and the Serchio rivers.  There's an environmental lesson for you!