Marcia Podistica at Barga

On Sunday we drove early to Barga for the first marcia podistica of this trip. We had been up to Partigliano the day before to visit with Erina and Bruno which was a good thing because I was so tired I was having trouble speaking Italian. We had read late and so had only about five hours of sleep.

The walk began and ended at this lovely church outside of the town of Barga. The area is quite vertical so the walk was pretty much uphill for three kilometers and then downhill for three kilometers and then a little bit of an uphill bit at the end. It was challenging for Dom and I as we had not done much walking over the winter. Lots of skiing and other sports but not a lot of walking. Add in the fact that my legs were tired from all the cleaning I have been doing and you can understand why I approached the walk with trepidation.

 It was an overcast morning but quite comfortable in terms of temperature. The walk wound its way through the newer part of town, across the ravine and into the old town. Barga's main church is at the very top of the hill on which the town is built. Here is a view of the church tower at the beginning of the walk.

 Here is a view of the church tower from the middle of town. In the foreground is a theater called Teatro dei Differenti (Theater of the Different or Alternative). It is quite well known in Italy. Barga has close ties to Scotland and they have annual Highland Games in the summer. It is also one of the few places in Italy you can find cheddar cheese.

 The walk wound up beyond the town, through the woods and then started back downhill again. The mountains in the distanced are hazy but they are the Alpi Apuane.

Here is the church tower in Barga again on the way back down the hill. The six kilometers went by quickly and we soon found ourselves back where we started. We had a quick snack, picked up our prize packages (tissues, water, beer and juice!) and started back to Capannori, about 45 minutes away. We stopped for coffee but were still tired when we got back to the apartment. So, we crawled back into bed for a few more hours sleep!

Yesterday we dropped off our Permessi di Soggiorno packets and all went well. We have appointments at the Questura on June 13--just before we leave! We had a quick walk around Lucca, then ran some errands before returning back home. It was more cleaning for me in the afternoon. I finally have the entire place dusted, vacuumed and both bathrooms cleaned. Now for the floors and windows.

However, today is a holiday in Italy and we are off to Florence for a little R&R. More later...