Don't Touch the Animals! Travel with the Baysides: Spain to France to Italy (Whew!)

We arrived in Italy yesterday afternoon, and we're spending our first two nights at the Grotta Giusti in Monsummano. I have a lot of catching up to do! First, Italy.

This morning we headed over to Montecatini a few kilometers down the road. There is an amazing section of Montecatini (Montecatini Alto) that is on top of a hill overlooking the entire region. You take the funicular slowly up and 8 minutes later, voilà, you're there. You might notice the 2% grade sign below. We worked up to a 32% grade closer to the top. Glad we bought roundtrip tickets and didn't try to walk down--it wouldn't have been a pretty site.

Riding the funiculare to Montecatini Alto

The high village was a nice place to stroll. There were structures dating back to the 11th century, old towers, an old town wall, etc. We stepped into one of the old defense towers that was later converted to a clock tower. The clock is Roman and only has six numbers on it. You apparently tell the time based on multiples of 4. Don't ask me to explain. The hills were a workout, even after the funicular got us to the top, so later we had to rest at one of the small restaurants on the square.

A quick rest break after walking the hills in Montecatini Alto

Heading back down in the funiculare

Montecatini Alto

600-year-old steps in the clock tower

We had lunch once we got back down the hill. Delicious! I'm still thinking about it.

Sitting outside at the restaurant in Montecatini Terme

Now, I still need to catch you up on our travels before getting to Italy. In Spain, we spent two nights outside of Cuéllar, one in Tudela, and two nights in Cornellà del Terri. We headed to France from there and spent two nights in Orgun in the region of Provence.

Cuéllar was ok, but Tudela and the areas around Cornellà del Terri were much better. I’m a bit biased, though, because it was freezing cold and pouring rain for our two days near Cuéllar and, although the town looked well worth exploring, we mostly spent some relaxing time indoors with a fire and glass of wine. Our accommodations were actually in Fuentes de Cuéllar, about 8 kilometers outside the main town.

Our place on the left and the road out of the village (population 40?)

The village square in Fuentes de Cuéllar, just across from our Airbnb

Freezing cold, pouring rain -- we used up the entire wood stash

In Tudela we stayed at the Marriott in town and had some leisurely walks through the old town streets and squares. The place was packed with people during the afternoon, probably because of the vegetable festival that was going on (love that!), but in the early evening the streets got quieter, and we had a chance to sit outside & enjoy some wine. Before that, we found a quieter, if expensive, restaurant where we enjoyed a gourmet Spanish meal.

Sitting out in the early evening --

Touring the town--

Tudela

Tudela church portico -- The good guys and the bad guys (the demons had the most detail and variety, so you really have to wonder...)

More Tudela

Driving in Spain, you randomly run across these silhouettes of bulls. They're huge (46 feet high) and I loved seeing them. Apparently they have their roots in an advertising campaign for a Spanish brandy. When a law was passed prohibiting roadside alcohol advertising these bulls were going to be removed, but people protested. The bulls are now protected cultural icons.

Our host in Cornellà del Terri was great! She recommended we visit Besalú, Pals, Palafrugell, and Girona. We covered them all and completely enjoyed ourselves, excluding getting lost in Girona and getting a very expensive (250 euros) ticket in a random stop when we forgot our international driver's license back at the Airbnb.

Besalú was fascinating. I loved the medieval bridge, and I wish we could have seen inside the ruins of an old Jewish mikvah. The spot of the synagogue was marked, but the building no longer existed.

Besalú's medieval bridge and portcullis --