Friday Morning, Maurizio and I woke up early to catch our train to Lucca, which left at 8:08am. We never really wake up early on Maurizio’s days off, mostly because he usually doesn’t come home until after midnight and I sit up waiting for him. We use his days off to catch up on sleep. Nonetheless, we made it to the train in time. I took my shower that morning and didn’t have time to dry my hair before we needed to leave so I look a little stringy-haired in my pictures but oh well, I am married I don’t need to impress anyone!! Hahaha just kidding, I still like to look half way descent.
Anyhow, we traveled first to Lucca, which from Firenze takes only 1 hr. and 22 minutes. We planned to stay at the hotel in Lucca this way we could spend the full second day there and just take the quick trip to Collodi right away. We needed to drop our bags off at the hotel first and the train between Lucca and Collodi is only 18 minutes (2 stops) away.
After we dropped our bags off we set off on the quick train ride to Pescia the town just outside of Collodi and the closest train station. I had searched a little bit about Collodi and had thought that the distance between the cities was only a little over a 1km. I just figured there would be some sort of bus that we could get when we arrived. Well, of course when we arrived there were NO buses and the 1km was in fact 4.8km (2.98miles). It wasn’t a long distance but there were no sidewalks and we literally had to dodge traffic and anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that Italians are scary drivers and not necessarily pedestrian friendly. I also had not worn my comfortable running shoes and instead opted for some more fitted Skechers, which weren’t the best for this walk and the uphill walking to come.
4.8km later we finally arrived, safely, to Collodi. The town was charming, very old and we first came to the Giardino Garzoni. We didn’t expect to see this garden but it was absolutely beautiful. The landscape was well manicured and flowers were in bloom. The garden set at the foot of the Villa Garzoni, which is at the start of the climb up into the old city of Collodi. The garden was full of greenery, fountains, and sculptures, which represented mythological creatures. There was a butterfly house containing different species of butterflies and other insects and reptiles and forests of bamboo. When you first enter the garden, you are greeted by two magnificent double staircase ramps that feature a hydraulic system that supplies water to the fountains. These steps lead to three upper terraces. Beyond the water staircase, you find two female statues, which represent the rivals Lucca and Florence. At the very top of this uphill stairway is the statue of Fame blowing into a shell. During the climb you will find different observation points of to the right and left sides. There areas are filled with birds and other exotic animals as well as large grassy areas where you could sit underneath the shade of the trees. From the very top of the stairs you could follow a shaded path, which led through a forest of bamboo trees to the entrance of the Villa. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to enter the Villa at this time. This magnificent garden was designed in the 18th century by Ottaviano Diodati. The first certain record of the Villa dates to 1633.
After visiting the gardens we decided to have lunch in Pinocchio Park, which was located more or less across the street. The park and tourist season for the area hasn’t really started, which was good for us since we don’t have children. Pinocchio Park is geared towards children and since it was pretty much empty we were able to act as children ourselves and take silly photographs and have a fun time without worrying if people were watching us or if we were in the way. We had lunch in the Osteria called Gambero Rosso (literally meaning red prawn). The architect who designed the restaurant built columns throughout the center, which are to resemble the legs of a crab. It was an interesting space and quite a big restaurant; it caters to local weddings and special events as well. We both had a plate of pasta and a salad, some wine and then set off for the park.
When you first enter Pinocchio Park, you are greeted by a sculpture of Pinocchio with the fairy. The park is designed to take you on a walk through green space following the sequence of events throughout the story. I had honestly thought that Walt Disney had created the story of Pinocchio, because that is what I grew up watching when I was little. In reality, Carlo Collodi (1826-1890, born as Carlo Lorenzini) wrote the story of Pinocchio. The first chapter of Pinocchio first appeared in the Giornale dei bambini in 1881. Carlo was originally born in Florence but he spent his childhood in Collodi where he attended primary school. On October 26, 1880 he died in Florence.
"C'era una volta...
-Un re! - diranno subito i miei piccoli lettori.
No, ragazzi, avte sbagliato. C'era una volta un pezzo di legno."
(from Le avventure di Pinoccio, 1883)
Literally translated:
“Once upon a time….
-A king! - said the little readers.
No, boys and girls, you are wrong. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood”
Once you have made your way past the entrance you come upon an area designed for children with old carousel rides and an area where kids can play dress up. You then move to a sort of piazza that is made completely of mosaics depicting the story. After the mosaics you move into the wooded sort of maze that leads through the story including sculptures of the characters you find in the book. Along the way you come across a true labyrinth and Maurizio and I actually got lost and it took us twice to figure out how to make it through the ivy-covered maze.
I had to put a photo of the scary women's toilet!!
Once we had finished our tour of the park we decided to make the climb to the top of the old city of Collodi. It was a straight up hill climb and the streets were made of old stone. I still can’t understand how the people who live up there haven’t broken their ankles several times. I almost tripped a couple times because I lost my footing on the stones. Once we got to the top there was a panoramic view of the Tuscan countryside. We saw old writings in the wall of the city in roman numerals dating the old city back to the year 1031! It was so amazing seeing these old walls still standing seeing that they were so old. At the top we sat on a bench to recover a bit and to take in the scenery and then we made our descent down and took the same 4.8km trip back to the train station where we boarded the train back to Lucca.
Once we arrived in Lucca we took a 30-minute nap at the hotel and then headed out for aperativo. Maurizio and I both had Aperol Spritz, one of my favorite Italian drinks, at a bar in Piazza San Michele. We had dinner reservations at Trattoria da Leo at 9 so to kill time, after our spritz we went to a wine bar and had wine and small snacks. Our dinner at the Trattoria was very good and very inexpensive. After we stuffed ourselves, we made our way back to the hotel. It was another beautiful day in Italy.
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