Aug 24
I slept well last night, for some reason. I guess I was worn out from all the excitement going to Lucca yesterday or maybe it was the beer.
But, onward to today. The weather turned cloudy this afternoon, the first time in six weeks. And it was pleasantly cool, or not hot, this afternoon. I took advantage of the break to jump on the bike and head up the road (and hill) toward Coreglia Anteminelli. I was not sure how far I would go, whether I would run out of energy or be rained out, along the way. I cruised along… until the hills overcame my cramping legs. I walked, around curves, up hills, by houses, around curves, etc. Quickly the view changed, and improved, as I began to rise above the Serchio River valley. The view was WONDERFUL. The light was soft, with the cloudiness, and a bit of haze in the air.
I felt good, so I continued onward. And onward. And after about 2+ hours I came to Coreglia Anteminelli. What a fun little town, nicely situated in an intermountain area, on a small ridge, with a view of the big mountain to the northeast. That, I assume, is where the big park reserve is, with all the good hiking trails and places to explore.
There is quite a tourist base in this town, from what I could tell. I saw many restaurants, cafe’s, bars, hotels, etc. As I got into the town I could see the old town was set a bit higher on a little hill beyond the main town. Up the remaining hill I chugged, hey, I had come this far so I might as well go to the top. And up the hill and around more curves.
These Italian drivers really like to cut it close when passing in their cars. Maybe they make a game of it, to see how close they can get with inflicting major bodily injury. But I made it to the alto without a scratch. I found this beautiful old town, with a very active business section, with shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels all nestled in this little space. Nice little stone streets, and very well kept properties. And a spectacular view from the overlooks.
So now it was time for the fun part…. going back… all downhill. I sailed down through the town and stopped at a little park just on the edge of town. For water, from the old tap. It was a beautiful little roadside park, with huge old pine trees all covered with ivy. Cool, literally, and a nice place to be, sit, and dwell a while.
And I sailed on down the rest of the way to Piano de Coreglia. While it took almost three hours to go up the mountain, it took about 2 minutes to go down. But lots of fun anyway.
Below is my photo documentation of this trip.
