Italy - Day 6

T'is another lovely day on the northwest coast of Italy! I got up early today to do the Lerici 'flea market' in front of our hotel and all the way to the castle. I was hoping to find some unique hand-made crafts but I was disappointed. The merchandise was mainly clothing and housewares, much the same as you could get in any bargain store. 

Of interest were the food stalls further on down towards the castle. There was a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and they smelled wonderful! 

There were cheeses and meats - sausages as well as cooked meats including something I didn't recognize, which turned out to be rabbit. The food made good subject matter for photos at any rate. 

At 10:15 AM we boarded a coach which took us to La Spezia, a city about 20 minutes away without traffic. With traffic, that's another story.

We toured Castello San Giorgio and learned about the Stelae statues and Roman artifacts. 

Lunch was on our own and there was nothing else planned for the day. I had hoped to go kayaking in the harbour and went to the rental shop after a bite to eat at the chicken schwarma restaurant. Unfortunately, the proprietor wasn't there so I caught a local bus instead. 

My destination was the nearby (6 kilometres) town of Sarzana which had been recommended to us. There was an old castle there and part of a wall you could walk on.

They were preparing for a music festival there and the sound of musicians practicing ricocheted off the castle walls!

It was warm in the sun and I was glad I wore a sleeveless top. The streets seemed too quiet, then I remembered our guide said they close for the afternoon and reopen at 4 PM. 

Sure enough, foot traffic really began to increase. I wandered for a bit and met several others from our tour. I found a nice little gelato shop and stopped for a taste. My gelato choice always includes chocolate plus one other flavour, this time 'limon', a delicious combination!

I stopped in at a church to rest my feet and enjoyed the quiet and stillness inside.

There really wasn't a lot else to see and do in town so I made my way back to the bus stop. It was an easy ride back to Lerici. 

I had supper with my friends at last night's restaurant. We went earlier and had pizza, salad and wine. The sunset was fabulous, the weather warm, the service great, and the company wonderful!