10/27/23 Marina di Scarlino, Italy
A sunny start to the day with the wind building. Looking at
the weather we signed up to staying two more nights in the marina. Our Capitainerie
was very accommodating and also set up a taxi to take us to the train station
to go to Florance. With high winds predicted we doubled up the mooring lines
and added chaff gear. Feeling good about the boat we packed our bag and headed
to Florence. It was a quick taxi ride to the train station in Follonica. The
taxi driver spoke English well. Evidently this was an old steel town, though
the foundry has since been turned into a park. He commented
that the Americans were the last to leave the Med and proceeded to list the
order in which the different countries left the Med.
The train was late, it is Italy after all, so now we would
miss our connection in Pisa. Suzette checked with the ticket agent and said
there would be a train from Pisa to Florence at 1330, plenty of time. We had
assigned seats in carriage 8. The train had 8 cars so we made our way to the
last car. When we boarded the ticket tacker said that carriage 8 was at the
front of the train! Go figure… We found our seats and settled in for a 1 hour
ride to Pisa taking in the country side. As we passed an area with a view to
the sea we saw crashing waves and wind, glad to be on a train and not a boat.
The country side was otherwise a continuous scenery of farm fields and rolling
hills.
We arrived in Pisa just in time to catch the 1330 train to
Florence. No assigned seats this time so we found a couple seats and settled in
for another hour long ride. The country side was more beautiful rolling farm
land. Arriving in Florance there are three train stations and we nearly got off
on the wrong one. Thankfully the locals were very helpful and they were looking
out for us. We must stand out as tourists.
We got off at the Santa Maria Novello station and let our
VRBO host know that we were on our way to the flat that we had reserved. It was
a 10 minute walk from the train station and right on the western edge of
central Florence. The flat was just right, Suzette was happy that it had a
great kitchen and that it was clean. I was happy for a good WIFI connection. It
was 4 flights of stairs up to the flat and a not so great view of the roof
tops, you can’t have everything. We quickly settled in and headed out to walk
the city. The goal was to see the replica of Michealangelo’s David and whatever
else looked interesting on the way. This is a city for art as we explored the
Piazza della Signoria full of marble sculptures, most notably Neptune and the
replica of David.
We stopped for a bottle of wine and some groceries and headed home. Suzette made a great pasta dish and salad for dinner. It had been a long day and we were ready to relax.
10/28/23 Florance, Italy
A lazy morning with a clear day predicted we headed out to
see the architecture around the city. The flat had a Moka coffee maker so we
decided to give it a try and it made a great cup of espresso. We have one at home,
but we never use it. We may need to put one of theses on the boat. This is the
traditional Italian coffee maker dating back to the 1930’s.
We decided to leave the umbrella at home, which at first seemed
to be a bad idea as it rained a couple times in the morning as we walked the
city and ducted for cover for the short rain showers. Ultimately it turned into
a warm sunny day. We used Trip Advisors Two Days in Florence as our guide and
walked the various land mark buildings. With rain predicted for tomorrow we put
off the indoor tours for tomorrow. There
were lots of tourists considering it is almost November, but nothing like high
season.
At the Central Marcato we stopped for a bite, fabulous pizza
and a glass of wine. It was a bustling market with all sorts of different food
and wine restaurants on the second level and food stands on the first level; vegetables,
meats, seafood, wine and just about anything else you can think of to consume.
The building looked like it was constructed in the late 1800’s with its ornate
iron support structure. On the way out we stopped by the cheese counter where
they had the Gorgonzola Dolce that we had discovered in Spain. This is a creamy
Gorgonzola with just the right bite. We bought a tin full.
After lunch we continued our tour where we found a guitar player in the Piazza della Repubblica playing the most beautiful music. The square had the sound reverberating of the walls and it made for great acoustics. We listened to a few songs and purchased one of his CDs; Tadeusz Machalski, All of Me. From here we walked the Via dei Calzaiuoli where the shopping is located. Here we were enticed into the Bialetti Coffee store. They claimed to be the originators of the Moka Coffee maker. We spent a lot of time talking to the sales woman about coffee and how to properly use this Moka Coffee Pot. We bought a 3 cup version in dark blue to keep on Raffaellesco. Researching later I discovered that Alfonso Bialleti was the original inventor of this Moka coffee maker in 1933. Supposedly 90% of households in Italy have this little gem.
Tadeusz MachalskiAs we were passing through one of the narrow streets, I had this overwhelming feeling that I had been right there before and I mentioned it to Suzette. Sure enough, there was the grand entry doors to the flat that we stayed in 15 years ago with my Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ed when we toured Tuscany together. Such great memories from that trip.
We crossed the Arno and headed up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo where there is a series of bronze statues celebrating Michelangelo. The view of the city from up on the hill was spectacular. In this same park was a rose garden with 350 varieties of roses, of course this is not the season for roses. Back down to river level we stopped for an aperitivo by the river and watched the world go by. On the way home Suzette found the Italian leather gloves she likes and bought a pair, black and unlined. The last stop was the grocery store for a baguette and wine to go with our gorgonzola.
View of Florence
Another great pasta meal for dinner and a movie as we took advantage of the WIFI.
10/29/23 Florance, Italy
A lazy morning with rain expected for the day. We had a
reservation for the Galleria di Academy where the real David was displayed. We
spent about 2 hours walking the museum taking in the art and some films on
different techniques for painting and sculpture. In need of sustenance, we
stopped for a Gelato and water to refresh. From here we made our way to
Basilica of Santa Croce, home to the entombed Machiavelli, Michealangelo and Galileo.
Behind the Basilica was an old monastery that housed a leather craft school.
The leather work on display was fabulous, but since it was Sunday, no work was
being done. As we made our way back to the flat Suzette stopped in every
leather and shoe shop looking for a particular belt and black boots.
We refreshed in the flat for a bit then headed to Mad Souls and Spirits, a trendy bar recommended for the inventive cocktails, in particular a Negroni. Supposedly the Negroni was invented in Florence and I love a good Negroni. This one was the best with some added secret ingredient. There was a trio playing music on the street outside of a wine bar. The wine bar was serving and the patrons were partying in the street. After enjoying our aperitivo we wondered into a bar where there was a Beatles cover band. They were encouraging the audience to sing along, but the young international audience did not know the words. They did dance, very fun.
10/30/23 Florence, Italy
A lazy morning as we prepared to depart Florence and catch
the train back to Raffaellesco. The train was late as usual, but this time it
was direct so no problem. The sky was overcast, but the rain was out of the
forecast. The train ride was smooth and we arrived back in Follonica in a
couple hours. The skies looked very ominous, but no rain. There was a Taxi
waiting at the Taxi stand and 10 minutes later we were dropped off right at the
stern of our boat. The winds were shrieking through the rigging and the seas
were crashing against the jetty sending spray 30’ into the air. We were well
protected in our slip, but it is a bit unnerving listening to all of mother
nature’s fury pounding all around you.
We settled in and started looking at the weather once again.
It was about 130 miles south to our final destination, a marina where I had
reserved a mooring several months ago. We were due to arrive there 11/6 and
depart for the US 11/21. It looked like we had a small, 12 hour, weather window
to at least progress to the next possible marina in Port Ercole, 45 miles
south. We reached out to several marinas to make a reservation by email. We
needed an assurance that we had a place as the winds after our weather window
would be in excess of 40 knots with a 3 meter sea, both from the south. We
inquired with the marina where we were presently moored, Mariana Scarlino, to
see if we could stay a few more days or possibly make this our winter home.
They said yes, but of course it was more expensive than the place I had
reserved. On top of that I had an 870 euro deposit that I would lose. We
decided to sleep on it.
The wind and rain went on all night.
10/31/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
The wind continued today contrary to the forecast, reducing
my confidence in the predicted weather. We made several calls and monitored
email, but we were not managing to secure a marina. The next day was looking
like a descent day, wind below 20 from the east and reducing to 5 by evening.
Seas were calming to about 1 meter, but without a place to go it was a nonstarter.
We walked up to the office to see if the women in the office could help us talk
to the other marinas on the phone. As we walked, we talked, with the next brief
weather window a week away it was not a great prospect to be stuck at the next
marina, if we could even get a reservation. By the time we reached the office
the decision was made, we were staying in this marina for the winter, the admiral
was visibly relieved. We filled out the paperwork, signed a contract and paid
in advance, the exchange rate is pretty good right now.
Not terrible...
About 100' of beautiful sailboat
On the bright side we are close to the Tuscan Islands and
may get a visit or two in yet this stay, the marina is really nice (a
development by Faragomo) and we can stop worrying and go back to living. Back
on the boat we ignored the weather and enjoyed a cocktail…or two.
11/1/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
A good night’s sleep, a sunny, clear and calm day. A holiday here in Italy, All saints Day. It is amazing how quickly the sea can lay down and become a mill pond. It was an opportunity to catch up on maintenance, chores and groceries. We road our bikes into town and did some grocery shopping. This is the first bike ride on this trip. There is a bike path from the Marina into the town separate from the car traffic. It follows the shore with a beautiful park between the road and the beach dotted with vacation homes.
Back on the boat for more chores and enjoying the
tranquility of the day. It is amazing the difference a day makes.
11/2/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
Back to dark skies and wind. Suzette decided to make
cookies, Snicker Doodles, my favorite. It warmed the cabin and filled the boat
with good smells. I worked on my list of chandlery items that I needed to
winterize the boat. The wind settled a little so we headed out to explore the
marina and visit the chandlery. There are several night clubs here, but very
beachy, not big city. Most everything is closed now, just a couple stores
opening on the weekend. They are building a series of two-story condos across
the parking lot from the boat docks, great view with a roof top deck.
The chef at work
Still love a good construction project
At the chandlery we were challenged to communicate with the
sales person. She was trying very hard to help us when two Italian men walked
in looking for parts. They were able to help us with the communications. The
chandlery did not have the important things that I needed, but the guys
literally walked us down the block and introduced us to Christo at the
shipyard. This shipyard is a base for Swan Sailboats and Christo was very
knowledgeable. He had some of what we needed and said he would order the other
items and have them in next week. We have a Yanmar engine and an Onan Cummins
generator, both very common engines and ones that he knew well. Volvo is also a
popular engine here in Europe.
We did go back to the chandlery to buy a few things from our
sales lady partly to thank her for trying so hard to help and happily
introducing us to the Italians that did help us. Feeling satisfied that we
would have the critical supplies we hung out on the patio and used the WIFI to
check the availability of Amazon here in Italy. It looked very promising; I
will order my spring necessities from Amazon so they will be here when we
return.
Back on the boat to tinker with my power cord. We have found
two occasions where the polarity of the dock power is reversed. This required
disassembly of the plug and reversing the wires, not hard to do, but wear and
tear on the wires. With that in mind I assembled a separate adapter for reverse
polarity, simple plug and play when needed. Dinner was a delicious Mexican
meal, we refer to it as a “Beanie Weenies”; tortilla with lettuce, tomatoes,
rice, beans, cheese, salsa, olives, guacamole, sour cream (Greek yogurt) and a
side of tortilla chips. Everything was fresh and delicious. Having not slept so
well the night before, and anticipating high winds and rain in the night, the
admiral decreed that it was an early to bed night.
The wind sounded like a freight train, or maybe it was the
crashing sea. The shrouds shrieked like a train whistle as we had winds over 40
knots. The rain came down hard adding to the DIN, but somehow, I slept fine.
11/3/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
We awoke to bright sunshine, but the wind continued to blow
hard. They have a sea grass here that seems to get torn up by the sea and
thrown into piles on the beach. The wind gets a hold of the blades of grass and
sends them flying through the air to land like shrapnel all over the boat. No
wonder they have a sea grass problem. The boat was coated in salt, but with
rain expected I did not plan to waste time or water rinsing it off. We relaxed
on the boat in the morning until the wind died off. I walked to the top of the
sea wall to take a picture and I was immediately sprayed with sea water as a
wave crashed against the jetty.
Dried off, we headed into Follonica on our bikes to see the
town. This was a steel manufacturing place at one time, but now it seems like a
quiet summer resort. That said, things were closed up for the winter and life
appeared to be pretty slow. We decided to head back as the clouds grew darker.
We made it back in time for Suzette to hide below while I cleaned the mud of
our bikes in the pouring rain. About the time I finished cleaning the sun
popped out.
The sun was trying to shine, but the clouds took over by
night fall.
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