Il Dolce Far Niente

I slept in a little this morning and just enjoyed my last bit of time in the B&B. Around 9ish I walked down to the breakfast room to find that all the other people in the B&B had woke up early, ate breakfast, and left already. Since I was the last one Jaceppi cleaned up the coffee machines and breakfast items. He sent me to a local bakery were they were able to provide me with a complimentary breakfast. It was good! I walked back to the B&B where I packed up my things. Jaceppi was nice enough to let me use his phone so I could call my credit card companies to re-extend my travel days...you can only request travel for 60-Days and then you need to call again to re-extend your international credit card usage. Anyway, Jeceppi was also nice enough to hold my bag for me at the B&B while I ran my errands and walked the town some more before my train left. Jaceppi said, "I have a bike; Would you like to borrow it?" I thought, "I don't know, it's been a while since I have been on a bike." I said, "Sure!". I hoped on the bike and set off to do my errands. I rode into the Old Town area and found an ATM to get some cash, a bakery to get my lunch, and the general store to buy some stamps. Yeah, I'm behind in my postcards again. I rode around the streets of the Old Town on my bike and it was a blast!

Bike Ride

Lucca

I headed to the city wall. Okay, side note. Whenever I've been on a city wall on this trip I can't help but think of South Park. I won't go into the reference, but you South Park fans know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I rode around the city wall on the bike just soaking in the day. People were out walking and doing this thing called, "Yawging" where apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It was a beautifully clear and warm day in Lucca. I did an entire lap of the town and then I decided to head over to a market area that I saw along the way during the first go-around. I lock up the bike and take a stroll. The market was big, but all the stalls were mostly right next to each other on one side of the street and it extended quiet far. I walked the entire length and back. The prices on some of the things were a bargain and I did buy a couple of cool little things. It was fun trying to communicate with the people who didn't speak English. The best part about this market was that at no time did anyone hassle me while I was walking down the strip nor when I was at the stand looking directly at their stuff. They were so respectful. When I asked about the price of items they were very polite and I even haggled a bit on a couple of items. Okay, I give in, so I bought some new boxers since my other ones are well traveled.....they were even before I left home. I figured this would be our last ha-raw together. Well, the boxers were so cheap that I thought, "They're nice, I'm in need of some new ones, and the price is cheap." Anyway, I got four pairs of these nice boxers for about 6 Euro. Sweet!
It was starting to get late so I biked the wall the rest of the way, completing my two laps, and went back to the B&B. I talked with Jaceppi for a while. Apparently he lived in America for quiet some time. He lived and worked in New York where he made daily deliveries to the Twin Towers. He arrived in America in 1999 and left in June of 2001. He knew several people who worked in both of the buildings when they collapsed. Jaceppi talked about how much he loves America and how he dreams of going back. He did say that it's a lot to soak in because it's very fast paced, but he said with a smile, "However, living and working in New York is fashionable". Jaceppi was one hell of a guy. A really fun guy to talk with and very accommodating. I loved my stay at, "La Mimosa". If you ever go to Lucca you need to stay with Jaceppi at La Mimosa. Such a great place and it was the cheapest B&B I could find. Awesome stay!

Me and Jaceppi

I walked the half mile to the train station, ate my lunch, and then boarded my train to Viareggio. After I arrived in Viareggio I had a 20-minute wait before my next train to La Spezia. I arrived in La Spezia at 15:40 (3:40pm) and walked the few blocks to my hostel. The hostel is called, "Corner House" and it's more of an apartment than a hostel. It's cool because I have the whole apartment to myself! "What's the catch?" I said to myself. The owner e-mailed me with my arrival time and his wife Clara met me at the apartment to give me the keys and relay all the information about staying here. Clara speaks very little English and she explained everything to me while mostly speaking Italian. It was weird. I understood everything she was saying, but I had no idea exactly what she said. Very odd, but so very cool! This place is pretty awesome!! Excited, I got myself situated to plan out my day tomorrow......"Shit! No internet! That's the catch!"
So I packed up my junk to find an internet cafe to figure out my train schedule for tomorrow. I walked around the city and it's a pretty nice place. Not much to see, but I have yet to spot a tourist. Also, not very many people speak English. It's nice! People are out and about strolling and doing their evening shopping which is fun to watch. I found an Internet Cafe, but they didn't have wireless so I couldn't use my computer. Only a minor set back. I used theirs and got half of my stuff done. I was able to plan the next two days so I won't have internet until then. The lady at the cafe didn't speak any English, but she was very nice and helpful to this foreigner.
After, I made my way to the local market to buy my food for the next couple s of days. I'll be out and about and I needed some cheaper food options. So here is what I got: 4 bottles of water, 3 Nutella packets, a large orange juice, a large peach tea, a bag of grapes, 2 containers of pudding, 1 very large container of yogurt, and 2 sandwiches (tuna and....you can guess the other). Guess how many Euros it cost me? It was a little over 12 Euros. SWEET! Now, I'll buy other little bits here and there, but I'll be hiking tomorrow so I needed at least some stuff to have on hand just in case. On thing that is hard to get around here (unless you seek it) is vegetables. In restaurants they just don't serve them unless you specifically ask. Now, they are all over the markets, but in the dining establishments they are hard to come by.
I walked back to the apartment and put my food away. I pulled out a sandwich and a beer that a kind hostiler left in the fridge and had my dinner on the couch. Antonio, the owner, came by to check on everything while I was sitting there with my sandwich. Antonio doesn't speak a word English so he talked the entire time in Italian. I could understand most of what he said. Mainly I was able to pick-up on the main words to answer his questions. I asked him about internet access and he showed me where to go. He sort of helped me work the washing machine, but I got the feeling that washing is not a job he does regularly. Anyway, he was a super nice guy! When Antonio left I finished my dinner, wrote a few late postcards, and then made a game-plan for after Italy. I got it covered!

It was a great night just hanging out in the apartment! I was experiencing what the Italians refer to as "Il Dolce Far Niente" which translates to, "The Sweetness of Doing Nothing!