Siena Day 5

Today we drive two hours to our next destination - Lucca! We visited Lucca back in 2002 but only for a day. This time, we'll be here for just under a week.

But before we go, we stop by the gourmet market - Menchetti Siena - for a few last minute items and gather all our stuff together.

It's bittersweet to say goodbye to Siena, we enjoyed it very much here.

But time to move on. We collect the car, throw our bags in the back, and we're off!

The drive to Lucca is long but since it's mostly autostrada, doesn't feel as long as it is. We follow the great navigation out of Siena and towards Florence, mostly on highway roads. After about an hour of driving and right outside Florence, we stop at a "rest stop" to use the facilities. We certainly did not have high expectations for a rest stop however this one blew our minds. First off, the rest stop area was huge and the gas station was the most spacious I'd ever seen, maybe to fit those 18-wheelers. Second, that's an overhang for the parking so you get shade on your car. Yes, please! And now for what impressed us - the Autogrill is like a really big 7-11 (but way nicer) and has seating, some produce and groceries, and espresso. We walk in and a bunch of people are chatting at tables over their espressos. And let's not forget the facilities. They're free, which we were surprised by, thinking they'd charge the 1€ to enter. And oh my word they are clean! These bathrooms are cleaner than the shopping malls at home. Such a sad statement. So of course because of the cleanliness and free-ness of the facilities, mom bought a soda for the road as recompense. Seems fair. We have very impressed and get back onto the highway. After passing Florence (if I recall correctly), we hit our first and only toll which takes us on the autostrada. The tolls are a two-fold system - at the entry point you simply take a ticket that's printed out from the machine and continue on your way, wherever you exit is where you'll pay the toll either via cash, card or auto-charge for the locals. Driving the autostrada was completely new for me. The only other time I've driven these kinds of speeds was in California. I didn't see signs for the actual speed limit, but the rental car posts the speed limit on the dashboard - how cool is that! Technology these days is amazing. The dashboard showed the speed limit as 130kmh which covers to basically 80mph. Most times along the autostrada I was going between 110kmh and 120kmh, but when passing a slow driver (yes, some people drive slower than me!) I would reach 130kmh to pass them and it felt a little too fast and unpredictable. Below that felt okay but definitely faster than was completely comfortable for this Hawaii driver. But we successfully make it to Lucca and to the exit toll. Enter the ticket, tap your card, and off you go! And our grand total for the toll? 5.90€, which considering we drove almost an hour and just under 100km on the autostrada seems a pretty good deal.

We park the car at a garage and make our way to the apartment. The host greets us, shows us around, and leaves us to it. Now to head back to the car for our bags, which is a short walk away so not too far to lug the bags. Back at the apartment, we head out to the nearest Conad City market for provisions. And this time, many more necessary provisions than we were expecting, like toilet paper. What kind of rental doesn't have a single sheet of toilet paper? This one apparently. That's just the least of what it's missing but I won't mention the rest. As always, the market is a short walk away, maybe 10 minutes. In the same square at the market, there's a Slow Food festival happening in the building across the way. We take a look inside and it's hopping! Meats, cheeses, breads, pastas, wines and beers, all the food is on display here. Although between all the options and all the people it's quite overwhelming. Cool to experience though - a very local event.

Back across the way, we swing into the small Conad City for supplies. Provisions in hand, we head back to the apartment to search for a dinner place.

We settle on Mara Meo San Francesco, which is in a little piazza close to our apartment. Apparently they're known for their burgers. We're going for something a little different tonight to change it up after pasta almost every day. We get there shortly after they open so it's almost empty. The first thing that strikes us is the servers are wearing headsets like you'd see at a fast food place. Hmm...doesn't quite set the best vibe but the one guy was constantly answering the phone on his so obviously it serves a purpose. We start to order burgers and are told they don't have any because the cook doesn't come in until 7:00pm (it's 6:00pm when we go). Interesting...nowhere did it mention this so we're kinda bummed since we wanted burgers. So we settle for a salami (pepperoni) pizza and dad orders a salad. The pizza is good, but still bummed about the burgers.

Post-dinner, and settled back into the apartment, time to rest before exploring tomorrow.

Ciao!