Montecatini Trip - 3 - Pistoia

Monday 27th June 2005 - Pistoia

Firstly, in to Montecatini by car & walked up the Via Verdi, which seems to be the main drag with a lot of hotels & terme, with everybody parading. Then, off towards Pistoia, we turned up to a hill-fort village called Serravalle Pistoiese with very narrow streets, several churches, a castle & a tall watchtower.

On to Pistoia, we parked near the wall, walked in & found a pedestrianised centre but, although we visited the cathedral, the sign-posting of the features was poor & it was only while attempting to drive out (a complicated operation that had me quipping that the steel business was based on melting down cars that could not get out) that we saw the Ospedale with the Della Robbia frieze, most impressive.

We tried to go out North-East, which lead me up some very steep & narrow roads to eventually one which, while largely horizontal, was not made up. This lead to a village called Iano without a café & into another after a steep climb but we retreated a different way, bypassed Pistoia & ended up in a not-very-good & over-expensive Trattoria Da Marino restaurant in Ponte de Serravalle. Then, a short ride back to the hotel, snooze & spend the afternoon in & around the swimming pool, after which, clean up for a pre-dinner chat with the Norwich people. A vast coach-load of grockles turned up & filled the other dining room. These were hayseeds from Yeovil.