Day 39 Wednesday 25th June 2008

Today was a rest day after the exertions of the last 2 days. We eventually went down to Moneglia to explore a few more spots – the Villafranca Tower and the beaches. The tower was 1176 but has been much changed, damaged and finally restored after war damage in WW2. There are 3 sets of beaches, each separated by a headland. There are some paid for beaches with facilities and some free beaches without facilities.

We walked back through the town and sent e-mails at the Internet point and then did food shopping in one of the small supermarkets. Then we returned to the apartment for lunch and a rest. Later we went out in the car to drive through the tunnel towards Deiva Marina hoping to find a gelateria on the way. We found a nice one in Deiva Marina with shade. This town looks a lot like a purpose built resort, as the old town is a little way inland. Then we continued up towards the SS1 route and the Motorway A12. A drive along the SS1 and then a left turn gave us a round trip. We went a long way up with many bends and consequently had to come a long way down with many bends. We also drove up to Lemeglio but found nothing of interest so we returned down the hill again. The weather has continued hot and sunny.

Start mileage 14521			Finish 14542		Miles travelled = 21
								Total travelled = 3057

Day 40 Thursday 26th June 2008

We went to Luni and Carrara by car, via Deiva Marina which is quite a good route with a good wide road up to the A12. At Carrara we missed a turn for Luni and carried on towards Carrara looking the Tourist Information office, which we never found all day. We eventually gave up before reaching Carrara and came back to the junction where we missed the turn and carried on to Luni. A nice new car park and new building for a ticket office, but the office is not manned yet. In the Luni museum we eventually got tickets (2.00€ each) from a machine. The effort of the staff and the amount of information available was very disappointing. The whole site is poorly signed, poorly explained (many display boards were sun bleached and not easy to read. Some exhibits were in outer buildings on the site and not open (whilst the staff lounged about in the main building). Paths and terraces were overgrown, although a small team were actively cutting grass. The Theatre and Amphitheatre were not accessible. We found the latter some distance away by car. It was surrounded by a stout fence, was by far the most complete of any of the exhibits. The best features of the site were the Forum remains, the main road to the sea with its main drain down the centre, a Neptune mosaic and terracotta mouldings used to decorate official buildings.

We returned to Carrara and found a bar with a garden behind and had some lunch. Then we set off up into the hills to look for a marble quarry tour. We took the road up to a place called Colonnata looking for Fantiscritti Marble Quarry. We stopped part way up the hills for a photo opportunity of the hills and then continued up and up. We ended up following a couple of lorries that seemed to be bombing along these narrow roads which we realised were one way only. At least we hoped they were when we dived into unlit tunnels that were only wide enough for one vehicle. It felt a bit hairy at times but on we went. Eventually we came to a junction where 2-way traffic resumed and continued up until we came to the marble museum and tours.

We had a quick look at the museum and then went on the tour. We were driven 600 metres into the hill and, after putting on our hard hats we were taken around a huge cavern, marble under our feet, on all the walls and above our heads. We were told that at one time the marble was transported using a railway system but now lorries were used. The unlit tunnels we had come along and the one into the cave were old railway tunnels. When the trains stopped, the Fantiscritti family had the concession to excavate marble from inside the hill although all the other quarries extract marble from the hillsides. The biggest block they had taken out recently was 12metres long x 3metres x 3 metres and the resulting sculpture could be seen on a new traffic island at the entrance to Carrara. Carrara is the home of the white marble used for statues, floors, tombstones etc. and was used as a source by greats such as Michael Angelo and Henry Moore. The temperature inside the tunnels and quarries remain at a steady 17-18oC all year round. We returned through more tunnels down the hill and then came along the Autostrada to Deiva Marina for an icecream and thence back to Moneglia.

Start Mileage 14542	Finished 14667		Miles travelled = 125          Total miles = 3182