We have arrived in Bagni di Lucca

Well, we have settled into our first week in Bagni di Lucca and although the weather has been cold, it was great to see the sunshine today. The temperature reached 12 deg. this afternoon.

Unfortunately we have encountered a problem downloading photos from our cameras to the iPad. Didn’t realise that we needed an Apple card reader to transfer the photos so will have to wait until we can find a Apple store to get one.

We arrived in Dubai at about 1 pm and went on the City of Merchants tour, driving past the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world; the Burj Al Arab, the flashiest hotel in the world; the presidential and royal palaces; then on to the current arts and cultural centre; the Dubai museum and the spice and gold souks.

On to Milan were is was freezing on arrival – 2 degrees and it had been snowing earlier in the day. Went for a brisk stroll to get our bearings, then back for an early night. We took some great photos from our room across the city skyline with smoke/condensation coming from all the chimneys – but something happened with the new camera and we lost them all!!! We being Jim!!!!

On the train trip down to Bagni di Lucca the snow in the fields and on the roof tops between Milan and Genova is absolutely beautiful. The trees are bare and look very grey against the snow fall. Wish we could get out and have a play in the snow. As we neared the coast the snow disappeared and made way for the beautiful towns bathed in sunshine along the Mediterranean.

Went to see the apartment that we will be staying in when we return to Bagni di Lucca. It was fantastic. They view is absolutely gorgeous.

Since arriving we have met Debra & Jim and Carla & Agostino. Carla’s family own the apartment we will be renting. Debra of course is the lady that has been our saviour. She has helped us with our visa application in Australia and has been with us to Lucca to get our “permisso di soggiorno” organised. A very complicated affair that we would never have been able to do ourselves. Debra also took us for a drive up into the mountains today were the peaks are still covered in snow. The villages and views are fantastic.

The restaurants and cafes in Bagni di Lucca are not all open at the moment as it is still so cold. Once the warmer weather is here the village springs into life.

Groceries are cheep here in Italy. We bought the following items for €12.94. Converts to $17.25. Amazing!
6 pack water bottles, 6 pack diet coke, 4 pack beer, tube of toothpaste, jar of olives and a bunch of bananas.

Hopefully next time we will have photos.

Love to all.