The promised storm was mostly avoided although there were a few crashes during the night, waves over the bow clearly didn't happen, and almost everything we have was still upright, apart from one bottle of water.
An early rise for breakfast and by 08:00 we were walking across the port of Livorno. It's probably mean to say this but so far we've not found much interest here, however it is the port and gateway to Pisa, Florence and all the things we did today.
First stop Lucca is Giacomo Puccini's birthplace.
The town is walled and the rabbit warren alleyways are hardly suited to cars but that doesn't stop the Italians or this writer from boldly squeezing their vehicle where more sane people might not.
We visited the apartment that Puccini's family owned and he lived in from birth in 1858 until 1884. The family continued to own this house right up to it being made over to the state and it's becoming a museum. His 1901 Steinway is there on which he wrote Turandot.
Further exploring gave rise to many churches (why do they think it's OK to charge entrance these days?) a lovely Roman Amphitheater (a huge meeting place with buildings intact all round) and many towers, one of which we climbed to get an overview of the town.
Moving on to Torre del Largo this where Puccini lived the last part of his life, and where there is an outdoor theatre primed for staging to most extravagant interpretations of his works, opening tonight which of course we'll miss. There is also a house here but timing prevented us from visiting.
Final stop Viareggio is s resort town with wide boulevards where the great man spent his middle years. These are miles of beaches but they are mostly given over to private concessions and it's impossible to walk on the beach or get down to the sea without paying, so we didn't bother.
Then it was a simple matter of returning back to Livorno and walking back to the ship via a few piazzas.
A quick change and we were on deck enjoying some sunshine and champagne. Later we returned to our cabin for sail away drinkies and caviar and a chat with our Yorkshire neighbours! Then we hit the grill restaurant on eight for a lovely meal outside by the pool before going down to the theatre to meet the captain.
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