ON THE ROAD to Carrara to see the marble

Thinking of new countertops? You may consider marble. I knew we’d be visiting the marble quarries of Carrara but I had no idea how exciting it would be!

As we drove up, we saw little patches of white, and then the white predominated – a whole mountain of white marble.  We met our guide in town, who gave us an overview of the history and use of marble, pointed out examples of marble in the town of Carrara, then our bus climbed up the mountain, where we finally stopped at a level area.  We went into the gift shop to use the facilities and changed vehicles.

There were eight of us in each four-wheel drive vehicle, one in the front, three in the back and the rest in the rear.  We set off and climbed once more, but this time, we were driving on granite!  It was a wild ride!  Our guide/driver was in the first vehicle and was narrating from his headset as we drove along. His wife drove the second car.  He would stop at a work area and ask if we could visit. Sometimes we could and other times we couldn’t. If we could, we would be able to get out to see what the workmen were doing. Since we were at a work site, we had to wear hard hats.

By the end of the journey, it felt like we were in the clouds! It was a beautifully clear day and we could see all the way to the Adriatic sea..

We went back down the mountain, slowly, slowly, with many ups and downs, like a roller coaster ride, but we made it back unscathed. We thanked our guide and driver for a most unique experience

Next stop: lunch!  We returned to the town of Carrara, to the Piazza del Duomo.  Did you know that Michaelangelo stayed at a room here in the piazza when he was picking out marble for his statue of David? Yes, there’s a plaque!

After lunch, we returned to Lucca to spend one more afternoon and evening. Our time is ending here so we had to pack.  In our free time,  some explored the streets, some went shopping, and others had a light supper. In the evening, most of us attended a concert of Puccini’s music performed by a soprano, a tenor and a pianist, given in an old church.  The accoustics were wonderful and the locals and a few tourists enjoyed the recital.  After the recital, it was time for one more gelato before saying good night.

Tomorrow we go to the Tuscan countryside, to stay at the Villa Sabolini, near Siena, to discover the region of Chianti!