Tuscan Treasures Tour: Days 10 & 11 (End of Tour)

Saturday, June 15: Cararra and Colonnata

For our last day, we had a leisurely 9am departure with a quiet breakfast since the large tour group departed early. Our route took us back towards the coast to visit the Carrara marble quarries. We picked up our local guide, Tiziano, along the way and made a stop for restrooms and souvenirs before our visit to the Roman quarry. We learned all about the history of the quarries and the development of mining operations and technology over the centuries.

Our next stop was at Colonnata, to learn more about the history of the region and visit another church. In the plaza outside the church was an impressive multi-sided sculpture that shows all the different phases of producing marble from the quarries.

We had to take a small shuttle into town, and it barely fit through the archway! One of our fellow passengers was a very sweet husky puppy with super soft fur and big blue eyes. Colonnata is known for a pork fat delicacy called Lardo di Colonnata, and that was part of our group lunch at the local restaurant Locandapuana (recommended in our Lonely Planet Guide, too!). Luckily, the chef and kitchen staff were wonderful about accommodating the non-meat eaters among us, even to the point of baking up a separate batch of the special flatbread without any animal fat as shortening.

We had to wait a bit for our return shuttle to the bus but were back at the hotel by around 4:45pm, which gave us some extra time. I took a nap, did my yoga practice and my Duo Lingo for the day, and started to pack. Mr. E took a plunge in the pool!

Our final dinner included the famous Florentine steak as a special order for Mr. E and M. We enjoyed the last of our Vernaccia white wine and our Rocca delle Cacie Chianti Riserva. 

Then off to bed at a reasonable hour in anticipation of our 5:30am pick-up tomorrow. (yawn)

Sunday, June 16: FLR > MUC > DEN > SMF

I got up extra early to fit in my full workout before our departure for the Florence airport. We were able to access the VIP Lounge, where Mr. E and L enjoyed some items from the buffet while I did my daily Duo Lingo. The Air Dolomiti breakfast offerings were heavy on the carbs, but I did have some of the yogurt and the two mini macaroms (skipped the croissant). Passport control at Munich was quick and easy, so we all headed to the Business Lounge closest to L's departure gate for real breakfast (eggs, fruit, roasted mushrooms, cheese & crackers) and coffee.

Mr. E and I walked L to the gate for her United flight home to ORD and then we embarked on the rather long journey to the L concourse gates to access the Senator Lounge and check out the offerings there. Yay for big soft pretzels! I also snagged some sweets to take with.

Our return flight was on Lufthansa, which was our first experience in their Business class pods. Quite different from what we've gotten used to in United Polaris in terms of the pods set-up and the amenities kit. The seats were wider and softer, but there wasn't as much storage in the pod itself. The pleasant surprises were the stellar customer service, multiple fish options for the meal (yay!), and a better foreign film selection for their entertainment module. I got to watch four French films, all of which were really good, some even excellent: 3 Jours Max, Bernadette, Second Tour, Un métier sérieux.

We usually try to avoid checking bags, but given the duration of this tour and the variety of weather we were anticipating, we did have one bag that we needed to claim. We had to wait 40 minutes in DEN, which was rather frustrating. And then we had an extra screening because the sniffer dogs had found my "oops" apple in my carry-on, meaning we were flagged for all of our bags. My bad.

Going through TSA, my carry-on got flagged for additional screening because of the marble items we'd purchased in Carrara (mortar & pestle, cat figurine). The TSA agent displayed absolutely no sense of urgency, and time was starting to get tight, so I told Mr. E to go to the gate without me in the hopes that he could get them to hold the plane if I was super-delayed. Luckily, I made it in time, but it was a bit stressful!

We had an on time arrival in SMF but then another long (30+ minutes) wait for our checked bag. Never again!!! Unless we know we have generous buffer time or an earlier arrival. We made it home to the kitties around 6:30pm and unpacked. Mr. E went off for a Trader Joe's shop while I cleaned up the guest room and got everything ready for our return to work tomorrow. I was in bed by 8pm, but Mr. E managed to last a few more hours before joining me.