10/2 Thur. Isle of Elba
This morning bright and early 8:30 we head down to La Principessa at the bottom of our drive where we are to meet our bus for our trip to Elba. We are the last to be picked up so we are “at the back of the bus”. So nice to be driven for a change. At Piombino we board a large ferry called Moby Dick (a large mural of the whale is on either side) for our 45 minute or so trip to Portoferraio on the Isle of Elba. Lovely day, again we are lucky.
Back on the bus we head for Napoleon’s villa “Palazzino dei Mulini” where he was exiled in 1814 and given the title of Emperor where he ruled for 10 months before escaping and went on to fight the battle of Waterloo. The tour of mansion with all the furnishings and grounds was very worthwhile, also brought back his history to the fore.
Next we are off to the other side of the island for lunch. This takes us through magnificent scenery as you climb very high where we can see for great distances. The restaurant is on a very large bay with local fishing boats moored in front of us. Very picturesque. I had a nice salad; Rod had fish with a delicious sauce covering it. Lunch took about an hour and a half, very relaxing with lots of people watching for entertainment. Another 45 minutes walking the waterfront, then back to the bus.
Next we toured a large part of the island, up to the highest point with much picture taking then down through farmland and vegetation – stopping off in a small village that specialized in their local gems, both a museum and shopping for purchase. Following this we stopped at a winery for wine tasting – they had some very good wine so we bought a couple of bottles.
Back on the bus to finish our tour ending at Portoferraio again to board our ferry. The trip back was facing the mainland this time, quite close to shore so we were able to take in the big walled castle, homes and buildings along the shoreline.
Good day, interesting and informative – lots of history thrown in.
Tags: Travel
sylviaknight