Our first stop in Tuscany was, initially, technical. You already know that we travel with work in tow, so having a good internet connection and electricity are two essential things for us. The first is under control at the moment, and for the second we needed to have good solar panels. After doing some research, we found a specialized shop near Viareggio. We arrived on a Wednesday and ordered the solar panels that arrived the following Monday, we also discovered that in Viareggio they celebrate one of the oldest and most famous carnivals in Italy, so we decided that we would stay there to see it.

That same night we went out to celebrate Tom’s birthday (February 7th) with a great dinner at the restaurant Osteria Pazza Idea, recommended if you go there, they have great food and service and the dessert menu is to die for!

The rest of the days until Saturday (when one of the carnival parades was held), we spent time walking and discovering different corners of the city, it has a huge beach and beautiful views of the Apuan Alps but we did not find it a particularly beautiful place. It must be said that they do not make it easy for motorhomes either, since the only service point (which fits a maximum of 15) was totally reserved for the Saturday parade and, being Friday morning, they did not let us enter to change the waters! Viareggio Town Hall failed. Taking into account that they receive more than 600,000 visitors during the Carnivals, they should make sure to provide the necessary services. And, by the way, it also seems excessive to charge 20€ per person to attend just one of the parades.

The main celebration of the Carnival is the contest of floats made of papier-mâché, in many cases inspired by current affairs and parodies of famous people, although one of our favorites was the Rolling Stones one! The truth is that the floats are really impressive, they are articulated and they move to the beat of the music that accompanies each of them.

As you can see, behind each float there is a lot of work, a great dose of creativity and certainly a lot of love. The parades are held along the promenade that is about 2-3 kms and is full of shops and restaurants which creates a very pleasant atmosphere, although we expected to find more people in costumes.

Parallel to the parades, they also organize concerts, performances and special parties in the different venues of the city.

Despite the difficulties with the lack of services for our home, after spending 6 days there, we have to recognize that we ended up liking the city. Once we were familiarized and started to know the place, we enjoyed it more and it made us think that, from now on, we want to travel even slower.

To be continued…