We aren't in Deltaville anymore, Toto

Rooftop view from our apartment in Viareggio

When the church bell ring a block away (you can see the belltower in the background), it's a lovely reminder that we, indeed, are in Italy. Doves coo as they rest on the antennas and in the aluminium chimney pipes, seagulls squawk overhead, the constant buzz of scooters passing by, and colorful Italian fill our ears from the surrounding windows.  Yes, honey, we definitely aren't in Deltaville anymore. 

We are all settled in our apartment...on Machiavelli Street. We're two blocks from the beach with a music and archaeological museum, and a new park, across the street. Everything and anything you could possibly need is within a few block radius. Including the shipyard, so we can walk to work in a matter of ten minutes. 

The beaches here are all owned by the city, and you have to pay to use it. Colorful umbrellas line the coast line for hundreds of miles. Each color signifies a different beach club, which the clubs are privately owned. For 5-10 Euros (about $6.50-$13) per person you get a lounge chair and umbrella for the day. There are very few public beach areas and they are really small and cramped. The beach clubs are the way to go. Lifeguards tend the chairs and umbrellas and you, they even manicure the sand. Not a bad deal.  

The museum across the street from our house is free, and has weekly concerts in the summer. Two nights ago we heard harp and bagpipes echoing from the building, which by the way is one of Viareggio's oldest structures. We strolled in and found a seat and listened to a beautiful array of Celtic, American, Italian, Spanish and Scottish music. They even belted out a rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy and mentioned Virginia. Right on!! (Matt leaned over to the man next to him and said 'we are from Virginia!') We may be miles from home, but times like that make you realize how small the World is. 

On Wednesday evening we were eating at the corner trattoria, some of the best thin crust pizza around, and opera music was wafting in the streets. After dinner we walked across to the museum to see what was going on and found a man and woman practicing for an upcoming local opera. We stood 15 feet from them. Moving... is all I can say. 

Below is our apartment building, the tall one in the middle. We have two units, the top floor and the lower floor. One is for us and the other for the captain and engineer. The middle unit rented to other yachties. In the coming weeks we'll post more photos of the neighborhood, the beach and the town. For now...ciao! xox