In the kitchen of this villa, The Story of Pinocchio was written! Well, that's what one story is...another is that Carlo Lorenzini, a Florentine, spent time in the hamlet of Collodi when a child and took that name for his pseudonym. The town built The Parco di Pinocchio to repay the compliment.
Many varieties of all types of Pinocchios were displayed.
Unfortunately, the park is a bit shabby and in need of some tender loving care. It is, of course, geared for children but we did enjoy walking the many paths to see the figures situated throughout telling the story.
The park is basically a large, open playground with climbing structures, children-sized ziplines, and two worn-looking antique merry-go-rounds that didn't seem to be running. There were very few people in attendance while we were there. We caught the end of a puppet show in Italian and then went to lunch up the street at, of course, a place that served a Pinocchio sandwich which was next to Geppetto's!!
Our next visit was just up the street to the Garzoni Gardens and Butterfly House which belong with the beautiful villa:
Sarah climbed clear to the top of the stairs & beyond to see more of the gardens while I made it up one flight where I saw peacocks & some type of crane in a secure area. Also a frog in a tiny fountain pond with tiny lizards running around in the bright sunshine! We have been so fortunate with the weather. We are thankful!! Here are a few photos from the Butterfly Garden:
One last Pinocchio as we leave town:
Typical signage for leaving a town.
These are the type of signs that we are still trying to understand! In going to Collodi, I directed Sarah to take one exit off the autostrada too early so we had some small roads & towns to navigate. We discovered that if we weren't sure where to go, take a right then turn around and the signage you need will be there from that direction!!
We drove by these 'towers' from another direction on our way to Collodi! No idea what they are for.
This area around Lucca is the main producer of nursery items. There are miles and miles and miles of every sort of tree imaginable in every size, shape, and color!! Max, the taxi driver of impounded car incident, told us that people building new villas want aged trees that match! It is certainly possible to buy those; even topiary!!
We opted to take the first exit to our area vs the second one as there were electronic warnings far in advance that there were delays in that area. Anyway that is what we assumed it said!! Google translate verified our assumption so we avoided a possible problem & saw some different countryside! We relaxed (one of us actually napped) on the patio until about 5-5:30 when it turned chilly as the sun went below the mountains.
Tonight's sunset was nice to see -
Looking east
Looking south
Looking up!
Some trees have lost all their leaves so we have broaded views now!
No definite plans for tomorrow yet. One week left to savor our time in Tuscany!
Miss you. Your adventures still continue. I am still in awe of how you are navigating through all the mazes of roads. Gutsy ladies.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that you went there. I think that is a Gray Heron.
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