(D) So here we are with our first full day in Bagni di Lucca but neither of us are truly appreciating it - we're fighting it as hard as possible but neither of us feel 100%, just kind of head and body aches and a great sense of lethargy. We both struggled to get motivated this morning and though we did go out for a drive up and around some mountain roads and it was all stunning, mist filled beauty we both acknowledged we were lacking genuine enthusiasm due to feeling sub par.

The added trouble when you are feeling that way is that every simple thing in a foreign country becomes fraught with difficulties. All we wanted was somewhere to eat; just to be able to get a pasta or pizza or whatever, but we couldn't find anywhere though we drove and stopped, and drove and stopped countless times. It appears the custom here is to have "bars" or "bakeries", so there are gallons of choices if you want to stand up and have coffee or enjoy one of the delicious pastries on offer but to get an actual meal seemed like an insurmountable chore. I was really getting a bit sooky la la, feeling completely over Italy and just wanting to be home where I knew how everything worked and where to go to get fed etc but I do realise that it's just my cold talking.

I will say though that we have encountered very few genuinely friendly Italians and that does tend to dampen ones experience. Whether it's because it's the "off season" and they've had enough of tourists bothering them or whether we're just used to a lot more of an open and welcoming culture and are expecting too much I don't know. I don't remember it being like this last time I was in Italy but then again I only really went to Florence and Rome so perhaps it will be different in the cities. Regardless it really wouldn't bother me that much except I don't feel crash hot so instead of treating my attempts at being friendly and speaking Italian with a combination of disdain and bored indifference, having someone smile and seem pleased to see me would be such a lovely thing right now!

We did find somewhere for lunch in the end and had an OK meal of pasta, soup and salad with a glass of wine each - we must be sick as we only had the one! While on the subject of lunch I must mention the whole thing with water in Europe - at home if you ask for water with your meal you will get a carafe of tap water, possibly iced, and a couple of glasses, no charge. Over here they ask if you'd like water and when you say yes they bring you a bottle of it and you are charged for it on your bill. You can go the route of saying you just want tap water, or a glass or whatever but honestly?...... Just buy the water, it's only a couple of euro anyway and it's not a tourist trap ploy thing - the Italians buy the water too! It's just the way things are done.

We went to the supermarket to pick up some supplies and I looked everywhere for anything resembling panadol/paracetamol but no luck at all, it seems all medications are sold in the pharmacies here regardless of what they are. A quick stop to the chemist where I asked for paracetamol, Italian is paracetamolo so that's pretty easy!, and mimed a throbbing head soon sorted me out on the medication front. As it turned out the pharmacist spoke pretty good English so if I'd wanted something more specific it would have been fine.

Another different shopping experience is for cigarettes, they only seem to be sold at Tabbachi shops, which appear to be mini newsagents as well as cigarette and lotto shops. I knew that I'd want to buy some cigarettes soon and when we arrived in Bagni di Lucca yesterday noted that there was a Tabbachi shop just across the bridge from us. It was shut but I figured that was maybe just because it was Sunday, however today it was shut also. Though I said to Liane the likelihood of me wanting cigarettes today was slim we decided to take an afternoon drive to see a lovely bridge up the road and we would stop at a Tabacchi when we saw one along the way. As it was when we saw a T sign indicating a Tabacchi shop it turned out to be a vending machine that I couldn't make head nor tail of, but fortunately the woman in the shop that it was outside of had some for sale herself so that was all good. Funny thing was that we had our outing (having to pull out Jane at one stage on the way home as we'd detoured more than intended!) and got back to town - only to discover the Tabbachi here open! He must have pulled up his shutters at 3.30 the minute we left town, so he obviously doesn't even bother to open pre siesta, just post siesta..... gotta love the Italian lifestyle!

(L) This was a pretty Bleh day for both of us, Deb is on her 4th or 5th day feeling unwell but luckily this is my first. Last night, when I felt it coming on I had crushed up some garlic and mixed it with honey for us both, to try to get rid of this bug, so hopefully by tomorrow we will both be on the mend! I forced myself out of bed at 10am but hadn't slept much and was aching all over.... even though I'd been in bed for 14 hours it wouldn't have been hard at all to turn over and go back to sleep!

 We set off just around 11am to drive aimlessly, seeing what we could see and headed up and up into the mountains, the view was spectacular with mist hanging in the valleys and the occasional glimpse of the towns that are perched on the side of the mountain. We couldn't really get any photos though as there wasn't convenient layaways to pull up in on those narrow windy roads and when there was somewhere to stop the trees were too thick to get a good view!! I think had I been feeling more like myself I would have driven into the towns and found somewhere to park so we could get a good look at the view.

Someone on Tripadvisor had told me of a great place for lunch in La Villa with a €10 special but as luck would have it there was a sign on the door saying "closed until 9th December"!! We were both really craving a good Italian pizza and searched high and low but those we did find were closed. We finally ended up in a restaurant here in Ponte a Serraglio which happen to specialise in mushrooms and yes well.... neither Deb or I like mushrooms! The owner was horrified and tried to get us to order Porcini Mushrooms because "you haven't tried these surely, you will like" - NO THANKYOU!! 

Home for a while to regather our strength and then just a quick drive out cos well we felt we needed to make an effort since we'll never be back this way. We were in for the night by 5, as is our way, and had a pleasant evening playing cards. 

Hopefully tomorrow we will both feel better and can enjoy our last day here.