Pasta, Puccini and people watching

 This morning we took a walk along the wall of this beautiful Medieval town. The full circuit is 4.2 km and is popular with Italians and tourists. Many locals were taking their daily brisk walks with friends and their dogs. Tourists either walked, rode bikes or shared carts to complete the loop. We preferred to walk, as you could take your time taking it all in and take stops when you felt like it.

 

We stopped halfway around and sat at a cafe with a cold drink, watching the world go by. We continued on and came across a tiny museum, 'Museo Della Zecca' or 'Mint museum'. It proved to be a really interesting place, containing exhibitions of ancient coins and moulds used to create them and medallions.

  

We had worked up an appetite, so it was time to find a lunch spot. I scanned trusty Google maps and found a little place, 'In Pasta', near our accommodation with excellent reviews. The very helpful waiter we met inside read the selective menu to us in English. The menu is kept inside the door on a chalkboard and changed daily according to produce availability and the chef's choice. We both enjoyed handmade ravioli - mine filled with ricotta and topped with honey and pistachio sauce. Shannon's ravioli was stuffed with chickpeas, and the sauce was a curry! Unheard of! This modern place is really experimenting with different flavour combinations and ingredients. Delicious!

This afternoon we went to Puccini's birthplace museum. The home of his birthplace now holds some original costumes from some of his famous operas, his original piano and other memorabilia. The museum is small, but some plaques were also in English, which was helpful. (we also took a few photos before we saw the sign that said 'no photos', whoops!)

  

We stopped in at the largest cathedral in town and then found a little bar to sit at for a while, enjoying both a cocktail and people-watching.