Deluxe Season Opener on the Versilia Coast

It is with great pleasure that we accompany the Deluxe season-opening trip for the first time. Our destination is the Versilia Coast in its spring finery.
On Sunday morning we are able to welcome most of the guests at the Windisch travel centre. There is a lively bustle and you can practically feel the anticipation of the journey ahead. After a brief introduction from us, we head towards Lucerne, where we pick up the last guests and then continue on to Italy. After only a few kilometres, our valued guests are treated to home-baked muffins and freshly brewed coffee from us. After a short while the excitement about this trip grows even more – we have a fabulous group on board! At Erstfeld our experienced and exceptionally friendly driver Aziz has to take his first break. That is our good fortune too, because in our opinion this is probably the most beautiful service area far and wide.

We continue without any traffic jams through the Gotthard Tunnel, across varied Ticino and over the border into Italy at Chiasso. The weather is not yet showing its best side, but we are confident that we will see the sun often on this trip. Daniel Dicke takes over as tour guide and tells us all sorts of fascinating things about the sights and landscapes we pass along our route. Shortly after noon we reach our lunch stop at an Italian service area. Here we meet two other EUROBUS groups. One is heading to Lake Garda, the other also to the Versilia Coast. Unlike us, however, that group will discover the Cinque Terre, Portofino and Carrara, some of its guests even on foot on easy hikes. To get our guests properly in the mood for their Italian holiday, we welcome them after the break with limoncello and grappa. Fortified, we tackle the last stage to Marina di Pietrasanta.

In the late afternoon, after a relaxing nap on the coach, we arrive in Marina di Pietrasanta in its spring finery. The weather shows its best side, and after checking in at the Hotel Versilia Palace the guests still have time to explore the town or take a short stroll along the sea. We then meet for dinner at the hotel and also welcome Simon Baumann, another member of the Windisch team. He accompanied another group on the outward journey and will now be travelling with us for the next two days. We are treated to an antipasti buffet and typical Italian dishes. To finish, we round off the evening with a few guests over interesting and entertaining conversations at the hotel bar.

The next morning Pisa, the pasta factory in Lari and Pietrasanta are on the programme. After a generous breakfast we are welcomed on the coach by our tour guide Claudia, who will show us the region over the next few days. Claudia is a very experienced tour guide and knows a great deal to tell about the country and its people. We drive straight to Pisa. On arrival in Pisa, our coach has to park a little outside the city. Spontaneously, we treat the whole group to a ride on the little tourist train into the centre, so that we are in the middle of the action quickly and without a long walk. Claudia accompanies us to the cathedral and the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The weather is on our side, and the light offers the best conditions for taking excellent souvenir photos. We are lucky that there are only a few visitors during our exploration on our own, which is rather untypical for this city. So we even have the chance to sit down at a street café with a view of the Leaning Tower and enjoy a cappuccino. Shortly before noon we meet again at the little train and ride it back to our coach, where our driver Aziz is waiting for us.
We go straight on to Lari, a small but very typical Tuscan village. Our destination is the smallest pasta factory in Italy. It is only a few steps from the car park to the centre of Lari. On the way there we walk past the village butcher's, where the butcher's wife gives us Tuscan salami and other delicacies to taste. Before we visit the pasta production, we get to sample the delicious pasta at the Ristorante I Burattinai. The pasta “al dente”, as it is typically eaten in Italy, once with tomato sauce and once with Bolognese, is delicious. With it there is excellent wine and a salad freshly picked from the garden. Right next to the restaurant, in a small shop, you can stock up on Martelli pasta, which some guests do straight away. Now the moment has come and we are allowed a look inside the smallest pasta factory in Italy. Claudia, our tour guide, gives us detailed information about the production and the history of Martelli pasta. We can move around freely in the small factory and watch one of the Martelli brothers at work. After the visit we return to our coach, where we are already waiting for our guests with a digestif. We then continue our journey to Pietrasanta. The guests use the time for a little nap or treat themselves to another coffee from our on-board coffee machine.

With the visit to Pietrasanta we have the chance to see another typical little village on the Versilia Coast. The tour guide recommends a gelateria. The whole crew treats itself to an ice cream on the church steps, which encourages most of the guests to indulge in one of these delicious gelati as well. In the late afternoon we drive back to our hotel in Marina di Pietrasanta. Today, too, we still have enough time to discover the coastal town with its pier, take a leisurely walk along the sea or enjoy an aperitivo in a bar. The weather was excellent again today, and we were able to enjoy the warm spring sun all day long. In the evening we meet again for the delicious antipasti buffet at the hotel. At the bar we look back over the day with our dear guests and almost feel as if we are spending an evening among friends.

Today the marble quarries of Carrara are on the programme. Many of our guests are especially looking forward to this impressive excursion. In the afternoon we will visit the somewhat lesser-known city of Lucca. Our tour guide Claudia will accompany us on today's excursion too. On the way to Carrara we learn where Andrea Bocelli lives and see the well-known resort of Forte dei Marmi. To reach the marble quarries, we have to switch from the car park in Carrara to jeeps. An adventurous ride awaits us. A little bumpy, but very impressive all the same. In the middle of the marble quarries our guide Filippo explains in detail how the marble is extracted and who works here, and gladly answers our guests' questions. We take the opportunity for a group photo – everyone in a helmet and an orange high-visibility vest – an absolute snapshot. We drive in the jeeps to a small restaurant, where we get to taste the regional lardo and other local specialities. The tasting is so generous that it turns into a small lunch. We climb into the jeeps for the last time and drive back to our coach. On the coach our digestif, which has by now become a tradition, is served, with limoncello, grappa, amaretto, noccino and fragolino. Perhaps not only to digest the lardo, but also the adventurous jeep ride. The onward journey by coach takes us past our hotel. For those guests who want to rest, there is the option of getting off at the hotel and enjoying the afternoon there. For all the other guests it is straight on to Lucca.
On arrival in Lucca our tour guide Claudia leads us through the city walls of Lucca, and armed with a city map we can discover the wonderful city on our own. The city offers a wonderful backdrop for the photographers among our guests, and the city wall invites a walk once around the whole city. The not-so-well-known little town of Lucca is captivating, and once again the weather leaves nothing to be desired. We set off on the return journey to Marina di Pietrasanta and after a short drive arrive at the hotel. This evening we will take the opportunity to thank our guests and raise a glass to the lovely holiday days. After dinner at the hotel, it is not only us waiting for our guests at the hotel bar, but also an excellent Italian singer who will guide us through the evening with music. We have brought along a number of prizes for our guests. The tickets handed out on the first day of travel are now drawn and a few guests are delighted with great travel vouchers. After the draw the musical evening is spent dancing. The bar is promptly converted into a dance floor and once again we are able to enjoy a wonderful evening of friendly conversation and a few dances. The evening comes to an end with tired legs but with a smile on our lips.