Costa degli Etruschi May 2021 - Campiglia Marittima, San Vincenzo, Baratti

Tuesday I work, we do some basic shopping - sardines and cuttlefish, both fresh and good from the market in Cecina and broad beans to eat raw. I also succumb and buy some asparagus although there must be plenty waiting in the vegetable garden at home. The rest of the day it rains so I work some more and we do very little. The only day of bad weather so we can't complain.

The day of rest on Tuesday means we are out and about early on Wednesday. We drive to Campiglia Marittima, taking the old tree-lined Aurelia road. Built of red and darkish stone, not so small as to be abandoned without being large enough to be busy, Campiglia on this early May morning enchants us. We wander around, and up and down, 

then up again to the Rocca for the views and stop to admire the glass decorations outside the house of a local artist, Laura Pesce.

There's time for a look inside the church, which is open.

We could probably spend longer there but we've booked at Osteria Cristian's in San Vincenzo for lunch and get there for 12 o'clock, early by local standards. We opt for the same choices as last Thursday, only swapping grilled swordfish for the sardines.

We eat well and pay €32, and then take a walk along the sea front, well, on the beach, because private houses have been built right onto the sand, and then by the port. San Vincenzo is quite smart but I suppose the fact that the local population is 7000 in the winter and 50,000 in the summer season must be due to the port because the seaside part is not so enticing.

From San Vincenzo it's just a short drive to Baratti, where we park at the near end by the signposts to Casa Esagono. The hexagonal house and it's neighbour, Casa dinosauro 

were built in the middle of the Mediterranean vegetation in view of the sea in the Bay of Baratti, hard to find anything more panoramic and interesting to look at, at least from the outside.

We continue a little way along the path for more views and then double back to walk along the beach. It's a splendid day, windy, sunny, enormous waves, kitesurfers skidding too and fro. We walk a while and then sit to enjoy the sunshine.

Another splendid day.