Italy in spring, Livorno

After Lucca, I traveled to Livorno and stayed for two nights. As in the previous cities, I strolled leisurely through the streets, taking in the city and its people. Sometimes I stopped briefly to knit or read—and to grab a bite to eat or a drink. I'm not suited to Italian mealtimes. I'd ideally like to eat between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., but that's a problem in Italy. But I manage somehow. I visited the Venezia Nuova, the Mercato, and the Fortezza Vecchio, and saw a lot of street art.

Incidentally, I dropped off a package at the post office from Livorno. Aside from the fact that it took over two hours because I had to find a shop that would sell me a cardboard box and packing paper for the parcel (the saleswoman then packed and sealed it herself), the process was, of course, extremely bureaucratic, with regard to customs forms (only in Italian) and where I was even allowed to write my address and return address – also only in Italian. Then there was a fuss because I gave my home address as the return address – so that the package wouldn't be sent back to Livorno. It all worked out in the end. The package only took three days to reach my husband in Vienna.