Local Travel and Getting here:
You can reach The Mill by public transport (train to La Spezia or Aulla, then bus from Aulla). Genoa Airport is advised as there is a quick and frequent bus and train service from there to La Spezia, from where the owner will happily collect if asked. The Lunigiana has many scenic but tortuous and narrow roads, although local buses seem able to cope. A motorcar of some sort is needed for touring the area and this is normally cheaper pre-booked from your starting country. The owner, who is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish, will happily advise interesting excursions and lend any maps which might be required, as well as advising where to stay and eat. The train station at Aulla has free long-term parking which makes day trips to Pisa, Lucca, Florence and Parma a stress-free possibility. Italian public transport costs are also relatively very cheap (about Eur.6 from Genoa to La Spezia and 12 from Aulla to Milan). Cyclists are welcome. Pisa airpt is abt 1-1.5 hrs drive.
Entertainment:
Apart from the obvious: excursions to important cities, visits to the Cinque Terre and the Gulf of Lerici, visits to local museums and those further a field, a visit to the Designer Outlet centres en route to Florence, the Lunigiana offers a myriad of castles and mediaeval boroughs and hamlets well-worth exploring. Pontremoli, the Lunigiana's largest City, is an architectural and historic delight, as is Sarzana, across the Ligurian border, but as easy to reach as are the marble works of Carrara or the flesh-pots of the Milanese smart Forte dei Marmi beaches. For the more intellectually stimulated. There is fly-fishing, butterfly hunting, bird watching, hill walking, riding, canoeing, skiing, cycling and other challenges to be faced. A tranquil day by the pool, with a good long lunch at the Trattoria in Licciana itself, followed by a snooze by the pool to prepare for an aperitif for the sunset at Lerici (Shelley & Byron) before a huge evening meal and bed is not a bad alternative!
Bookings and Deposits:
Provisional, internet, telephoned or written bookings will be held, pending receipt of deposit, for a period of 5 working days from the provisional booking being received. A non-refundable deposit of 25% of the basic rental must be made to secure the booking and will be forfeit in all cases in the event of the booking being cancelled or not taken up. The full balance of the rental due must be received at least 28 days prior to the start of the booking and this sum will be forfeit in the event of the booking not being taken up and no alternative booking found. A full refund will be made if alternative clients are found for the full period in question, or pro-rata in the event of a shorter booking only being found, but this will be subject to the deduction of an administration fee of 10% of the value of the original full reservation.
Other Activities:
Walking in the World Heritage Site of the Cinque Terre
marks the location of the property in Massa Carrara Area
