Coffee, Conversation, and a Cut and Color in Follonica

Today was a big day, we were headed back to Follonica for our hair appointments. Since we didn't need to be at the salon until 11:30, we took Andrea's suggestion and tried a new place for breakfast. Not the pasticceria Melissa brought pastries from last time, but a different one within walking distance of the salon: Peggi.

The place was buzzing, but despite the morning rush every employee was cheerful and friendly. And the interior was so pretty, don't you think?

Peggi Pasticceria

Pasticini

We both went classic Italian breakfast: a sweet pastry and a cappuccino. Ira chose the chocolate saccottino, and I went with a kranz filled with raisins and jam.

Kranz
(marmelatta e uvetta)

Saccottino Cioccolato

Afterward, we kept the Italian morning theme going and abbiamo fare un giro--we took a stroll with no real destination in mind. This time we headed in the opposite direction from our usual route and stumbled across a beautiful pine tree park.

Pine Tree Park

On our way back, something across the street caught my eye. It looked suspiciously like...a scale. We crossed to check, and sure enough, it was. While we were still standing there puzzling over it, an older gentleman walked up, so we asked him if he knew why it was there. He wasn't sure--maybe to make money? It cost 50 cents. Maybe the Comune put it there? Again, not sure. 

Italian readers, feel free to weigh in. I couldn't find any information online, but it was nice to have a casual chat with a local without feeling stressed about the language.

From across the street

Close Up of Scale

We made it back to the car with time to spare before our appointments, so we walked our usual route as well. That's when I noticed these for the first time--public defibrillators mounted along the walkway. I'm not sure if they're required by law or if they're simply there thanks to past experience, but we passed several.

Public Defibrillator

Can you still call it a boardwalk if it's not made out of boards? Apparently, the word "boardwalk" originally came from Alex Boardman, the designer--not from the material. Who knew? I suppose this one counts more as a promenade, with the beach and sea just behind the houses on the left.

Promenade

Every so often there's a break in the line of houses, giving you a clear view of the beach--just like the one these two ladies were enjoying.

Enjoying the View

And then it was time for our hair appointments. Alice buzzed us up early and asked us to wait while she finished with a client. She had invited a friend to sit with us at first, just to make sure nothing was lost in translation during the initial consultation. Once everyone agreed on the plan, her friend left and the three of us managed just fine.

Because it was only the two of us in her cozy salon, it actually felt like a really safe space to practice our Italian. Ira felt more confident speaking, and I felt comfortable slowing down and focusing on conjugations instead of rushing and breezing through the grammar. Progress!

As for the hair...I'm not sure how long the all natural color will last, but I didn't miss the harsh chemical smell or the scalp stinging. Fingers crossed. 

We chatted about our morning and mentioned Peggi. She said it's been there forever--since 1950. Close! Their website says 1968, which is still pretty impressive.

Two hours later we were finished and back in our borrowed car, heading to Massa for lunch and a little downtime before our next appointment--Ribolla and the lighting store. We met with Chiara to finalize the lighting plan for the new apartment. It was more Italian practice for the two of us.

Whew. It's fun, but also slightly overwhelming picking out every single light for an entire home. You don't realize how many you need until you're choosing them one by one. Thank goodness the apartment is small! Below are a few of the ones we chose.





A dopo!

Comments

  1. AndreaNovember 23, 2025 at 1:57 PM

    Coin-operated public scales were once very common, especially inside or at the entrance of pharmacies. They used to cost "dieci lire" (half a Euro cent) when I was a child, while the cost of a scale was rather high - you actually only checked your weight at the doctor's. By the way, also coin-operated elevators were rather common in private buildings! The idea was to make their costs paid by those who actually used them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DarleneNovember 24, 2025 at 12:22 AM

      Thank you, Andrea, I knew you’d know the answer — you're like Wikipedia Italia! ‘Pay by use’ make sense, like road tolls… but paying to check your weight? Feels a bit like adding insult to injury, no? 😄

      Delete

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