Friday, February 19, 2010




Let me see, where was I...oh yes...

Day Four...Wednesday, September 9th...

Lucca

We boarded the train from The Cinque Terra to La Spezia early and after changing trains we head to Lucca and a new adventure. We are staying at a B&B (about two ? really long blocks from the train station in Lucca).

They told us it was a short walk to the gate and that the B&B was just inside the gate...San Pietro...we walked for fifteen minutes and then got lost (in a town with a wall around it)...could not find the B&B so we sat down for coffee and a pastry and relaxed...fortifying ourselves to commence the quest...and...I think that was the right thing to do because we found the B&B almost immediately...coffee in Italy is brain food...caffe lunga...

Lucca is two towns, the Etruscan/Medieval/ town surrounded (4 km around the wall) by a Renaissance era wall/earth rampart that is wide enough at the top to accommodate a paved trail about 20 to 30 feet wide for bikes, walkers, joggers and runners without any running into the other.

The first thing we notice is that most everyone in the old city (The new city is just that, new, much 20th century construction and some late 19th century) is riding bicycles...men in suits, women going to market and their work, some dressed in very fashionable outfits. Some tourists...not as many as one might expect, and of course the children. Lucca is a pedestrian and bicycle paradise. After checking in with our non English speaking hostess we look for some place to get a coffee.

After checking in with our non English speaking hostess we look for some place to get another coffee.

Now time for some exercise... we rent bicycles and ride around the town as well as around the wall...4Km...completely encircling the town. The wall is about thirty feet above the town and surrounding area so there are some nice overlooks and views as we ride our bikes twice around.

For some odd reason the pictures from Lucca have decided to hide form us so these are the only two we can find? (A hint, here, transfer your digital photos to disc while traveling...internet cafes with plenty of computers are everywhere in Italy).

Dinner is at the Trattoria Gigi, Piazza del Carmine...relaxed and intimate with outdoor and indoor dining. Great food!!! Some pasta, raosted meats, broccolini and of course, lots of "corposo" Tuscan wine.

We retire early (11:00PM) and look forward to Thursday and packing more Italy into our 14 days...Tuscany, next...but first...


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