Lucca

---

This weekend 6 of us traveled to Lucca, which is known for its food and its great wall! I left early Saturday morning and rode the train northeast for about 2 hours. Lucca was absolutely beautiful, very different from Siena, the city is surrounded by a massive wall which was turned into a park in the 18th century by Napoleon's sister. Saturday we checked into our hostel then walked around the very small town making sure to visit all of the Romanesque Cathedrals (see pictures)! Then we grabbed a sandwich at a little cafe and rented bikes. We rode our bikes around the top of the walls, each lap taking only about 20 min. (see pictures). At around 8 p.m. everything in the town closed, before we had a chance to get dinner, so we found a small little store and purchased some bread, some famous Luccan olive oil, and Pecorino which is a type of Tuscan cheese made from sheep milk. All of which was absolutely amazing!

Sunday morning went to a pastry shop for breakfast and then checked out of our hostel. We spent the rest of the day just walking around the city wall and admiring all the mountains and nature in the background (mostly because Siena's lacking nature of any sorts). We ate lunch on a terrace of a little cafe just off of the main piazza. I had lasagna capresi (vegetable lasagna) and spremutta di frutta (freshly squeezed blood orange juice). We then headed towards the train station and spent 30 min. lying in the sun in the grass just outside of the wall waiting on our train.

Overall, this weekend was very fun, relaxing, and a nice change of scenery. But, Sunday night it felt so good to be back home in my host family's house!

---

Photos

San Giovanni Cathedral
Each small column is different.

Inside San Giovanni
Absolutely the most beautiful thing I've seen on this trip so far. The inside was filled with paintings dating from the 11th to the 14th century. The church itself was started in the 10th century.

The Duomo
Every city has a Duomo, which is it's largest and main Cathedral. This one is very similar to San Giovanni.

Guinigi Tower
227 steps to the top, which is the only tower in Italy that has trees and a garden on its roof.

Water Fountain
In the 1920s this water fountain was constructed to provide drinking water to residents and those passing through. It is some of the best tasting water in Italy.

Drinking from the fountain.
The water was so crisp and fresh, almost like I was drinking it straight from a stream in the Alps.

Photo 14
This is one of the largest dogs I've ever seen. The man bought an ice cream cone for him and his dog!
People in Italy take their dogs everywhere with them.

Comments

[Kathy (mom)]

OH!!!!!!! SO BEAUTIFUL
Hey Tiff, keep up the great work with the pictures and details of your trip, it's like we were right there with you seeing things that you are seeing. I'm so glad that you are experiencing sooooo much and that God's watching over you and your friends. Everyone at church has been praying for you. Now we have a church family, it is great to know that God has placed us here for a reason. Still processing the reason... we send our love!!!

[Jess]

hey..
hey can i take that i want a purse thing back...how bout u just get me on of those huge chubby dogs : ) sooo cute!

[Aunt Dy]

Wonderful Experience
Tiff, We really enjoy the blog! Rick Steves ain't got nothin' on you! So glad you got to do this...keep those pictures coming, Kathy is right, we are living the experience with you! Stay safe!