http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Italy , Tuscany , Lucca en-us Sat, 12 Dec 09 10:55:45 +0000 Sat, 12 Dec 09 10:55:45 +0000 Day 14 LuccaWe rented bikes today and rode around on the city walls 4.2 kilometers and we went around twice... in the warm sun....the city is very liveable...compact and with many nocar areas. They are beginning to take down the many many tents that cover each of the plazas put up for the giant comicgaming fair over the weekend. Hopefully some will be gone before we leave.After our bike http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-450445.html August 29 2009 Lucca Viareggio ItalyToday we left Rome and had a long day of driving to get to the northern hilltop town of Lucca just west of Florence. On the way we passed Pisa which is only famous for the leaning tower. We saw it from the road and decided to pass on a closer look as it was getting late in the day. 6553265532We parked easily and got our bike out to ride in to tow http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-434807.html Okay I've gone on and on and ON about getting ready for this trip both here and here. And there was talk of my mother possibly coming along with me for this looming Italian trip talk which in a Northern Italian woman is spoken silently but nevertheless reverberates along the horsehairandplaster walls of her 1912 semidetached house in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. We'd always spoken about making t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-430248.html Do you like to shop I don't. I like to go and buy the things I need checking them off a list as I go along from store to store not doing any comparison shopping or wielding coupons. I mean it's not because I'm rich or anything but I've felt that time is more valuable than anything else time is the one thing you can't see and so I'm loath to squander it.So to make this as streamlined as po http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-430247.html I finally decided to do it after 25 years ritorno in Italia That's not bad this going to Italy every 25 years. At this rate my next trip will occur when I'm 78 years old and who knows It may be in a box Just kidding I plan on living past 100 because I want to see if the Democrats achieve a 100 majority in both the House and Senate.My friend Eugene and I were talking one time about the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-430246.html DAY ONENorma Shearer playing Elizabeth Barrett gets all excited when Robert Browning nudges her to come to Italy with him. Italy... ah Italy she gushes and rightly so. That's what I felt like doing after a cramped nine hour flight from JFK to Pisa. Don't even get me started about that Everyone knows that flights from JFK to Orlando are supposed to be cramped but to Pisa Who goes to Pisa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-430244.html What do you mean we are going on a road trip with your mum and dad It is not an understatement to say that Tom was less than impressed at the idea of sharing a very small confined space with me my mum and dad for two days whilst driving from Denmark to Italy. A 'short trip' by Australian or American standards of only 1800km. Come on Tom it's free and we get to eat lots of German and Austria http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-423491.html Hi EveryoneWe now have been on our second farm for a little over a week and are happy to say that things have been going very well in comparision to our last place We are a little bit tired of getting up at 530am in order to throw on some clothes and shovel some cold leftover pasta our spectaclar breakfast down our throats before heading out to the vinyards. The work isnt very hard and each n http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-418569.html Ciao a TuttiWe left our first farm last sunday the 5th and took a beautiful train ride to a little town in the Tuscany area called Lucca. The train was a great experience and it made for an easy day. When we arrived at the Lucca train station we still could not get in contact with our second farm and had high hopes that they would just be there waiting for us we had sent emails and called seve http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-416550.html Sov lidt lnge i dag for vi skulle egentlig ikke noget i dag. Vi beslutter os dog rimelig hurtigt for at tage til Lucca igen selvom vejrudsigten siger regn og der er ogs kommet nogle skyer ind der ikke er helt hvide. Vi lejer nogle cykler p campingpladsen som vi smider bagi bilen. P grund af varmen i teltet de sidste dage lader vi dren bagtil st ben uden overhovedet at tnke p vejrudsigten http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-410444.html I'm sitting here under a big old tree on the grassy city walls of Lucca lapping up the glorious afternoon sun and watching people italianstyle. Everyone continuously tells me that the Italians prance around when they walk. I hadn't really seen it until today but up here overlooking the town I know what they were talking about. There's couples holding hands and lingering over a kiss elegant http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-404713.html We have left the coast and Liguria behind and have now entered Tuscany to spend four days in the lovely little town of Lucca a BIG thank you to Brendan for alerting us to this gem. It is not a particularly touristy town and there aren't lots of mustdo sights to see however we are enjoying the opportunity to drop back a couple of gears after Rome and the Cinque Terre to just simply be for a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-396310.html Lucca was another old walled town similar in size and feel to Pisa but without the big drawcard of Pisarsquos Cathedral and Belltower. It was a little less commercial and a bit more oldworld as a result and we were able to find metered parking inside the old ramparts so we didnrsquot have so far to walk. It was another beautifully fine day at about 22 degrees which is great for walking aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-391067.html The Apuan Alps are impressive indeed. While they donrsquot reach the same heigths as their more famous namesake they seem impressive enough just the same and the roads are no less a challenge. The northern part of Tuscany is more rugged and mountainous than the south. Wherersquos that confounded bridge The last time I was in Tuscany I spent a few hours trying to find the Ponte di Maddalena. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-388239.html Good Afternoon well afternoon for me at leastSunday I took a solo trip to Lucca Italy a little medieval town situated behind giant walls in Northern Tuscany and near the Liguarian Sea. It was established a very long time ago and hold's history through protective walls and the historical streets. The walls which stand 115ft wide at the base and up to 40 ft tall were created to protect http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-383957.html thought i had a 8 bed room to myself last night until just before i went to turn out the light and some dude showed up. he didnt speak and left a miute later after dropping off his things... so i went to sleep... an hour later he came back and decided to unpack his bag which was full of rustling plastic bags. for a half hour. then he fell asleep before i did and snored up a storm. i was irrit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-375143.html Not a whole lot to report today mostly a travel day.Got up around 8 and headed to St Anthonys church in Padua since i had stayed in a hotel right across the street for 3 nights nad hadnt been in there yet. there was a service going on so i just kidna crept around the back for a peek. yet another huge beautiful basilica. its happened i am officially churched out. been in dozens and dozens in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-374891.html After careful planning for 6 adults and 7 children we rented this large Villa overlooking the town of Lucca. Villa Torianni. Pool large living space plenty of sleeping quarters. We used it as base to tour Tuscany. Returning the last day before the other families and tired from a fabulous 3 week trip we relaxed and began to pack. it was our last night. The other couples had one additional day. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-342970.html Thursday 31 JulyBristol to PisaAfter an outrageously early start getting up at 230am we were pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of EasyJet's 'speedy boarding' system at Bristol Airport which gave us a very nice hour or so in the Lounge. I had my usual coffee and large brandy and Rob had a beer very restrained of him since we were picking up the car at Pisa airport We got exit seats on http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-310851.html Saturday 28th JuneMet 8.30am for breakfast before the heat of the day Many then headed down to the beach about 20 minutes walk before coming back for the 11.30 meetinglunch. Today was Freddie's testimony Belfast boy before we had prayers and praise topping it off with sitting around the books available from the bookshop for 15 minutes whilst people pointed out books that had been helpful t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-297101.html