European Adventure 2013

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After the rain yesterday, we were pleased to wake to a cool, clear sunny day. We decided to head for Bagni di Lucca, a series of spa towns in the mountains north-east of Lucca. On the recommendation of reviews in Trip Advisor, we opted to have lunch in a small town called Vico Pancellorum, up a narrow, twisting mountain road 14km of out of Bagni di Lucca. We arrived famished, only to find that the restaurant didn't open until the strange time of 3pm. By the time we arrived at our next choice of restaurant in Benabbio, it was nearly 2pm and the place was deserted. The owner kindly agreed to make lunch for us and we were not disappointed. We were both given huge servings of our chosen dishes, beautifully home-cooked. We decided that we would not be able to eat dinner and that the drive had been worth the effort!

Garfagnana was our next port of call, a beautiful drive past streams and through lovely forests. The town is divided into several parts, of which we had time to visit one only, Castelnuovo Garfagnana. It was situated on a pretty river and had an imposing castle and the usual churches. Much of the castle was destroyed in WW2. Between 1946 and 1975, work was done on salvaging whatever was still standing. We diverted slightly on our way home to have a look at the town of Barga where apparently many Scots live. Jon & Mon are keen to visit this town when they arrive from Scotland next week. We would like to see the other parts of Garfagnana as well.

Finding our way through the maze of streets and piazzas of Lucca is always difficult and we have been lost many times, even when carrying a map. Today was an exception as we managed to find our way back from the car quickly using the Via del Fosso as a landmark. This is a long quiet street with a ditch running through it. It originally formed one of the outside boundaries of the mediaeval walls of Lucca. Lucca has had four sets of walls in its history starting with the first circle built by the Romans and culminating in the 4200m of beautiful grassed walls built 500 years ago that we admire today.

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Photos

Lucca Centro Storico
Via del Fosso - our landmark for finding our way to and from our car parked outside the old city walls

Bagni di Lucca
View from the restaurant

Castelnuovo Garfagnano
Exterior walls of the mediaeval castle, Rocco Ariostesca

Castelnuovo Garfagnano
Roman door inside Rocco Ariostesca

Castelnuovo Garfagnano
Mediaeval costumes in the castle

Castelnuovo Garfagnano
View down the river in late afternoon sun

Castelnuovo Garfagnano
Church of the Visitation of Mary