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I hemmed and hawed quite a bit last night trying to make the decision as to whether I would go to Lucca or whether I would go back to the Cinque Terre area. It feels like there is some unfinished business there. There is also a part of me that needs to see it with a more positive eye. But in looking at the trains and such, it makes for a very long day (strike or no strike!) and I am leaving early in the morning and spending a good part of the day on the train tomorrow making my way to Naples. So Cinque Terre was unfortunately going to have to be for another time (if I am ever that lucky!!) If I had more time in Pisa, I would have done it in a heartbeat. So Lucca it was. Don’t get me wrong, Lucca is something that was definitely on the list and I certainly wanted to enjoy some Tuscan charm.
It was a day with no real purpose. I walked out of the train station and just walked around with no set itinerary and definitely no specific site to see. There aren’t a million photos either. I
took shots of what inspired me. The sun was very strong which sometimes makes taking a photo difficult so … this is what I was able to come up with. The more photography I do, the more critical I seem to get!! And there is such a thing as having the sun on the right side.
There were definitely some highlights though. First, the fact that you walk out of the train station and are immediately met by these historic fortication walls is something that, to me, is always impressive. If you have a doubt that you are in a place that is filled with history and deep past, these walls just drive that point home. What is lovely is that they have essentially created this walking or bike path along side the walls that circle the town. It is shaded and by the end of the day, it was definitely a nice break from the hot sun.
The one thing that I noticed as I was walking towards the centre of town was the fact that there were a lot of people with a series of bottles filling them with water at different fountains. Later in the
day, I saw a sign that essentially stated that the water source was from the antique aqueduct which had been built in 1822. It also gave the details of the mineral content. I filled my own bottle a couple of times. But in hot weather like this, it would have come out of my dad's garden hose and I would have been happy!
The Piazza Anfiteatro was also really interesting. The photos certainly won’t do it justice. But you essentially enter through a sort of portico and then are surrounded by a buildings that have essentially been built where the old Roman amphitheatre used to be. So the buildings form this oval shape, the same shape of the old amphitheatre. The piazza is filled with cafes and cute little boutiques … there is definitely some great souvenir shopping to be had there.
The real highlight of the day though … my lunch. You know that it would have to do something with food!!! I had a traditional Tuscan peasant-style soup. It is about 100 degrees outside and I am eating soup but this … oh my … it defies description. The photo makes it look outright like mush
and disguting but that my friends was the meal to end all meals. So good. I’ve had good meals since I have been here but I think that this has been my favorite so far! I have got to find the recipe for this little pearl!
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