Lucca 6/11 - 6/18

I was in Lucca for 8 days.  It is a very, very small town that I discovered via Rick Steves’ travel show on the public broadcasting channel.  It is less than an hour from Pisa so I took a bus from Pisa as one runs every hour.   When I bought the bus ticket, I asked where exactly the bus stop was, the woman said outside on the left side of the building.  In the morning, I am sitting in the spot I thought was the stop and after waiting for an hour; I finally asked a passerby if they knew where the bus stop for Lucca was.   He pointed across the street and told me 'sempre doritto' (always straight, or straight ahead) so off I go.  I found a bus stop sign, but Lucca is not listed.   I asked a girl that was standing there (Mi scusi, autobus de Lucca?) and she said Si – qui!  (yes, here)  and I said grazie.  After a few moments, she asked in perfect English “are you American”.  First is said Si – and then laughed and said yes.   She is too and told me she wasn't sure because my Italian accent was really good – which made me feel great as now I am even fooling Americans!  

Lucca is not a big tourist town, its big claim to fame is that is it Europe’s leading producer of toilet paper and tissues and yet there were no tissues in my B&B room and the toilet paper was lousy...    It is also know for being the home town of the opera singer Puccini, for it's great olive oil and for the fortress wall that surrounds the town.  The wall was completed in 1650 and still stands fully intact.   It is 2.5 miles long and has a great path for walkers and bikes.   I make a vow to walk the wall path everyday to help work off the food and drink I am consuming and because I know my next stop will be a very hilly place with lots of steps - so I am taking advantage of the flat earth while I can.

On one of my walks I turned on my little IPOD to see if I had any Puccini downloaded to list to - nope.  Instead I pick the selection under Artist that is labeled as ‘unknown’ – it turned out to be my dear friend  Meghan Cary’s latest CD ‘Building This House’.   What a treat to hear not only some GREAT music in my ear, but a familiar voice as well.     Blog friends - check her out at http://www.meghancary.com/.  Her husband Peter is the wicked keyboard player for The Black Tails – a stellar swing, jazz and blues band that rocks the house!  Check them out at http://www.theblacktails.com.   Good to have you and Peter in my ears here in Italy, Meghan!!!

The town is a walkers and bikers (bikes, not scooters nor motorcycles) paradise.   Many of the streets are closed off to cars, so there are bikes everywhere and it is a weird sight to see as I don't know of many American towns that has this volume of riders.  Watching them weave in out of pedestrian traffic as well as other riders, I am amazed that no one gets hurt.  The majority of bikes here are mainly one speeders and have baskets in the front, some have front and back baskets, some have side saddles bags on the back bar, some have a child seat in front, some a child seat in back, some have child seats in both front and back and baskets, and some just have the flat bar over the back tire that another person sits or stands on.  It is easy to see by the wear and tear that bikes are one of the main transportation vehicles for many people.  Everyone bikes – young and old alike.  Women bike in high heels, spike heels, platform shoes and in skirts, including mini-skirts.  Men bike in their business suits with their bags in a basket or a briefcase in their one hand.   People text while biking and talk on the phone - and smoke.  Yet they do it gracefully and little effort.  I am amazed by these people and the fact that it doesn't look like they ever break a sweat.   There must be something in their DNA as I and the rest of the tourist are drenched in it as we walk the town.   And the weather has been great - hot (caldo), but great, 90's everyday but coolness can be found in the shade of the trees and under the umbrellas at the cafes.


I spend every day walking the streets, taking different side roads and just trying to get lost – which is impossible as the town is very small and surrounded by a wall…


One day I stumbled upon some guy making a music video.  I don’t know who he is, but there was a major production crew and lots of young girls watching and giggling, so I’m sure he is famous somewhere.   I watched them try to get this one 10 second scene for about 30 minutes.

 

I move on and found a shop that looked interesting…  Hmmm – where do I know that name from?

Street shots - - - - -

A Real Estate office.... 

Fresh pasta - I need a kitchen! 

A wedding - the men love wearing hats over here.

Fantastic street musicians - I bought a CD!

It is a beautiful little town and here again, all the people I meet are open and welcoming.  I met one guy, very friendly, he walked with me a while and had all kinds of questions for an American…  He told me he’d like to spend time with me during my vacation and maybe I could take him to dinner.  Wait – what??  I could take him to dinner??   He probably just messed up his English words.  We walk a bit further and he says he’s getting thirsty, aren’t I thirsty, we should stop so I can buy us a bottle of wine before we go back to my room…. What?  Mi scusi?  What are you talking about?   Yep, he’s a prostitute…   I laugh, say “no thank you” and walk on.   Oh well - I must be pulling off that ‘rich American’ look I was going for… 

There are just a few ‘tourist’ attractions to see here, so I check them off my list.  There is a church’s bell tower to climb - -  joy!!! 

It’s only 100 steps or so....  Egads!!

The view is worth the climb - and if I'd bring my laundry up here, the gusty breeze would dry it in a matter of minutes!

They have a beautiful Cathedral and Cathedral museum but pictures aren't allowed, so you will just have to come here to see them for yourself.  Like every other town in Italy, there are lots of churches to duck into but many do not allow photos to be taken.  Here is one that did. 

In between all of my site seeing and walking, I did take time to find some good food and wine.   The first place I found was Gigi Trattoria.  It caught my attention because it was almost completely surrounded by tall bushes and when I peeked in I saw tables filled with locals – this is always a good sign.  I sat next to a table of older gentleman, each with their own bottle of wine, and noticed that their last names were written on their bottle – a very good sign.  It means they are regulars, buy the bottles here and then leave it at the restaurant.  Which is another thing I love about Italy, you can buy a bottle at any restaurant - some even have small (1/2 size bottles) and take it home with you.  I ordered the house burger because it was listed as their specialty.   Three things I have learned here about restaurants: 1-always order the house wine, 2-ask for and order the house specialties 3-if you order meat and you want it cooked more than medium rare, you must speak up.  The burger comes on a bed of lettuce and is stacked with slices of tomato, spinach in a homemade cheese sauce and homemade mayo.  It was STELLAR!   As I am eating my lunch, a small sparrow lands on the other side of my table and starts singing to me.   It was a bit of a shock…  One of the old men at the table next to me, tapped my arm and pointed to my bread basket.  He said ‘piccolo pane’ (small bread) and then made a tossing motion.  So I broke off a small piece of crust and tossed it to the bird, which ate it and waited for more.   On the next toss I got a little to close and it flew away.   The old men laughed and one explained to me (which the waitress translated) that the sparrows are friendly but don’t want you to get to close – they are afraid you will stab them with your fork and eat them.  Lovely gentleman, we sat and talked for a while after his buddies left - he in Italian, I responded when I could – he didn't seem to mind.  Lovely…


Another day – another restaurant, their specialty was Salmon Lasagna.  INCREDIBLE!

Another day – another restaurant and I have the town specialty – Tordelli with Chianina meat sauce.  AWESOME!!!  One more reason to eat slowly, you do not want these taste sensations to end!

I also went to a wine café for a wine and olive oil tasting.  Lucca’s local olive oil is the best and I picked up a bottle to carry with me to the next few towns.  The wine ain't to shabby either and goes well with the Italian cigars I discovered.    

At the wine bar, I met a very nice couple from Australia, Tony and Margaret Walker from Port Macquarie.  They got there a few hours before I did…

Tony is a recently retired dentist, so we had plenty of things to talk about (!!) and Margaret is a nurse.   They have been on holiday, traveling around Italy for a month, and we had a grand time chatting and laughing.  At one point, they saw me taking a photo with Pedro and Margaret gave me a little companion for him. 

I enjoyed talking and laughing with them and they even invited me to come visit them in Australia!   I told them that I don’t care if it is the wine talking or not, but one day I hope to take them up on the offer.   We exchange emails and then they had to take off.  I stayed at the bar until closing as it is right across the street from a church where a concert is being held, celebrating Mozart and Puccini.  I am a big Mozart fan, and I can hear the music from here, so I sit and enjoy.  During the intermission and then after the concert, most of the musicians came to the wine bar as did the Conductor and I got to interact with them.   It was a great evening.  I liked this spot so much, I returned there two more times - drank more wine, listened to more good music and even got to know the staff a little bit.  A great joint!  The only thing missing was Tony and Margaret...

I really, really enjoyed Lucca.  It is a small town with few tourist sites, but a great and welcoming community.   I am very glad this stop was on my map – thank you Rick Steves!

Next stop – Vernazza in the Cinque Terre. 

Ciao ~