Lucca, Italy - Days 21-22

Days 21-22

Lucca

This is the one place in Italy which we’ve returned to every trip, with one exception.  It’s our small walled city which provides both relaxation and excitation, and it even has a pasta dish named after it - Luchese.

When on a month long vacation, a little slower pace occasionally can be a plus, and Lucca is the place that can provide it.  There is the 3 mile wall/trail around the ‘Inner City’.  We mostly rent bikes and ride.

Shari is in the orange hat and shirt weaving through pedestrian and bike traffic.

Lucca also provides the opportunity to go to live classical music events.  For 13 years, 365 days each year, professional Italian performers give a one hour performance that involves small pieces of the works of Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart.  That’s about the right length for us.  The performances are brilliant.  This was the first time there was a tenor, and he had an incredible voice that filled the entire church (churches are big in Italy) without any kind of microphone.

Puccini is in the background of the picture and seems to be listening to the music.

We climbed to the top of our favorite Italian tower, the one with the oak trees on top that we call the Tree Tower.  The trees are there because back in the day people fought small and big wars on a regular basis. The guards in this tower were lucky enough to have shade.  What a kind master they had.

The climb is 230 steps, and the views are worth it.

Because we live life a little slower here, we even go to public watering holes to get our un-chlorinated water.

We do find the food in Lucca much to our taste.  Our latest favorite place to eat is da Nona Clara.  Nona means grandmother in Italian, and I grew up with an Italian grandmother, and she was a great cook as was my other grandmother.   We tend to show food pictures, and this restaurant had great risotto, roasted meats, even fried zucchini blossoms. They make all their pasta from scratch every morning. What was even better were the people who ran it.  The Italians are friendly, but if they don’t speak much English, and you don’t speak a lot of Italian, they basically take your order.  At Nona’s, they do great business, and they are running to and from.  Yet, they really like to talk and get you to talk.  We ate at Nona’s several times for the food and Cristina and the owner, Ernanio. 

I love Ernanio’s glasses

I think he looks a little like Harpo Marx (for those old enough to know who that is).  

Speaking of people we met, there were the 4 Brits from the northern part of England at the Tree Tower who needed their picture taken.  They live fairly close to Scotland, and they talk with a very strong accent.  They come from Washington, England.  George Washington’s kin came from Washington, England, and they celebrate the 4th of July every year along with us.  

After a week in a centrally located apartment within the walls in Lucca, we leave tomorrow on a train for Florence.  We will still be in Tuscany, but it won’t be as laid back.

Here are a few more photos of what we see around the lovely little city of Lucca.