A 2 hour train ride to Lucca was worth the effort. Hannah's friend Christina and her Dad (our friend Brad), are visiting us for a week, and came along. Lucca was full of surprises - a canal bisecting the town (it reminded me of Bruges, Belgium), completely intact fortified walls - 4 km long circling the town, ornate and delicate romanesque church facades, pedestrian friendly - narrow streets, clock and palazzo towers, welcoming parks, handsome piazzas and not too many tourists. Lucca, established by the romans in 89 BC, still shows some of its ancient past in the remnants of its amphitheatre, forum and two main streets.
The two highlights for me were cycling and exploring the piazzas. We rented bikes and rode on the tree-lined ramparts encircling Lucca. It was windy and at times rainy, but we didn't care. Fun can sometimes be enhanced when gusts and deluge are involved. My favourite plaza was piazza dell' Anfiteatro. This colourful, oval piazza retains the shape and some of the walls of the ancient amphitheatre on which it is built. Kids were kicking a soccer ball, shops and cafes spilled out from the buildings and people pivoted, doing 360's to take in the ovalesque view. This pivoting is probably not unlike some of the gladiator moves, some 2000 years ago.
Back on the train for Firenze we all felt like Lucca is a place beckoning further exploration. I certainly hope to return someday to this "bella" tuscan town.
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