Albergo California Lucca

... market (without the sampling) with lots of lovery deli's, cafe's and patisseries. Ofcourse we had to buy the local pastry called a buccellato which is kind of a cross between a biscuit and a fruit loaf... yummy with the morning coffee.

Before too long Kim pointed out her favorite bar from last time and pull me in to join her in a wine or 3. The tapas were as good as Kim had ...

... one was also closed, but there were no hours on the doors. Tara had said that she wanted to go bike riding but this time on her own bike which she handled quite well and we rode twice around the wall then walked back to the playground which the girls had seen everytime we rode around the town. On the way home we decided to look for a ...

... reason, the train didn't stop there and we ended up at Riomaggiore (can’t trust a timetable!). I convinced everyone that they could walk the Via dell’Amore or Lover’s Lane which we had read was a 30 minute walk suitable for everyone. It was but was very hot as it faced the west and there was little shade. We should have done it first thing when we arrived, but hadn’t realised it would be so hot. We ended up walking most of the ...

Woke to a beautiful day so decided walk into Lucca along the street where there were markets. They were probably typical of markets everywhere with stalls selling clothes, bags, junk and also food. Us girls all bought a cheap bag and I also bought a knitted top which is made in Italy. The food was typical Italian meats and cheeses with a couple of things that were a bit different. There was some sort of very large ...

We woke up to rain again but thought, what the heck, they had forecast "sprinkles", we would just head to Pisa on the train. It was a regional train, which in Italy means old and pretty gross with dirty windows and usually stuffy. Only half an hour though and we were there- I had spotted the Leaning Tower and Cathedral when we were near the first Pisa stop (Pisa San Rossore which we realised later that we could have easily ...

After a slow morning because it was raining we jumped at the chance to go out when it started to clear. Lucca is surrounded by a complete wall from the Renaissance period and we had to walk under the wall through a passageway. First of all we came across the San Martino Cathedral which looks spectacular from the outside but was largely covered with scaffolding on the inside. You could still see the main attraction which was the marble tomb of Illaria del Caretto, second wife of Paolo ...

We had planned to explore Lucca, but woke up to rain, which hadn't been forecasted until the afternoon and mainly Thursday. So we changed our plans and had a day in the apartment so that the kids could catch up on their homework. I walked to the supermarket to get a few more things, but otherwise we stayed in while it rained most of the day.

... on down to one of the two towers to be found in Lucca, the Torre Guinigi, built in the 14th century. This tower is distinctive in that atop it's roof lies a little grove of self-seeding oak trees. From atop Guinigi, you have a 360-degree view of Lucca, an ideal photo opportunity for those inclined to capture the moment. Now that we have our workout ...

... somewhat expensive) ending. After 30 minutes at the Lucca police station waiting for them to locate the van and call two policemen back to the station to write us our ticket (36 Euro) we were given directions to the location of the van. We were somewhat concerned as we walked to the garage (service station - not parking garage) as it was right in the middle of the Market which didn't show signs of ending anytime soon. They agreed that they ...

... during one of the city's festivals, staying at the Agostini Palace to enjoy the best view of the festivities. http://www.montipisani.com/english/jour neying_monti.htm The Villa has hosted many illustrious guests such as Gustavus III of Sweden, Christian II of Denmark, the Royal Family of Great Britain, Benedict Stuart Cardinal of York, General Murat, Luigi Buonaparte, Paolina Borghese, Carlo Alberto of Savoy, the poets Byron and Shelley ...