San Luca Palace Lucca

... and we stayed until we were ready to retire for the evening.<br><br>Sat 14 Nov<br>Next day we had a sleep-in and then went for a run around the 4km city walls. Twice around was enough for Kim and I managed a 3rd. After a shower we were back in town for more meandering and I had one of the best Cupuccio's (Capuccino) ever!! We found a few hours during siesta to catch up with the ...

I had thought about going to a town which was half an hour away by train to look at a chocolate shop there which was supposed to be quite unique, but I didn&#8217;t feel very well and the thought of being on another local train didn&#8217;t appeal to me. I decided to look at the local chocolate shop in Lucca but it was closed on Mondays. The ...

... walked through to get to the marina where we had lunch at a ristorante while we watched a fisherman mending his nets. The marina is overlooked by a castle and there are many lemon groves on the hillsides. This is where limoncello is made and was popular in the shops. After lunch we decided to go for a walk along one of the tracks that overlooks the village, but it got too steep before we got a very good view. We caught the train to Corniglia where we ...

Just realized those not on facebook haven't seen pictures from Pisa and Florence. No long recap of Anthony and I's weekend in Tuscany, for obvious reasons. Also note that "Anthony and Alison's Great Adventure" was like taking a knife.<br><br>Love you guys! :)<br>

... and also what looked like a whole boned roasted pig which they just cut slices through. It wasn't even refrigerated. We then went to hire bikes and ride around the wall. Tara wasn&#8217;t too keen on it, so her and Greg went tandem. It was lots of fun and we managed to go around twice which was 6 km. We walked through the city, getting a gelato as usual and window shopped (many of the shops were closed for siesta ...

... Medieval City Walls. <br><br>A trolley took us through Pisa center toward the Arno River which divides the city. We passed by the Gothic Church della Spina, the old port, the Town Hall, and the Piazza dei Cavalieri. A short stop at a local restaurant near the Field of Miracles offered a drink of Tuscan area wine. Here, we couldn't pass on purchasing a bottle of local Limoncello which we thought we would enjoy while relaxing ...

... 8211; the unlucky number is 17. <br> Up late again talking and digesting&#8230; I didn&#8217;t want these days and nights to end, because by now I was in the rhythm of Tuscany. My Italian was improving&#8211; Nicola patiently reviewed the verb tenses with me&#8211; and I could understand them all a lot better. I was even making jokes in Italian, occasionally tossing some Neapolitan dialect at them&#8211; which ...

I woke to rain, I had breakfast watching the rain and thought .......... why drive somewhere in the rain, to loose hours during the finding of accomodation etc especially when I am so comfortable here and there are museums to visit. So I am still in Lucca and having a lovely time thanks. When I finally left the hotel it was after 10 so keeping in mind that everything closes again around 12 for lunch - VERY CIVILIZED! - I headed straight to the Catherdral ...

stopped for an hour or two in pisa, en route to florence from la spezia. i really can't see why anyone would need to spend more than that amount of time there. it's quite easy to get to the tower by bus (hey! that kid who tagged along with us from mama rosa's hostel in riomaggiore owes me his bus fare! well, i guess we did lose him later on anyhow) and it was so over run by tourist buses! it was crazy. and hot. too hot to walk around with a massive pack on one's back.

... it was time for lunch. Rather that venture back into the tourist restaurants and cafes within the town, I decided to check one of the side streets of the "new" town. There we discovered Ristorante Bargo Giannotti, in the street of the same name. We shared a Farro and Seafood salad and a Cannellini and Prawn salad, and two Pizzas. One a mistake-four types of cheese and tomatoes, the other a seafood. The highlight though was ...