Villa Agnese Lucca

Kim had taken her grandma to Lucca last November and had fallen in love with the place. <br><br>We found a park not far from the city walls and then headed in for a look. We came across a chocolate festival in one of the piazzas and sampled a few beforw buying a hot cocolate drink...literally hot chocolate in a cup. It made me feel a bit sick.<br><br>Walking Lucca is like a big ...

... on the main street near our apartment and came across one which we hadn&#8217;t seen open before- it had beautiful looking pastries- why didn&#8217;t we find it before our last day? Actually, I didn&#8217;t think they were as nice as the French ones we had.<br> We had to pack our bags and get organised for the move out of the apartment.

... reason, the train didn't stop there and we ended up at Riomaggiore (can&#8217;t trust a timetable!). I convinced everyone that they could walk the Via dell&#8217;Amore or Lover&#8217;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&#8217;t realised it would be so hot. We ended up walking most of the ...

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 ...

... and costume designer from the tv hit series "Dancing with the Stars". <br><br>Before retiring, we enjoyed a late evening glass of Limoncello on our balcony with the dimmly lit Italian coastline appearing to move slowly northward as the Ruby quietly but sternly cut a southern path through the Tyrrhenian Sea. <br><br>Tomorrow, we'll see ya in the port city of Civitavecchia, the gateway to Rome!<br><br>Buona Notte! Rick &amp; Elsie!

... and eating and just enjoying the time together. Sure, there are aches and pains and problems, just like in anyone&#8217;s lives, but they are always &#8220;P.S.&#8221; You get the impression from these Tuscans that life is to be lived, not labored over.<br> DAY SEVEN<br> I couldn&#8217;t believe that I&#8217;d been here a week already&#8230; a happy blur! I was awake and bathed by nine; my bathroom had no stand ...

... large walls. I'm talking drive a couple of cars on them while a group of bicyclists pass an elephant kind of walls. It looked like you were walking in a city park when you were on them. I read that they were used for a number of years last century for racing cars. The city has since grown and expanded outside of the walls, but the interior is still very much like it was in the days of the Renaissance. The streets are ...

A stop at Verona to see the Romeo &amp; Juliet balcony and lover's alley, then off to Pisa. Pisa is a very small place. Just 3 buildings and a bunch of street vendors selling soccer jerseys, purses, and other fake goods. I took the mandatory cheesy Pisa pictures. A lot of driving and mini stops here and there as we made our way to Florence at night.

... up in microwave. Not particularly memorable. The young lass who served us was probably the owners daughter, and now on school holidays. She tried out her English on us, with not too much success. When she established that we were from Australia, she probably explained that for holidays, she and her family went away to their holiday home. She was very helpful in serving us, but not sufficient English to quite get the message through. We moved the car around to the Via ...