City of 100 Churches

So, yeah, I woke up at 4:45am for a long travel day today. I caught the cirumvesuviana to Naples which provided some stellar early morning views of the Bay of Naples. One one side of the train you could see Capri with an almost-full moon and on the other side you see the sunrise over Vesuvius. Pretty awesome! I arrived in Naples and caught the EuroStar to Florence. I love First Class! We stopped in Rome along the way where some gypsies boarded the train while it was stopped and created a huge back-up among the passengers. One put her butt on the table in front of me. I think she was trying to make a distraction so the other could go pickpocket. I just grabbed my computer and held on tightly until they left. They hopped off the train before it left. Dude! So annoying! It's okay, the train people came around with cookies and coffee. I swear if there is anything that Italy does well....it's coffee! Even the coffee on train is awesome! I can drink it without cream or sugar either and I usually don't like my coffee black. It's so good!

Once in Florence I found a place for my capachino and croissant before hopping on a train to Pisa. Yep, Pisa.......or as I told my niece Abby, "I'm going to see the Leaning Tower of Pizza." Yeah, she's too smart to believe anything I say. Anyway, I got there and walked around town for a bit before heading to the tower. When I arrived it was much shorter and fatter than I expected. It was pretty cool though. I didn't go up because I'm already terrified of heights and the fact that the tower is leaning doesn't provide me comfort. It's ok, I'm just happy being able to be there and check it out. It felt like a pilgrimage in a way since you had to walk a ways from the train station to get there.....and you know that so many people have done the same trip before. I don't know, it was cool. Though there really isn't much to do or see in Pisa sadly. The Old Town area was great and I stopped in a little bakery and assembled a panini of my own; cheese and prosciutto. Yum!

The Leaning Tower

I hopped on a train for a little town in Tuscany which I couldn't leave Italy without having gone to see. The town is called, "Lucca"! Now, the reason I'm going to Lucca is because this is the town where my best friend's family is from. Now, let me tell you something and I say this in all honesty. To date, Lucca is my favorite town in Italy! Hands down! Now, I don't say this to appease my friend Jimmy and the Lucarotti family. I say this because it's true. The town is beautiful and full of small side streets. There is a city wall surrounding the Old Town area that you can walk, run, or bike on. The people are super friendly and while tourists are noticeable, they don't take away from the town. Also, no guys selling knock-off watches, sunglasses, umbrellas, or purses. Oh, and most importantly.....no gypsies! The town is full of butchers, wine shops, markets, bakeries, restaurants, little squares, and CHURCHES! Later in the day I would find out that Lucca is known as, "the city of 100 churches".

Now, my arrival in Lucca was a little rough, but not overly horrible. I decided to stay at a Bed and Breakfast because I needed to spoil myself. I hadn't done it since Prague and well....I couldn't find any hostels in Lucca anyway. So, 40 Euros for my Bed and Breakfast was a steal! I got off the train and walked across town to the tourist office where I picked up a map. I followed my directions to the B&B and I had a hard time finding it. I mean, it's on Via Pisana and that street breaks out into 3-4 other Via Pisanas. Well, I stopped a couple of old ladies on the street and in broken Italian I tried to ask for directions. The ladies talked to each other for a while and finally they figured out where I needed to go. One lady took charge and using no English (only hand gestures) told me to go down one particular street and make a left before the shoe store. I don't know how I figured that out, but it worked! I found my street and my B&B was right there. So, keep in mind that I'm tired of lugging my bag across town, it's hot outside, I had a hard time finding my hostel, I'm losing daylight, and I can only afford one night in Lucca. I want to set my junk down and explore the town while it's light. So I arrive at my B&B and the door doesn't budge. I ring the bell......no answer. I look through the window and it looks like the place is closed. I knock really loud.....no answer. Well shit! I just want to set down my bag and take the load off! I ring the bell a couple more times......no answer. I walk around the yard of the place and it looks closed. I finally realize that I can use my cell to call the number they provided. I call and a guy picks up and I said, "I'm outside your place and it looks like you're closed". He said, "Oh, I'll be right down". Thank God! He comes down and I guess he didn't hear the bell. Anyway, the guy who owns the place is Jaceppi and the guy is fantastic. He was very helpful in getting my situated. I asked, "Is Lucarotti a popular name around here?" and he said, "It's like the American Smith and Brown, it's a very popular name". I then add, "Are there any restaurants with that name?" He explained that the only thing he knew of was a motorcycle shop with that name. He gave me the address.

When I got up to my room it was sweet! A little too purple for me, but hey, pastel purple is the color of royalty right? Ha! Aww, it's soooo nice to have clean bed sheets.....as opposed to seemingly clean bed sheets. I dig it! So, I set down my stuff and go back out to do some exploring, but first a little stop.

My Lucca Bed and Breakfast

Lucarotti Team

I arrived at "Lucarotti Team" and looked around the store. It's more than a motorcycle shop; It has hiking and camping gear too. I asked them if they had anything with the Lucarotti name on it, but no luck. Oh well! I made my way into the Old Town and explored. Lucca is so pleasant, yet people are out walking around and talking on benches in the square. Active, but pleasant. I stumbled upon Plaza San Michele which actually looks like a Universal Studios Building from the back. Funny!

Typical Lucca Street

I made my way to Torre delle Ore which is an awesome bell tower! Okay, I'm going to be bold and say that I think climbing Torre delle Ore is more fun than climbing the Cupola at the Vatican. I'm serious! The Cupola is cool because it gets really narrow at the top and you have to squeeze a bit, but the climbing experience it's all that exciting. Sure, you can't beat the view of Rome, but there is not much to see on the way up. Well, Torre delle Ore is a stone bell tower with a old wooden stairway up the middle. It's got to be the original wood too because I could feel my feet sinking into the wood like it was going to give-way all the way up. Kinda scary! It would creek with every step I took. On top there was a grand view of Lucca! Such a cool climb!!!

Lucca

I found the Basilica of San Frediano and then made my way to Piazza Anifiteatros. The Piazza is a large plaza that is encircled with shops and restaurants. Pretty cool! I walked to Torre Guinigi which is a tower with trees on top of it. It's different. I couldn't go to the top because it was closed for the night. I explored some back streets and then made my way to Piazza Napoleone which is the main square in Lucca. It was nice, but there wasn't a whole lot going on over there. I wondered around some more and then headed to the city wall because the sun was setting and I thought it might provide some nice views.

Basilica of San Frediano

Piazza Anifiteatros

Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun

I had created a plan for dinner earlier. I was going to treat myself to a restaurant dinner, but I was pretty tired and I wanted to take advantage of my 40 Euro B&B room. So, I found a butcher who made me a panini. Yep, cheese and prosciutto! I'm loving the prosciutto here! It tastes pretty similar to basterma which is one of my favorite meats. Basterma is spicy so it has a leg up....no pun intended. Anyway, I ordered my sandwich (bread, cheese, and meat) from a older couple who owned the butcher shop. They spoke absolutely no English. It was fun trying to communicate with the lady because so was so friendly. I also walked down to the market and bought a beer called, "Birra Moretti". It's an Italian beer, but I bought it because the label looks like it has an Irish Mobster on it. Kind of funny! Well, I paid about 6 Euro for my entire dinner and took it all back to the B&B to relax the rest of the night.

Such a great day!