I first came to Lucca in 2007 with my family and returned again in 2008 for three weeks. It has taken us five years to get back to this delightful medieval town which we fell in love with on our first visit. It is so easy to get around with no steep hills to climb which makes it easy for walking. We seem to have walked miles every day since we arrived. My poor old feet seem to be suffering a bit though.
A Bit of History
The walled town of Lucca was gifted to Napoleon's sister Elisa in 1805, which she ruled until 1814. The town itself is so full of history and is also Puccini's birthplace. When we were here in 2008 celebrations were going on to celebrate his birth one hundred and fifty years ago. Statues of him can be found around the city
The narrow, cobbled streets lead you on exciting little tours, and with each turn or new street comes a new photo opportunity. Churches big and small are everywhere and are too numerous to count. The frescos both in the churches and all over the city are magnificent. Red geranium plants sit prettily in window boxes and their perfume fills the evening air. From 4pm you will find tourists and locals alike out for the evening walk (passegiatta) or sitting at an outdoor café soaking up the atmosphere with a glass of wine. Wine is incredibly reasonable here and I have to admit to trying a few varieties.
We are staying on the fourth floor of a fourteenth century palazzo apartment near the Guinigi Tower. The views from our apartment across the roof tops, towards the mountains are stunning. In the evening the lights of the town and up in the mountains near Bagni di Lucca sparkle and twinkle against the night sky.
Bagni di Lucca
Last week we took a trip up to Bagni di Lucca for the day by bus. Unfortunately shops were closed but we still had a lovely time and found a nice café for lunch. The drive to Bagni di Lucca was so pretty and a lovely river flowed through the town, it had the clearest water in it I had ever seen. Pretty trees lined the bus route and my head was on a total swivel soaking everything up.
On Saturday we were up early and headed to the market. The things you could buy for so little was completely mind blowing. Quite honestly a lady could dress really well for very little cost. Tops were around eight to ten euros, shoes ten euros, bags from ten euros. My head was swimming trying to make decisions about what to buy. My husband kept constantly reminding me of the room in our suitcase. I so wanted to buy some of the exquisite linen for sale but I knew I would be pushing my luck in trying to take that home.
There is going to be an antique market here the weekend before we leave, and I am so hoping to find a special little trinket to take home. A chandelier would be nice (a girl can only dream).
Italian Food
The cuisine here is also very inexpensive; you can eat out well with a main costing as little as four euros. Consequently we are eating out a lot. The variety of different kinds of food is amazing, one of my favourites being proscuitto and melon. The different ways in which the restaurants present vegetables is so nice. Deep fried courgettes, potatoes etc – so tasty, as is the lovely vegetable terrines that accompany the main courses.
In Italy there are around five different courses and I struggle to eat two. Our little local supermarket has an amazing variety of speciality cakes wrapped up like biscuits, and the cold meats are beautiful, as is the variety of cheese, fruit and pastries. The butchery has the most amazing cuts of meats. Twice I have cooked a pork roast which was stuffed with cheese, cold meat and orange. The flavours were suburb. Last night we had kebabs, there were several different types of meat on them, and the flavours were totally mouth-watering. Meat is so lean and makes our supermarket meat look quite inferior.
Living in Europe
When I see what is available here for the consumer I can't help but feel we are missing out on so much in New Zealand. Living in Europe you are so close to many other countries. With little effort you can just jump on a train or plane and you are in another country in a short time.
We are so isolated in New Zealand. I am not knocking it at all, I love home but seeing what's available here really gives me itchy feet even at my age.
The weather has been cooler than we expected but now we are in June hopefully it's going to warm up a bit. We have experienced a few electrical storms which seem to build up with little warning.
We still have two weeks in Lucca so I will do another blog before we head off to the Italian Riviera and Santa Margherita for a few days.
Today I went into one of the lovely little churches that seem to pop up around every corner. It was such a peaceful feeling just to be sitting down inside. Gave me time to reflect as I lit a candle. I am indeed so privileged to be here and I hope some of you do make the trip to Italy and to the lovely little town of Lucca. Bellissimo!
Ciao my friends.
By Kay Rayner
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