For the Love of Lucca

It rained hard most of the night and even through breakfast.  When the sun popped out, we figured it was our window of opportunity.  We had a route downloaded onto the Garmin, but it was only 12.5 miles to Lucca and the signage in Italy is very good.  We arrived on backs roads after waiting in a couple spots for local trains where we carried on conversations with the locals...love doing this.

Lucca, which is northwest of Pisa, was founded by the Etruscans and became prosperous through the silk trade.  The walls around the city remained intact as the city grew and when the walls lost their military importance, became a pedestrian promenade.  Each of the 4 sides are lined with a different species of tree.

We locked the bikes, put on our walking shoes and wound through the narrow streets of historical Lucca.  It is touristy...with plenty of shops and restaurants tucked here and there, which was good, because I wanted olive oil.  The first shop we came to had olive oil from the Lucca region.  It is understood that each region of Italy that produces olive oil...and wine, for that matter, is proud of their products and feel that they are the best.  We smelled the oil, and it was fragrant, a rich aroma that makes you want to go get a thick slice of Artisan bread and start dipping.  Ok, I told him, we'll be back, because I want to buy several bottles, but I don't want to cart them all over Lucca.  However, at a shop not two blocks away, the price for the same oil was not nearly 12 euros per bottle, but 8.  

I realize olive oil could make quite a mess in my checked bag if the bottle breaks.  What kind of mess would 4 bottles of olive oil AND a bottle of limoncello make?  I am hoping I never find out.  I have packed two of the bottles in my shoes...:)

It rained while we were in Lucca.  We ducked into a couple of stores, buying olives and olive oil, cappuccinos, sandwiches, and cannolis.  I haven't had a cannolo since I visited Aaron and Erin in Pennsylvania and they took me to South Philly.  The sun came out and we rode around the wall of the city which is about 2.5 miles in circumference.  It was wonderful to see so many people out walking, jogging, riding.

We headed back to Pisa (no more rain!) and started packing our things.  We have a late flight tomorrow, so we are going to try and get one more ride in...out to the marina which is about 10 miles away.  We'd like to be able to come back, shower and change before riding to the airport so a lot will depend on whether or not we can secure a late checkout.

It was our last evening in Pisa and we headed back downtown for a glass of wine.  We talked to the young woman behind the bar about the wine and where it was grown.  She is from Sicily and talked me into a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon from there while Patty had Chianti.  We asked her to suggest a place for dinner and she sent us to a place called Spaghetteria.  We walked by it, but remember, Italians eat late, so it didn't open until 8.  We walked to another wine shop and sampled a wine from the area where we stayed in San Gimignano (Montoliveto) and one from San Miniato (Cusignano).  So fun. We were at the restaurant by 8:02 and the place was full by 8:30...full of Italians.  It had a sort of "Alice in Wonderland" decor theme going on...we laughed that perhaps the name of the restaurant should have been The Rabbit Hole.  Patty had spaghetti and mushrooms and I had a pasta called maccheroncelli with bacon, pomodoro, and Peccorino.  Fantastico!  We talked about the trip and our favorite things...favorite breakfast, favorite attraction, favorite town, favorite ride...we're going to do an entire post on it.  Here's a favorite for you...favorite Italian word...bellisimo.