27 May Day Trip: Lucca
Florence is breathtaking and spending the week there is relaxing but it was nice to get away for a free day and travel to a new city. I decided to go to Lucca because my two year old cousin is named Luca.
The train ride to Lucca was relaxing because I didn’t have all my luggage with me. Once we got off the train at Lucca we followed the crowd and soon saw Lucca’s city wall. The wall in interesting because it has remained intact around the town since it’s establishment. As soon as we entered the city wall, we were greeted by a fountain and marry-go-round. Further down the road a restaurant named “Piazza di Lucca” was on the corner. We decided to eat there fur lunch and was having a Lizzie McGuire moment because our server’s name was Pablo. After lunch, we asked Pablo what he recommends seeing in the town. He was very friendly and wrote down places in our phone. We were going for true flaneurs because we decided to roam the city with no maps or gps, just stumbling upon what we find.
We first found the “Villa Michaela Chapel” where candles were lit all around for remembrance of ones who passed and prayers for those who are needed. After the chapel, we traveled to the Guinigi Tower which is a famous tower in Lucca for having a garden of trees on the top. Climbing the tower was a bit scary because of the height and narrow steps but the view from the top was breathtaking. After the tower, we went to the center circle of Lucca that is directly in the middle of the town.
Overall, Lucca was a great trip because I was able to venture out and not do tourist excursions. The relaxing, slow pace town allowed me to decompress from the busier towns like Rome and Florence while still going on a new adventure
