Lucca

Lovely Lucca

Guess the flavour...

Manhole cover

Okay, now this is (so far) our favourite city in Italy (and not just because it’s flat!). Maybe it was walking from the railway station on a stinking hot day after being in a non-airconditioned train for an hour and a half, through the city walls into a piazza lined with huge beautiful plane trees making a shady avenue for us to walk to our B&B that started our love affair with Lucca. Maybe it’s the gorgeous old buildings and the true locals hanging out with the tourists (of which there are few after the groups leave of an afternoon) in the many family run trattorias, osterias and pizzerias. There is still plenty of good shopping to be had, but the whole city doesn’t feel to be geared to that.

Carved shell

Lucca street

Our accommodation came with free tickets to a classical concert in a gorgeous church – San Giovanni (obviously not the same one mentioned on previous blog posts!). It was a combination of Puccini (of course!) and Verdi – all the favourites thrown together for a very pleasant evening with a tenor (who looked too much like Newman from Seinfeld to be taken seriously) and soprano and piano accompanist. Lovely way to be introduced to the city. Dinner was a simple but scrummy pizza and corona on the previously mentioned Piazza Napoleone (the one with the trees). There was plenty of action happening in all of the nearby squares due to an election on Sunday. So there were several platforms set up for bands and politicians to rant. Particularly liked the rag-time marching band keeping us entertained while eating pizza. Very enjoyable evening all round really. We were both completely knackered and a little dehydrated from our very hot and sweaty (and not in a good way!) train trip, so we had an early night.

See...doesn't he look like Newman?!

Dixieland jazz in Italy

A suit-wearing, bicycle-riding local

No, not rusty tools, but...CHOCOLATE!

Our next day was spent getting to know the town. That began with a bike ride on the city walls. Excellent idea considering it was shaping up to be another hot one and the top of the wall was lined with more magnificent plane trees to shade us. Nothing like hooning along on a bike when it’s smooth, flat terrain and there is a cool breeze. The butts were mighty sore when we were done though. Bit out of condition for the whole bicycle seat scenario – especially when they are old, hard, very unforgiving saddles! Not like a spin class at all!

Nic on bike

Nic and John window shopping

Walked to the local markets to buy some fresh veges for dinner (there does seem to be a shortage of a range of veges on the menus here). Found the only small supermarket within the city walls and were very pleased to get some good wine at a great price as well as some 50% cocoa lindt chocolate on special (will be going back to stock up on that before we leave).

San Salvatore with it's gorgeous golden mosaic


Went to a local, family run restaurant called ‘Leo’s’ for lunch and they gave us huge serves of pasta and salad and very friendly service. AND their bread had salt in it!! VERY happy about that – traditionally, bread in Tuscany has no salt so it’s pretty blah (guess you don’t eat as much of it that way!). Were pretty full after that feed, we didn’t even have room for an afternoon gelato. We DID however, manage to fit in an afternoon nap, and not one of our usual 15 minute jobs – a full hour! Man, it was good! Were still full after our nap (surprising how a sleep doesn’t work off that food!) so skipped our planned cooked dinner and had some fruit, wine and left over cheese. Perfect.

Piazza Napoleone


Visited a big home and garden called Palazzo Pfanner that was used in Jane Campion's film Portrait of a Lady (which we still haven't seen - we'll have to now!) Pretty fab. Love looking at how the other half lived once (or even now!)

Bench at Palazzo Pfanner

View from the balcony

Nic looking at previous view, oh the serenity...

Took ourselves off to another free concert that completely blew us away with how wonderful it was. It was a visiting choral group from Bradley University in Illinois. We got 2 hours of non-stop superb singing, and it really was superb. We both preferred it to the ‘professionals’ of the evening before; heavenly, as befitted the setting (one of the 70 churches in Lucca). Some true standouts in the group who could easily make it in the professional world. They were accompanied by a string trio – as equally talented as the singers. One of the best nights of the whole trip.

Church sans choral singers...

...With choral singers

Sunday was spent slobbing about. Had a home-cooked lunch and dinner (that was SO good!) with good wine and lindt chocolate. Strolled the city and the walls, sat on park benches, wrote in journals, took photographs, chatted, oh, and napped in the afternoon.

Nice little incongruity - Scottish bagpipe player serenading the church goers on Sunday morning

Piazza del Giglio - this square would be pumping in opera season, the theatre is here

Inside what was once the Roman theatre, now filled with shops, restaurants and apartments

Close-up curve of the theatre

This would be the perfect place to come back to, rent a villa in the surrounding area for a month and do a combination of hanging out and day trips to the many areas within reach by car. Have to look into that. Anyone interested?

Piazza San Michele

Buskers in San Michele on Sunday morning

Piazza Napoleone

Florence

Cool, cane bike

On Via Corso (our street)

The corridor of the building where we stayed...and Nic

Is it possible to get tired of looking at food?...NO WAY!

It’s really great staying in the hub of a happening place after having our accommodation on the outskirts for a while. The B&B we are staying in puts us right in the centre of the action, which has it’s many positives and a few negatives. LOVE the convenience of popping back to base whenever we need to (like for a rest and good lie down, no ‘bex’, though!), but the garbage trucks and drunken revellers (of which there were copious quantities) we could do without.

For those drama students out there who are fans of Commedia dell'arte...told you Arlecchino was a naughty boy!

Dante and...art

Street artist

A sneak peak at the Duomo

Arriving in Florence was the smoothest transition into a new place we have had. Got to the airport with no hassles, dumped the hire car, caught a cab to the B&B, relaxed, settled in, grabbed some lunch before wandering the streets and getting the lie of the land. Started at the Duomo (and, yes, we can see the resemblance to a church wearing pyjamas!), then moved on to the Piazza Vecchio (where the Medici’s set up their own fortress-like city hall) and Ponte Vecchio (where there are plenty of jewellers ready to fleece their customers).

Queues at Dumo

Outside the Duomo...

...Inside the Duomo

Spent a couple of hours on the first afternoon visiting the amazing collection in the Uffizzi Gallery. Unfortunately no photos allowed, so you’ll all just have to google it and see what they have there. It was really worth making a reservation time for that one, it made it so much easier – just turned up 15 min before allotted time, picked up tickets and went to our own special ‘fast entry’ door to get in. Didn’t need to deal with the 200 metre long line. It’s the way to go.

Uffizzi Gallery

Windows

Soulmates

Had dinner at a place called ‘Golden View Open Bar’ on the south side of the river that overlooked the Arno and had fun English-speaking waiters to make all us Anglos feel right at home. Had some deliciously spicy spaghetti with garlic and fresh tomatoes as well as a sinfully creamy vegetable risotto with saffron (you know – shared dishes and all that) and a light mixed salad with avocado. Hit the spot!

The Arno

The Arno with John

It is an absolute scream watching the very obvious cat and mouse game played between the street vendors and the police. These dudes set up their wares (knock off designer this and that) on sheets on the streets. Then, as soon as the police appear, word gets round and, quick as a flash, they bundle up their goods, sling them over their shoulders and take off down the street, only to reappear the second the police move on. This goes on all day and into the night. Bloody hard work really, but it would keep you fit.

Ponte Vecchio...

...And again, only closer (with little boats thrown in for prettiness factor)

On our second day we had a reservation at the Accademia which was not exactly value for money. We paid more than at the Uffizzi (which was chock-a-block full of amazing art) and really only got ‘David’ and some more religious art thrown in. Now, yes, Michelangelo’s ‘David’ is truly magnificent and wonderful, in beauty and sheer size, and the people watching him are fascinating, but it’s still a rip off when that is pretty much all that is on offer (plus some other unfinished Michelangelo’s). Especially when you can see the replica outside the Medici town hall where the original stood before his arm was broken off in a brawl. The irony is that there is another stunning sculpture in that Piazza, ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women’, three intricate human figures carved from one huge piece of marble, standing in all it’s original glory in the loggia and the copy of it is in the Bargello Gallery, and it looks like rubbish compared to the original. Usually the copies are quite decent, but this one is crap. Felt less ripped off at the Bargello – got to see some Donatello and early Michelangelo sculptures as well. Michelangelo’s bust of Brutus was quite mesmerising.

The fake David

The real deal

The Accademia

Rape of the Sabine Women in Piazza Vecchio

Donatello's 'David', looking more than a tad camp

Michelangelo's 'Brutus'

Florence is certainly a shopping town. From designer shops everywhere you look with their corresponding price tags down to the designer knock-offs on the grubby sheets in the street. There are, of course, the many options ‘in between’, but even they seem too expensive compared to every other town in Italy (and certainly New York), or maybe it’s just the terrible Aussie dollar against the Euro. Did enjoy the morning San Lorenzo market which, apart from the usual street vendor stalls selling the tourist stuff, had a large building geared for produce. Managed to cater for a very nice lunch and dinner shopping here for two (including wine) for under €30. Handy when wanting to spend money on other things (like exorbitant museum prices!).

Lovely cafe NOT on a main tourist drag

View of bicycle from our window

Overall, ‘Being fleeced in Florence’ seems to be the aim of the city (or, as John insists with more alliteration – ‘Being fleeced fast and furiously in Florence’!). But it is a lovely city to visit (AND it’s flat!).

The Arno at twilight...

...And at dusk