Italy - Day 9

Today was another unscheduled day for the most part, so most of us decided to visit the medieval town of Lucca, about 90 minutes from Lerici. The group leader arranged to hire a mini-bus to take us there instead of taking public transit like trains. 

Amy, Sue, Ray and I struck off on our own and stuck together for the day. After all the decisions I made yesterday, it was nice to just wander and 'chill'.

Lucca is surrounded by an old wall which is wide enough for walking and biking. People made good use of bicycles throughout the town and there were some really cool ones, almost as cool as mine!

We walked the wall for a bit then got off to explore. We had a map and Jane had highlighted a route and the must-sees along the way. There are many stunning buildings and quite a few churches. 

A particularly interesting area was a Roman amphitheater at one time. It was a large round area with yellow buildings all around. Some were now restaurants, others, stores, and others maybe living quarters? I'm not sure. 

We found a wonderful restaurant in the area and enjoyed, firstly a Diet Coke, and secondly, a deliciously fresh salad. It was a hot day and we were in the shade with a bit of a breeze blowing - heaven!

We meandered from sight to sight stopping to photograph, doorways, windows, dogs in bicycle baskets and everything that interested us.

I was surprised that some of the businesses we passed were very high-end shops selling clothing, shoes, eyewear, kitchenware and sweets. 

We walked in the shade where we could to get some relief from the heat. The streets were quite narrow, yet a certain amount of traffic was allowed to drive throughout the old town and they went rather fast I thought. 

One highlight was the large Duomo di San Martino Cathedral.

The outside of the building was magnificent. I wasn't sure my friends wanted to go in but Ray paid for all of us (3 Euros each) and I'm so glad we went in as the interior was truly beautiful!

There many different areas - gorgeous stained glass windows creating beautiful light on the floor, an incredible pipe organ, amazing ceilings, and a special tiled mural except it was on the floor, so that's not a mural now, is it.

It was a relaxing day wandering at an easy pace, and of course we had to have our mid-afternoon gelato. Gelatos, I am really going to miss you!

After that we made our way to the front gate, stopping at a wonderful little ceramic shop where we each bought a little something. 

Our driver arrived right at 4:30 and most of the ride back was uneventful except when she was cut off in traffic. I don't know what she was yelling at the other driver. It's probably a good thing we couldn't understand Italian, haha!

When we got back to Lerici it was time to pack up as we leave in the morning. It's been so nice staying in one spot for most of the trip and Lerici has been a wonderful, peaceful respite for the past 9 days. I am really going to miss the fabulous view out on our deck. 

Supper was at a different restaurant, next door to the one I ate at last night in the Plaza. The food was very good, but as usual, there were too many courses. Just when you think you are done, another huge platter comes along to tempt you. 

I'm so tired again. I have had no trouble getting to sleep on the whole trip.