April 22nd, 2016…Happy Birthday to our Moms!
Our lovely apartment in Lucca faced the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro Romano where the ancient Roman amphitheater once stood. Since it was the off-season, the rates were surprisingly reasonable for the amount of space and location. We had our own private bathroom (not always included) and kitchen. We would highly recommend it. It was wonderful to wake up here and start a new day!
On Wednesday, we decided to explore Lucca. After eating breakfast in our apartment, we headed out on foot to find a bicycle rental shop. Marco, the owner of the B&B our apartment was connected to, recommended a specific bike shop with smaller bikes for our boys. On our way, we stopped at the church of San Frediano to look inside.
One of the wonderful features of Lucca is it’s ramparts. Built in the 16th and 17th centuries, they enclose the charming fortress town. On top of the stone walls is a two and half mile park called The Passeggiata delle Mura. The park is made up of a wide path enjoyed by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. Lawns, playgrounds and gardens are also scattered about. Its bellissimo! After reading about this in our guide books, it was at the top of our list of things to experience with the boys. It turned out to be a highlight of our trip for all of us!
Though the path is wide with borders of grass and trees, there are no fences or guardrails. A good detail to know on the front end and include in the safety talk, especially with two excited boys. Needless to say, we kept a watchful eye for the edge. I may have still ended up with a new grey hair or two!
After completing a loop, we rented a bicycle cart where Mom and Dad peddled and the boys got to enjoy the ride. It seemed like a good idea on the front end but we quickly realized that the bikes were less work. When we finished our second loop, our legs were EXHAUSTED and our tummies were rumbling!
We walked down the Via del Fosso, a street divided down the middle by an open waterway. The boys were starting to unravel from hunger but we managed to distract them by throwing flowers into the canal to follow. Thankfully, we found a little café for lunch and one of the many fountains in Lucca where you can fill up your water bottle.
Our next adventure was climbing up the Torre Guinigi (because we forgot for a moment the workout our legs had on the bicycles). We spotted the tower from a distance. Its easy to distinguish due to a grove of ilex trees that have gown on the top. Its one of the city’s most curious sights. The view from the top is magnificent!
In this next picture, E is pointing to the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro Romano, the oval shape out in the distance, where our apartment is.
When we got to the bottom, a school group was buying their tickets to make the climb up. We were so glad to be exiting the building! After relaxing a bit in our apartment, we walked out to the Piazza for dinner followed by some gelato…because when you are in Italy, gelato is a must!
As the sun made it’s slow descent, the boys played in the Piazza San Michele chasing pigeons and each other. How they still had energy was beyond us!
Ciao!
