Rollin' 'round Lucca (Saturday 10th August 2013)

The day started listening to the last quarter of the Geelong v Port game and the first quarter of the Carlton v Dogs game via the AFL Android app on Kerry's Samsung. For some reason I can only get audio when I select SEN, which is OK 'cos I like Hungry Bartlett's calling style. Things weren't looking good by quarter time in the Carlton game so we got up and had breakfast. I'm happy to say that the day improved even if my spot checks during the morning let me know that the game was not improving at all.

The B&B provides free and reliable bicycles which we took advantage of for the day. They could have done with some TLC, especially the brakes which were effective but screeched like a banshee every time they were applied. No bell required here! We cycled to the city wall at Porta Sant' Anna, about 500m away and rode up onto the wall. This is no ordinary wall. I had visions of swerving around other riders and walkers on a stone wall just a few metres wide. The wall in a high earthen wall, supported by brick on the invaders side. Onthe top of the wall is a sealed bicycle/walking path as wide as your average Melbourne suburban street. Mature plane trees planted every 5m or so line both sides of the path for the entire 4km perimeter as well as lawn areas, park benches and even a cafe and a museum. The wall is supported by about 15 defensive ramparts.

We took the first bicycle ramp to the top of the wall and rode off in an anti-clockwise direction. It was mid-morning and the wall was busy with walkers, runners, cyclists, young children in prams and old folk strolling along with friends or sitting on the numerous park benches under shady trees chatting. The canine population of Lucca was out for the morning walking, running or being carried by their masters. The top of the wall afforded excellent views of the old city within, the newer city outside, the nearby hills and the distant mountains. Lucca is surrounded bu hills and mountains.

We were in no rush so we took the opportunity for a leisurely ride, visiting many park benches on our way around. Kerry very quickly became comfortable with the bicycle. After one lap we took the ramp back to the old city streets in search of a cafe for refreshments. We didn't have a real plan after that, but we had a map with the highlights of the city, er, highlighted  Lucca is a very easy city to cycle around. Indeed there is no better way. I don't know what it's area is but suffice to say that it is quite large so to walk from one end to the other would take a good 15-20 minutes. Riding, even at the pace we go (which is barely above walking pace) is such an efficient use of one's time, saves the legs and creates a breeze on a hot day. Of course we ignored all traffic signs and just rode where we wanted to.

Kerry had spied a market just inside the city walls when we were doing our lap so we went to find it. Alas, by the time we did it was just closing up. Nevermind! We visited a number of churches and cathedral dotted around the city. Some small, some grand in size but none with their “Sunday best” on. But worth a stop nevertheless. Towards the centre of the city there are a few streets and lanes with very fashionable boutiques which all trade late into the night.

We consulted the map which had a brief description of nine or so highlights and a suggested itinerary for seeing them. Using our scatter-gun approach we chose a couple and then worked out how to get there which was half the fun. We found the Museum presenting the story of Italian emigration. I thought this might be good. It was free which was good because it fell well short of my expectation. Apparently no Italians ever came to Australia bar a handful of cane cutters back in the 19^th century. Kerry's pick was the much better. She chose the Guinigi Torre, an ancient tower in the middle of town. We paid the nominal four euros and started the climb. Broad cement steps, soon gave way to metal stairs which near the top transformed into narrow steps barely wide enough for a one person. But what a view from the top! 360 degrees of uninterrupted views across the orange rooftops of Lucca. Each church has a quite unique square tower off to one side. Counted sixteen in a quick glance. These tower really are strong architectural feature of Lucca. Amazingly the top of the tower is adorned with a number of trees, somewhat stunted but surviving in 800mm high “garden beds” of heavily compacted soil.

We descended from the tower and rode to the circular piazza we had affectionately named the MCG.

This was where we ate dinner last night. This time we took the time to stroll around the shops on its perimeter and take some photographs. This part of Italy is home to the Pinocchio story so Kerry couldn't resist buying a magnet to add to our collection. I like this one seen in a shop window we passed.

We continued our exploration of the lane-ways, stopping for a gelati down one of them.

I reckon there were only a handful of lanes and streets and piazzas that we crossed or rode down more than once in the day. The rest were all new. A great town for the inquisitive. My trout fishing persona came to the fore with numerous utterances of “we'll just ride down here to see what's around the corner”.

Down one corner was the Piazza San Martino and adjacent to that was the small church of San Giuseppe. Lucca is the birth-place and home of Giacomo Puccini and the natives just adore him here. Every night of the year a recital of some of Puccini's works is held in the church. We can recognise a rare opportunity when one presents itself, so bought two tickets for the hour long performance that started at 7:15pm. The church held only 100 or seats which were mostly full. At the front of the church stood a grand piano. The pianoforte, Diego Fiorini entered sat and was followed in by the Tenor, Nicola Mugnaini (look him up on YouTube). He sang an introductory piece, left the stage and the Soprano Fabiola Formiga followed. The two alternated singing songs from the operas of Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Wagner, Dvorak, and Leoncavallo including Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Tosca, La Traviata and Aida. Kerry had grabbed front row seats. Having an uninterrupted view of the performance from just a few metres away for the artists made the experience very personal. The power, the grace and the control in the voices were something to behold. We were also treated to two solo performances by the pianoforte and two duets by the Mugnaini and Formiga. They sang pieces from La Traviata and Tosca with an air of romantic comedy about them, each playing out their part to perfection. A standing ovation (of which, I must say, I was the first to stand) ended what was an hour we will never forget.

We jumped on our bikes and rode over to the 'G for dinner. Once again it was a lovely meal. Our final ride was back home through the lighted streets and laneways of Lucca with a warm summer breeze to help us a long the way. A wonderful day!

42 – Rollin' 'round Lucca (Saturday 10^th August 2013)

The day started listening to the last quarter of the Geelong v Port game and the first quarter of the Carlton v Dogs game via the AFL Android app on Kerry's Samsung. For some reason I can only get audio when I select SEN, which is OK 'cos I like Hungry Bartlett's calling style. Things weren't looking good by quarter time in the Carlton game so we got up and had breakfast. I'm happy to say that the day improved even if my spot checks during the morning let me know that the game was not improving at all.

The B&B provides free bicycles which we took advantage of for the day. We cycled to the city wall at Porta Sant' Anna, about 500m away and rode up onto the wall. This is no ordinary wall. I had visions of swerving around other riders and walkers on a stone wall just a few metres wide. The wall in a high earthen wall, supported by brick on the invaders side. Onthe top of the wall is a sealed bicycle/walking path as wide as your average Melbourne suburban street. Mature plane trees planted every 5m or so line both sides of the path for the entire 4km perimeter as well as lawn areas, park benches and even a cafe and a museum. The wall is supported by about 15 defensive ramparts.

We took the first bicycle ramp to the top of the wall and rode off in an anti-clockwise direction. It was mid-morning and the wall was busy with walkers, runners, cyclists, young children in prams and old folk strolling along with friends or sitting on the numerous park benches under shady trees chatting. The canine population of Lucca was out for the morning walking, running or being carried by their masters. The top of the wall afforded excellent views of the old city within, the newer city outside, the nearby hills and the distant mountains. Lucca is surrounded bu hills and mountains.

We were in no rush so we took the opportunity for a leisurely, visiting many park benches on our way around. Kerry very quickly became comfortable with the bicycle. After one lap we took the ramp back to the old city streets in search of a cafe for refreshments. We didn't have a real plan after that, but we had a map with the highlights of the city, er, hightlighted. Lucca is a very easy city to cycle around. Indeed there is no better way. I don't know what it's area is but suffice to say that it is quite large so to walk from one end to the other would take a good 15-20 minutes. Riding, even at the pace we go (which is barely above walking pace) is such an efficient use of one's time, saves the legs and creates a breeze on a hot day. Of course we ignored all traffic signs and just rode where we wanted to.

Kerry had spied a market just inside the city walls when we were doing our lap so we went to find it. Alas, by the time we did it was just closing up. Nevermind! We visited a number of churches and cathedral dotted around the city. Some small, some grand in size but none with their “Sunday best” on. But worth a stop nevertheless. Towards the centre of the city there are a few streets and lanes with very fashionable boutiques which all trade late into the night.

We consulted the map which had a brief description of nine or so highlights and a suggested itinerary for seeing them. Using or scattergun approach we chose a couple and then worked out how to get there which was half the fun. We found the Museum presenting the story of Italian emigration. I thought this might be good. It was free which was good because it fell well short of my expectation. Apparently no Italians ever came to Australia bar a handful of cane cutters back in the 19^th century. Kerry's pick was the much better. She chose the Gigilio Torre, an ancient tower in the middle of town. We paid the nominal four euros and started the climb. Broad cement steps, soon gave way to metal stairs which near the top transformed into narrow steps barely wide enough for a one person. But what a view from the top! 360 degrees of uninterrupted views across the orange rooftops of Lucca. Each church has a quite unique square tower off to one side. Counted sixteen in a quick glance. These tower really are strong architectural feature of Lucca. Amazingly the top of the tower is adorned with a number of trees, somewhat stunted but surviving in 800mm high “garden beds” of heavily compacted soil.

We descended from the tower and rode to the circular piazza we had affectionately named the MCG. This was where we ate dinner last night. This time we took the time to stroll around the shops on its perimeter and take some photographs. This part of Italy is home to the Pinocchio story so Kerry couldn't resist buying a magnet to add to our collection. I like these two items seen in shop windows we passed.

We continued our exploration of the lane-ways, stopping for a gelati down one of them. I reckon there were only a handful of lanes and streets and piazzas that we crossed or rode down more than once in the day. The rest were all new. A great town for the inquisitive. My trout fishing persona came to the fore with numerous utterances of “we'll just ride down here to see what's around the corner”.

Down one corner was the Piazza San Martino and adjacent to that was the small church of San Giuseppe. Lucca is the birth-place and home of Giacomo Puccini and the natives just adore him here. Every night of the year a recital of some of Puccini's works is held in the church. We can recognise a rare opportunity when one presents itself, so bought two tickets for the hour long performance that started at 7:15pm. The church held only 100 or seats which were mostly full. At the front of the church stood a grand piano. The pianoforte, Diego Fiorini entered sat and was followed in by the Tenor, Nicola Mugnaini (look him up on YouTube). He sang an introductory piece, left the stage and the Soprano Fabiola Formiga followed. The two alternated singing songs from the operas of Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Wagner, Dvorak, and Leoncavallo including Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Tosca, La Traviata and Aida. Kerry had grabbed front row seats. Having an uninterrupted view of the performance from just a few metres away for the artists made the experience very personal. The power, the grace and the control in the voices were something to behold. We were also treated to two solo performances by the pianoforte and two duets by the Mugnaini and Formiga. They sang pieces from La Traviata and Tosca with an air of romantic comedy about them, each playing out their part to perfection. A standing ovation (of which, I must say, I was the first to stand) ended what was an hour we will never forget.

We jumped on our bikes and rode over to the 'G for dinner. Once again it was a lovely meal. Our final ride was back home through the lighted streets and laneways of Lucca with a warm summer breeze to help us a long the way. A wonderful day!