One month prior to our trip, I realized I really wanted to stay the night in Lucca. (Previously we had just planned a day-trip to this Tuscan medieval walled-city.) My traveling companion was a real trouper and agreed to the "last-minute" change to our itinerary. During our entire trip, we traveled by train successfully to all our destinations including Lucca. We easily walked from the train station, crossed the street, and entered the city beyond the wall.
We secured incredibly reasonable accommodations near the famous Piazza Anfiteatro. It took my breath away the first time I saw this piazza because it's so unique--round! You must keep turning and turning and turning to fully see and enjoy the whole courtyard. It is lined with businesses and restaurants with both indoor and outdoor seating. We enjoyed our only Lucca breakfast here the next morning as we watched people come and go...photographing this special place.
We selected a bed and breakfast-- Dimora Del Guelfi --http://www.dimoradeiguelfi.com/ (just outside Piazza Anfiteatro) for about 95 euros or $125 U.S. without breakfast. Since we only had one night in this quaint little town, we wanted to visit local restaurants and enjoy Lucca's cuisine. For the price, we really weren't expecting that much. So we were pleasantly surprised to find a tastefully decorated--but small--room with exposed wood ceiling beams and hand-painted art on the walls of the room. (Hand-painted NOT on canvas--but on the actual walls of the room.) The bathroom was incredibly clean and appeared freshly updated with Italian tile. This was one of the smaller rooms we stayed in, but we were in the room only to sleep so we didn't mind the close quarters. Had we been able to stay longer, a larger room may have been preferred. And the following morning, the owners graciously stored our luggage so we could explore Lucca...which allowed us to pick up our bags only when we were ready to leave.
Lucca is known for many things...the Piazza Anfiteatro, bicycles, tons of quality museums, churches, walled-walkway around the city and the Guinigi Tower where olive trees are growing out of the roof. During my visit to Lucca in November, I did not have time to trek to the top, but we had decided to make time to climb the 230 steps to the top of the tower on this visit.
From the top of this tower, you can see that Lucca has many impressive towers scattered throughout the walled-city. We lingered awhile to take pictures and enjoy the view before descending. Check out website for more information on the Guinigi Tower:
It was definitely worth a one-night stay in Lucca to experience the city in the evening: incredibly quiet. Even though the city closed down early, we were able to find a dessert shop with some live music which we enjoyed for about an hour. Strolling through the town at night allowed us to window-shop on the peaceful streets. The next day, we found Lucca energized with an invasion of students, tourists, vendors, and residents, all hurrying to get from here to there. We shopped, ate, walked a portion of the wall, drank cappuccinos, and explored the various sites in the city. It was hard to leave....and I long to go back to Lucca and spend more time.
No comments:
Post a Comment