Running With Jack

Thursday, October 14, 2006 – Lucca and Pisa

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel at 7:30 a.m. and the bus picked our group up at 8:30 for an excursion to Lucca and Pisa. Lucca is about 40 minutes southeast of Cinquale. Along the way we had a nice view of the lake “Lage di Massaciuccoli”. As you can visualize from the picture below this is a really beautiful area.

Lucca, the city of Ilaria, the unfortunate bride. The historical center of the city is enclosed by a massive wall.

Some of the highlights of the city include the St. Martin Cathedral, St. Michael (San Michele) Church and the St. Frediano Church. There is also a Roman amphitheatre which holds 10,000 spectators and is still used for outdoor shows.

We walked through the old historic section of the town, with its narrow streets and small shops. We enjoyed watching people roam the market at the Piazza S. Michele (St. Michael Plaza) as we had a cup of coffee at a small café.

We walked back to the bus along the walkway on top of the wall. The approx. three kilometer long walkway is very popular among the local runners, I only regretted not having my running shoes, as dozens of runners passed us as we made our way along the wall.

After regrouping at the bus, our travel group continued on to Pisa, about 20 minutes west of Lucca. Pisa is situated on the banks of the river Arno, and has been one of the important sea ports in the history of the area. Of course Pisa is best known for its “Leaning Tower”, the bell tower of the Cathedral the Baptistery located in Miracles Square.

The part of Pisa that we saw is a “typical” tourist area like many throughout the world. You are met at every corner by people try to sell you something, the streets are full of people regardless of the weather, and you always have to walk around with one hand on your wallet. After taking a few pictures and roaming the square around the cathedral we again retreated to a street café for lunch as the rain intensified.

After awhile the rain let up and we made our way back to the bus and the trip back to the hotel. As dinner at the hotel was included in our travel package we enjoyed a three course meal of pasta, meat with potatoes, and dessert. Of course a meal is not complete in Italy without fresh bread and olive oil on the table.