On the move again: Lucca here we come

After 3 nights in Florence we're off to another Tuscan town; Lucca.

But before we caught the train and sat quietly for a couple of hours, there was business to be done.

I headed off for the Central Market to buy some sustenance for the trip - crusty bread, pecorino cheese,  sliced meatloaf, sweet tomatoes, enormous peaches and a slab of fig slice. My basic italian and charades seemed to do the trick, fortunately.

The market was full of gourmet delights and some not so gourmet - tripe for example. Apparently the Florentians are very fond of tripe and there was a stall selling mounds of it. We had been served some on an antipasto platter last night and initially thought it was calamari, until we tasted it: nice lemony flavour but the texture wasn't so great! Maybe we'll leave it to those who appreciate it!

I had also hoped to do a last peruse of the leather stalls nearby but discovered, when I went to the Bancomat (ATM), that my 28 degrees credit card wasn't working, so that curtailed my spending!

To cut a long story short, Ewan had a rather terse conversation with someone in a call centre who said both of our cards were blocked but couldn't provide a reason. When Ewan asked to speak to his supervisor he told Ewan to use professional language and hung up! There's great customer service for you! Not to worry, we have other options and will follow up when the Australian office is open.

We caught the local train to Lucca which meant lots of stops and locals coming and going. Lucca has an old quarter which is contained within a huge wide 4 kilometre wall that you can cycle or walk around. We were booked in to stay in a B&B which is actually part of an ancient  wall within the larger town wall and used to be part of a Roman amphitheatre. All very cute until we had to haul our bags up ancient narrow terracotta stairs with rough rock walls: very narrow and very steep!

Our room looks out over cafes and trattorias in the lane below and is very close to the largest Piazza in Luca surrounded by stuccoed apartment buildings. We have access to a rustic kitchen and sitting room all very tastefully furnished. Great recommendation Jude!

We spent the afternoon wandering around the winding alleyways, checking out the tiny shops and cafes, and getting the lay of the land, which is basically flat. You will be relieved to learn that we did visit one Duomo, and this one had a real corpse lying in state behind glass still dressed in her nun's habit: a rather gory sight. I'm not sure poor Saint Zita would have chosen to be dessicated skin and bone on public display, but there she was, in all her glory.

As travelling is so tiring we have been getting into the habit of a siesta in the afternoon which is a great way to revive for further eating and drinking. so after participating in this ancient custom, we headed for the circular Piazza, which is 5 seconds walk from our front door, and spent some time choosing one of the any outdoor restaurants clustered around the edges. Check tablecloths, wrought iron chairs and large umbrellas are the common features. With delicious smells of wood fired pizza and pasta enticing us, we finally made a decision and ordered ravioli: provolone and sage for Ewan and chestnut and speck for me. We had decided to leave room for dessert and I had vanilla pannacotta with chocolate sauce whilst Ewan went for the healthy option of fruit salad which arrived covered with luscious cream.

This was quite restrained eating. The multiple courses that the Italians eat are amazing: we are definitely failures when it comes to keeping up . They usually start with antipasto or soup, followed by a bowl of pasta, and then the main meal arrives - meat and vegetables. Followed by dessert of course , and all washed down with vast amounts of wine. So far we've only managed two courses and that's more than sufficient.

HEALTH REPORT  (for those concerned) Ewan has been icing his foot and seems to be mobile without too much trouble although the stairs here might be the end of him!

He's snoring soundly and dreaming of the World Cycling Championships that are on in Tuscany in a week's time. We won't be in Lucca for their stage next week, but we have seen a few cyclists in lycra training already.
Ewan will just have to content himself with a sedate pedal around the top of the walls tomorrow, but I'm sure he's dreaming of greater things at the moment....

your travelling correspondent

Dianne