Luca, Tuscany Italy

Lucca, Lucca, Lucca. I loved it there. The walking pace was faster than my liking once again. How do you get a chance to really shoot if you have to walk fast to keep up? Anyway, Lucca was mostly flat once you got into the town, through the walls that protect the little city.

entrance to the moat

ancient moat, still standing

Luca is surrounded by an ancient moat that has been transformed into a huge park surrounding the town. The beautiful walls are still standing. Our tour guide handed out walkie talkies and guided us from the beautiful moat to the town. She told us "no cars permitted in Lucca" but there were some-shop owners, loading and emptying cars. People were on bicycles everywhere, you had to be careful to not walk in their way. Scooters beep, cyclists veer. It wasn't too busy though.

another part of the moat

The reason I loved Luca so much is because my favorite opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born there. He is paid homage, there is a big statue in the square. Puccini composed my favorite opera Madama Butterfly. I've seen many movies that use arias from this opera and one that comes to mind is Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.

looking down into Lucca

the entrance to Lucca

We walked 11,000 steps according to my fitbit for that day. And the walking is doable, but there are cobblestone roads to walk on, I imagine it to be a jarring experience if you are in a wheelchair or stroller.

a tree growing out of a window

sweet hubby photographing

the curved buildings of the Piazza Anfiteatro

Piazza Anfiteatro

one of my favorite shots of the day

Luca was full of beauty and I tried to capture as much as I could. Once again, I'm not going to put every photo in this blog, but please check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/w...s/72157630503048778/

another of my favorites of the day

beautiful ancientness

baskets for sale at market

Again, thanks for coming on. Next stop is lunch at a private villa.