Village Italy with Rick Steves

Lucca
Renaissance Walls
Biking
Running
Walking
Climbing
Towers
Beautiful Doors
You earn your gelato in
Lucca!
On our way to Lucca we drove through scenic Tuscany with a stop in Tricia's favorite hill town of Volterra where we visited an alabaster studio and had free time to explore.

Just Me


Franco, Alabaster Craftsman
Amphitheater Ruins

Overlooking Ruins

Front Doors of Volterra
Volterra


View From the Tower
of a Tower.

Bubbles Are Timeless

Dinner Inside the Amphitheater

Then it was on to Lucca
where we were greeted
with prosecco and snacks
at our hotel, Hotel La Luna.
We had the evening free
to explore so a walk on the
Renaissance wall
around the village was in order.
Our local guide met us the next morning
to share her stories of Lucca.
What We Did...
Both evenings in Lucca we walked along the wall with our gelatos. It is where many of the residents can be found exercising as well. We climbed Torre delle Ore and did some shopping- probably the best place for shopping on this trip. The old amphitheater has been "repurposed" as a public square, with apartments in the old walls and many shops around the base. We ate one meal inside the amphitheater and enjoyed the lively dinner-time atmosphere there.
A trip from Lucca took us to an cooperative Olive Oil Mill where we learned the method of tasting olive oil. We had lovely lunch here featuring their olive oil!





The award for Best Village Doors goes to Lucca!






Lucca is where I
discovered the
Limoncello Spritz
-
2 oz. limoncello
-
4 oz. Prosecco
-
2 oz. soda water