It so happened that our daughter, Helen, was visiting Tuscany for a few days with her husband, Joe and our granddaughter, Maddie. They were staying in Lucca, the home town of Joe’s late father, Romano. We decided to make a detour to spend a day or two with them.
We stayed in a large car park about ten minutes walk from Lucca’s historic city centre. The old city was surrounded by well-preserved medieval walls on top of which was a broad tree-lined pathway 4 Km long that formed a loop around the city, giving panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
We entered the city through a pedestrian opening in the walls adjacent to one of the towers. When it was time to leave we were able to head for “our tower” and find the appropriate exit to put us in the right direction for our car park.
The Riccis were staying inside the city where it was mainly pedestrianised and we were able to wander through a maze of narrow lanes opening onto piazzas with cafés, boutiques and restaurants. We were enjoying an aperitivo in the main square as crowds were gathering to watch the passage of the Olympic torch for the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
