Last week we were tired from the brutal pace of life here, so we took a happily anticipated holiday in Lucca -- truly, it was a birthday celebration for my mother (happy birthday!), which meant that we enjoyed seeing my parents, my aunt & uncle, and my dad's cousins. We were a multinational group, coming from Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the US -- what a wonderful excuse for a mini-reunion!
We had the chance to stay in a house in the outskirts of town that was built as a "country" house in the 1700s and then later more than doubled in size in the 1800s. It was a rambling structure, with all sorts of surprising nooks and crannies. The grounds were marvelous, including a pool, outdoor terrace area (where we spent much of our time), and some delicious (ripe!) muscatel grapes -- of which we availed ourselves freely.
Apart from lolling in the garden, we took several day trips; I found the wool shop in Lucca (imagine that!), we visited San Gimignano, Cinque Terre, and on the way home, even spent several hours in Siena.
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| Lunch in Lucca -- birthday girl in foreground |
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| This is a darling oval piazza that was at one time a Roman amphitheater |
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| San Gimignano |
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| View from La Rocca at San Gimignano |
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| From La Rocca |
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| View from La Rocca |
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| Ambience at La Rocca was provided by this musician |
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| The olive leaves are silver now |
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| View from La Grande Torre |
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| The warning bell in times of danger |
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| This courtyard was beautifully frescoed |
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| Aren't the curved bricks wonderful? |
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| Cinque Terre |
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| There are so many "climby" places! |
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| I loved the bridge |
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| The terracing is stunning |
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| The view of the sea's not so bad, either |
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| I was enchanted by the undulations of the rock faces |
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| The water is incredibly translucent |
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| It must be even more stunning at sunset! |
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| But it's not exactly ugly during the day... |
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| There are lizards everywhere |
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| Eleanor and Florence telling me to hurry up because the sun was in their eyes! |
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| It was a real gift to see this school of fish swimming through! |
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| Italy's answer to the abandoned cars & kudzu of Georgia! |
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| This is some sort of tractor on rails to access the terraces. |
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| I feel terrible! I didn't get a single picture of all of us at the house! Consolation prize: a picture of Dickie. |
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