Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 

By road from Bologna to Lucca then a
sunny afternoon to explore on foot
Thursday, 16th May 2019
 
It was time to leave Bologna, after three days of sensory overload. We were looking forward to having a few days of pure relaxation in Lucca, after the pace and intensity of our experiences in the Emilia Romagna region. We didn't have a guide today, but we already knew that we would be driven to Lucca by Fabio and we were very happy about that. He was only due to arrive at our hotel at 10:00am, which gave us another opportunity to have a last walk around Bologna in the warm sunshine.
 
Our last breakfast in a lovely room, just a pity the atmosphere felt so impersonal.
 
Our hotel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After an uneventful trip, Fabio dropped us off right outside our hotel in Lucca, where we were greeted by the staff. It was only 12 noon and still too early to have our room, so we set off to explore the town.    

 
 
The city map proved to be invaluable during our stay.
The circled "H" is where we were staying.
 
Many of the photos taken in Lucca are a bit random. Our aim was to potter and not acquire knowledge!
 




A statue of Giacomo Puccini, outside the house of his birth.





 
Our first meal in Lucca; a light lunch followed by gelato... of course! The restaurant was right next to the hotel and the staff were lovely. We were to return there a few times during our stay.
 
A free limoncello for Geoff
 
It was a beautifully sunny aftenoon. The weather forecast for tomorrow didn't look as fine as today, so we decided to try and see everything we could, in case it wasn't possible tomorrow.
 
San Michele in Foro
 
 
 
 
Torre delle Ore (clock tower)
 
One of those random photos!
 
Santa Maria Forisportam, also called Santa Maria Bianca
 
Not sure what these images were meant to represent, but there were many examples around the city.
 
The Torre Guinigi is a typical example of local Romanesque-Gothic architecture. It is 45 metres high with a total of 232 steps to reach the top. Watch this space, because Bruce said he was going to attempt it!
 
 
Piazza dell'Anfiteatro
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Church of San Giusto
 
St Martin's Cathedral (from the back)
 
St Martin's Cathedral
 
 
 
Pre-dinner drinks at a cafe/bar on Piazza San Michele
 
We had dinner at a restaurant on the recommended list.
We were lucky to get a table at short notice and the portions were huge!
 
 
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble