Italy - Sharing is Caring 2025-06-07

This headline cracked me up; the Italians weren't playing around and had some unsavory things to say about the current White House occupants -  

Dave, Kim and I met in the morning for an excursion to Lucca. This would be their longest train ride to do a day trip. It's about an hour and a half. JR and I loved Lucca when we went and wanted to share the magic. JR needed a down day, so he stayed in Firenze and rest, red and created art.

We arrived on Market day, so there were numerous tents offering yummy treats and they are not shy about 'making' you try some. We had a great time sampling cheese and meats and sweet treats.

We stopped at Chiesa di San Giusto who participated in the Church Jubilee this year. As always, churches are a great place to see history and some very lovely pieces of art.

We walked our way through town to Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, which was built over the second century amphitheater ruins. It retained it's oval shape and is truly beautiful. We decided to stop here for lunch.

    

Before lunch, as we were wandering the streets, we came upon an art exhibit - Beyond Photography, A Journey into the Heart of Humanity by Stefano Lotumolo that used Chiesa di San Cristoforo as it's backdrop. A very  moving exhibition about the human condition, culture and societal norms. A few of my favorites are captured below.

At some point in the day, we stumbled upon a group of singers who were having lunch and entertaining the crowds.  They were fantastic and it was just so...Italian

Lucca is a walled city and as we mentioned in an earlier post, the top of the berm-like walls are for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The views inside the walls is spectacular. What we learned was that apparently they do let groups - we're assuming by permit - ride their Harley Davidson's in celebration of well, whatever they celebrate. It was stunning to see and hear almost/over 100 motorcycles parade in front of the museum on the wall, about the wall. Later, we caught  up to them at the ice cream/snack shop.

In order to reach the wall, there are several entrances. We decided to explore this one. It took us outside the wall, but not 'up' the wall, so we retraced our steps to the path next to it which gave us access.

And of course, street art

A lovely time was had by all.  The train ride back was a welcome rest whereafter we went to our respective homes, had a lay down and shower, and then met back up again - all 4 of us - for a chinese dinner and some gelato. What a great day.