Today we picked up the car (from EuroCar) that we will be using for the next three weeks in Tuscany. We lucked out. "Senor Lockett, we would like to upgrade you for free. Would that be alright?" Of course we had to pause and give great thought to our answer. Hah! Hah! ....and we drove away in a brand new Series 200 Mercedes. So sad!
We headed north to Lucca and at this point, negotiating our way through the tiny one-way Pisa streets to find Highway S1, we said a silent thank you to our son, Matthew, who at Christmas gave his father the Italy card for his GPS. Mille gracias, Matthew. You saved our marriage.....and perhaps my very life!!!!!
Once in the countryside, the drive to Lucca was stunning. Lucca is the only town in Italy that has retained its ancient walls and ramparts. The walk around the ramparts is 2.5 miles of tree-lined walkways with views into the town below (its Roman amphitheatre and cathedral) and to the mountains in the north. Around 1:00 p.m. we descended to Via Fillungo, the main drag. Incredible shops are housed in century-old storefronts. The tiny, narrow cobblestoned street is only wide enough to allow the passage of a small car. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at a little trattoria in one of the piazzas. Here I go again - I LOVE this. You have to hear my lunch - tortino di porri su fonduta di gorgonzola dolce e pepe rosa (leek pie on melted sweet gorgonzola cheese and rose pepper). It even sounds delicious without knowing what the words translate to. Jim enjoyed a fettucine with porcini mushrooms and gerebrilelia (an Italian herb, apparently) which his smiles and m-m-m-m-m's indicated was also outstanding. I promise that we are actually losing weight here. We walk miles and climb, climb, climb every day. The portions we are eating are not Americanized! And the food is so fresh!
Aaaaaach! was my first word on our trip home. For anyone who knows what kind of passenger I am, you know that Jim was ready to throw me out of the car at this juncture. We weren't really paying attention to the GPS, thinking that we would be able to retrace our route into Pisa. Easy right? Well, we ended up on the autostrada, heading in the direction of Genoa. Oh well, who doesn't want to make a short visit to the sea?!?! Thanks again to the GPS, we eventually maneuvered our way back into Pisa and to our hotel. Yahoo!
We did a bit of window shopping (wine stores, olive oil stores, and yes, clothing.)We are now sitting on a treed terrace at the rear of our hotel contemplating our navels....and our trip tomorrow to Volterra.
Yahoo! I am now caught up with my blog!
Arriverderci!
We are drooling Daf!!
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