Lovely Lucca

My tired dogs have hoofed around all darn day, and I'm really to tired to make a coherent thought, but I have to try. I don't know where to begin so I'll just finagle a bunch of hodge podge sentences together for you.

A couple days ago we met this woman who was eating while we were. She's a food critic from Ontario and does walking food tours of Italy. She's one of those happy over induldgers that is just too darn interesting to NOT listen to. My dad and Erik slowly weened themselves out of the conversation, but my mom and I just sat listening happily. She said she spends summers here and drives a car around Tuscany eating and experiencing the land. We wasted no time in asking her for her recommendations. If we can do anything in Italy, it's eat.

She doesn't know that I've decided to let myself go. I know that's not suppose to happen for another 20 years but it just kind of feels like an uphill battle. I am in the land of food heaven and I'm swimming the wrong direction in the most blissfully sinful river. So I just have came to the conclusion 'to heck with it'. Really. Truly. Bring on the second helping of dessert. Actually, bring on the third. Yes I'll have two croissants and too many coffees. I'll also make room for pastas, pizzas, and anything else you put in my peripheral, because I DO NOT CARE. I am putting some notches in my belt and a napkin under my chin because this about as good as it gets. I'll save self control for the frozen section of Festival.

Anyway, she informs us that Lucca is fabulous. Lucca? This city hasn't even made the top five in a 3 day itinerary from over FOUR guide books. You're telling me Lucca? Are you sure you don't mean Siena or Pisa or San Gigonmino or the Chianti region?

Lucca it was. We went to Pisa under the assumption that it was just the tower and that's it. That's what I've been told by almost everyone who has a mouth, 'skip Pisa' 'just go to take the picture'. So we went, not really sure what to expect. It turns out we all loved it. The city is quaint and quiet, and at this time of year we had many a cobble stone to ourselves. Pisa is perked to epic proportions so it is an understanding disappointment for someone expecting a Florence. But (I'm getting better) with no expectations in mind, we all gave Pisa a thumbs up.

After leaving Pisa, we thought, Lucca? Well, why not. The day was young. So we took a train 30 minutes over to Lucca. The city has a perfectly preserved wall from mid-evil and also renissance times. You're able to walk on top of the wall, which is actually very very wide, the entire perimiter of the city.

We absolutely fell in love. It's Spain's Segovia. Love, love, love, love... LOVE. The entire path of the wall is lined with huge ancient trees that have more character than a Disney dwarf. Families were out, people were on bikes, the trees were in bloom, and they have the most beautiful awe inspiring flowering trees. It's a 'wow' again and again and again.

I was destined to love this city from the start. We walked the wall with all of the Italians, and because it's off the beaten path, we really did feel as though we were peering in on an entirely different world. We exited the wall into the town into an ANTIQUE FLEA MARKET. Sold. I'm sold. Where do I sign? Can I get an apartment now, please?? So we looked through all of the 100 year old jewelery and bed posts and furniture.. which of course made us hungry. We whaled up to a gelateria and ate ourselves (temporarily) solid. As we were walking through the cobble stone streets it started to sprinkle and we were instantly in Alice and Wonderland. You know the part where all of the flowers POOF into bloom in an instant? Imagine 100's of umbrellas. Literally every single Italian had their own umbrella, all different colors and shapes and patterns, POOFING instantaneously. The cobblestones vanished and as far as the eye could see were umbrellas.

The prospect of finding our way back through the umbrellas made us hungry once again so we stopped at a candy store and got one of their many flavors of licorice. Now I HATE black licorice, but I may add that I love pretty much every other fathomable flavor. Strawberry it was, and how sweet it is. We only made it a few cobblestones more when we saw an old school chocolate store. Is this a joke?? I'm in a dream right? Well of course my dad, sweettooth Mcgee, goes in and comes out with 4 of the richest chocolate/peanut/hazelnut chunks I've ever had. (I'm expecting to explode any minute).

The whole day was topped off with a grand exit to the train station on their main boulevard with flowering trees as far as the eye could see. It hurt my heart to leave this city. This city I never existed before a chatty food critic cornered me in the early morning hours. So I'm in love. With Lucca. Unfortunately I left my upkeep and willpower in the bottom of my first dish of Florencian gelato, so it doesn't look like I'll stand a chance.