Blake and Deborah in Europe: Lucca and Pisa

On Wednesday we said our goodbyes to our Umbrian host Jan and her dogs, cats, and chickens. We had a few uncommitted days, the first two of which we spent in the Tuscan cities of Lucca and Pisa. The weather was overcast and occasionally even a bit drizzly, but we still enjoyed both places.

Lucca is Europe's leading producer of toilet paper and Kleenex. This is not why we chose to visit. In fact, Lucca is a charming and well-kept small city with a historic center completely surrounded by a fortified Renaissance wall, 2.5 miles long, the top of which makes a great circuit for walking and bicycling. Inside the walls is very pedestrian and bike friendly as well. We didn't have time to do much more than walk around, visit a few piazzas and poke our heads into a couple of churches, including the San Martino Cathedral and the Church of San Frediano, whom we affectionately refer to as St. Fred. We came away from Lucca hoping to return for a longer stay, preferably at a warmer time of year.

Pisa is only a 30 minute train ride from Lucca. Though not as tidy as Lucca, it does of course have its famous leaning tower along with the duomo, baptistry, and the other renaissance structures sprinkled about the so-called Field of Miracles. The tower started leaning not long after construction began in the 12^th century, and some of the upper stories were actually titled in the opposite direction of the lean to compensate during its on-again/off-again construction over a period of 200 years. It was not so long ago that the tower underwent a major stabilization effort – one which was extensive enough to ensure the tower wouldn't topple over, but not so much that it would correct the lean and destroy its touristic potential. By the way, it's interesting to see that all the other buildings in the complex, which sit on the same unstable soil, lean a bit also.

Other highlights of Pisa were an amazing meal of grilled squid (no really) and our surprisingly deluxe hotel room with its heated bathroom and tub in which Deborah was more than happy to luxuriate at great length.