A whirlwind tour of Lucca

Staying in Lucca for three nights allowed us the freedom of choosing our own destinations, because Lucca is central to quite a few places, including the Italian beaches of Viareggio just to the north and 'that building' in Pisa just to the south.

Our apartment rental this time included access to two fixie city bikes, which we used to cycle in to the centre of Lucca. Lucca is one of the few cities left in Europe with its original fortified walls still left intact, so you have to go either through a hole built in the wall, or under it in a tunnel to get in. Dad wanted to ride all around the centre, but I instead opted to walk around - its much easier to see and take nice photos when you're not worrying about being run over.

Here's my Flickr set for Lucca:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157645754246961/

Our plan was basically non-existent - dad wanted to visit a few of the major cathedrals and the amphitheatre, but the rest was undecided. I had found that there is a particular photo that is taken of a tower in Lucca, what I am told is the only one in the world, that has trees growing on the top of it. I eventually found out from a very helpful information person that there was a clock tower from which I could take said photo.

While I eventually got the photo, the trip up the clock tower itself was fascinating, There's a couple of observation decks at the top of the clock tower, but you have to walk up some really rickety old stairs that literally feel like they could give way at any second, past some old parts of the tower, including pulley components and old bells. Plus I got discounted entry because I said I was a student. Bargain!:

 The quintessential photo of Lucca, plus a couple of other nice ones from the top

After I got back down, we tried to walk to where I thought I had found another good vantage point - it turned out to be a dud - the only good photos were from the houses just within the walled borders. So we headed back to where I had parked my bike and did a lap around the top of the wall (which has a path all the way around) and a lap around the outside of the wall. In the late afternoon sun, Lucca and its wall looked really nice:

Lucca in the afternoon sun

We then rode back to the apartment and made ourselves some dinner and a plan to visit Pisa in the morning. Should be fun!