Tuscany, Hoh!

Johnny had warned us that our stretch of good weather was in danger, with rain forecast for the next day.  As we all gathered after breakfast and started the reverse process of walking over the bridges and taking the monorail back over to meet our bus on the mainland, the skies were gray and very heavy.  From the monorail, I saw an electronic sign over the highway, which warned of a "weather emergency."  Once on the bus, we learned a couple pieces of interesting information. First was that a woman from the other Gate1 tour staying at our hotel, which had left right after us, had herself taking a bad fall one on of the bridges and actually broke her shoulder.  Evidently she fell higher up on one of the bridges, and fell quite a distance, necessitating an ER visit and subsequent surgery.  As Johnny had told us the previous day, tourists fall each and every day in Venice, and she was not the exception.  We were just happy, now in hindsight, that K's fall had not been worse.  Also on the bus we heard that a particularly nasty storm was moving north.  It hit Rome the night prior, causing extensive flooding, and a lightning strike caused severe damage to the Pantheon.  Johnny recounted how climate change has led to very intense and unpredictable storms, which would have been unthinkable even five years ago.  Though rain had yet to fall, the skies into which we were driving were black as night.  We watched as lightning flashed ahead, almost like a light show.  The clouds lowered and we could see that we were essentially driving into a black fog, and eventually the skies opened up and we were in the deluge.  The bus slowed to about 5 miles an hour and it was impossible to see anything but the faint light from taillights ahead of us.  Trucks and cars were beginning to pull onto the shoulder to wait out the storm, and we literally crawled along.  

Driving Into the Maelstrom After Departing Venice

We were on our way to the small spa city of Montecatini, where we'd base for the next four nights.  It is west of Florence, in the heart of Tuscany.  Along the way, we were to stop in the small medieval town of Lucca, which Johnny had introduced as his "favorite place in Italy."  With that kind of lead-up, we were anxious to see it.  While we drove through the heaviest of the rain, it was still very gloomy.  Distant glimpses of blue sky had our spirits high, and for a while we thought our collective prayers had staved off more rain.  We approached the city a short while after noon, still hopeful of beating the rain, but then the skies opened up again.  It was raining buckets when our bus finally pulled up outside the city walls.  The entire downtown area is pedestrian only, and we were to walk through the gates and have some free time before meeting our local tour guide at 2:00pm.  As we'd been forewarned, most of us had our raingear ready.   K and I both had rain jackets, though we only had one umbrella between us (at this point).  Seeing no way around it, we geared up as best we could and went out into the heavy downpour.  During our 5-10 minute walk to the main city square, the rain we relentless.  We were openly talking about how miserable (and useless) a city tour would be in such conditions.  Around 12:30pm, Johnny deposited us in the center of town, provided us some general guidance, and told us to reconvene at 2:00pm.  As if on queue, the rain let up.  It is a small place, and many of the restaurants in the central area were already full of people who had sought refuge from the rain.  We ambled off on our own, looking for something out of the way.  It appeared for a while that we had miscalculated, but then I saw a sign for a restaurant.  We went down one narrow alley, which led to an even narrower alley, but then we spilled out onto a small square, in the center of which sat a small restaurant.  It had large umbrellas, so rather than bother to look at the menu, we simply asked for a table for two, and were promptly seated.  The rain had stopped, and only then did I notice that this tiny place had a Michelin shield on the outer wall.  We had an absolutely outstanding lunch, with even better wine, and as we ate, the sun actually came out.  By the time we reconvened at 2:00pm, we had large patches of blue sky.  

Who Doesn't Enjoy Wine With Lunch?

Fresh Tuna Medallions

Our local guide was an absolute hoot, and could have easily been on the tail end of a 20-espresso lunch.  He was absolutely shot out of a canon, and could not wait to tell us all about the fascinating history of Lucca.  The highlights for me are that it is the only city in Italy which has all of its original fortification walls in place.  I was embarrassed to say but I did not realize that Italy only became an united nation in 1861.  Before then, it was a series of smaller kingdoms, only united under the first Italian king, Victor Emanuel II (still not sure how the FIRST king is name Emmanuel the second...but I digress).  By the way, his wife -- the first queen of Italy -- was Margherita of Savoy, after whom the famous pizza was named.  Before unification, everyone in Italy identified with their home city -- they were Roman, Milanese, Venetian, etc.  In a bid to encourage collectivism, the first king ordered that every city tear down their wall fortifications. Lucca was the only city to effectively skirt this order, and their walls remain to this day.  We also learned that before unification, Napoleon had given several smaller Italian kingdoms to his family members.  One of his brothers was King of Venice, and Lucca went to one of his sisters, Elisa.  Unlike her brother, the new Princess of Lucca took her responsibilities seriously, and did all she could to build up the city.  One lasting remnant is that she had the former Roman forum converted into a massive housing complex and piazza, which remains to this day.  By all accounts, she was quite loved, and despite her short reign -- which ended with Napoleon's first exile -- her imprint on Lucca still remains.

Lucca

San Michele in Foro Basilica

So many choices!

San Michele in Foro -- dates back to 765

Mummy of San Davino Armeno, from 1050

View Looking Out From Top of Lucca City Walls. The Cypress Trees Mark Original Roman Roads

Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (original Roman coliseum, converted into housing a market square by Napoleon's sister, Elisa, when she was princess of Lucca.

Aerial View of Piazza dell'Anfieatro

Rain did not return for the rest of the day, and our walk back to the bus was a much more pleasant experience than when we arrived.  It was about a 30-minute drive from to reach Montecatini, which itself was a famous spa city, up until the end of World War I.  The city has large numbers of natural hot springs, and during the 18th and 19th centuries, dozens of luxurious spas opened up, and the city became a haven for well-to-do Europeans.  After the war, however, that industry dried up, and today there is only one remaining spa in operation.  During an evening stroll the next day, we went past four or five incredibly beautiful hotels that have been abandoned.  It was truly something to see.  With the demise of the spa industry, the city is now rather sleepy, but it proved a very convenient base for seeing multiple sights over the next few days in and around Tuscany.

The Round Bread is Said To Be the Same as Carried by Roman Legionaries

Our hotel was lovely, and had quite the "old world charm" about it.  Our room overlooked a huge patio complex, with a nice view to the distant Tuscan hills.  As it had been another long day, dinner was provided to us in the hotel restaurant, which was quite welcome.  K and I had dinner this night with a lovely older couple from Mississippi, of all places.   

View From Our Room in Montecatini