Pizza in Pisa and KISS in Lucca

Today our day started with breakfast with the locals (it was early and the little bar we went into had a handful of the different restaurant owners we have seen around at the top eating spots in the village). We ordered 5 pastries and two coffees for 9 euro. Best coffee yet. We caught our train and had seats in first class which is identical to second class, just wider seats and a few euros extra to Pisa. We stored our luggage at the train station in Pisa and paid 5 euros a bag. We had a leaning tower to visit!

It was hot and I was less than enthused to be walking in the heat. We felt the kids would enjoy the tower and since it was close to our next stop in Lucca, we said we should go. By the time we arrived we were that hot that none of us had the energy to get excited about the tower. I found us a spot to sit in the shade and pull ourselves together. It was very busy and we were entertained by everyone trying to hold up the tower in their photos. I Googled facts about the tower for my captive audience. We decided we should eat lunch in Pisa so I quickly Googled the best reviewed restaurants and chose the nearest one. Pizza in Pisa was good and Mike and I enjoyed a coffee and some bruschetta with a side of parma ham.

After this we went for souvenirs and

a few photos then retraced our steps back to the station with a stop for gelato. It was a flying visit and I look forward to never going back to be honest. The gelato was very refreshing and helped with the last 10 minutes of the walk. It’s currently 32 degrees in the sun in Tuscany which is not nice to be in. The shade is much better, if you can find any. The train from Pisa to Lucca is only 30 minutes. It was just enough time for us to cool down before we had to walk 20 minutes with our luggage. I shoved a cool drink bottle down my top to try and cool down fast. I was beyond caring what I looked like.

We got to our accommodation but it was not ready. We were allowed to drop our luggage and walked up 2 flights of stairs with our heavy bags but in Italy it’s actually 4 flights to reach the “second floor”. We were dying. Everything is terrible when you are that hot. We dragged ourselves to a mini mart to buy drinks and then got confused if we were buying alcoholic drinks for the kids with names like “mojito”. We asked the check out man however he was mute (like literally mute) and he couldn’t answer us. We hoped for the best! We sat in the shade on the floor and waited to hear when we could go in. It was worth the wait.

Our apartment was beautiful and in a great location. We all stripped down and had showers. Amazing what a nice shower can do! Lucca is an old medieval city with no cars. Except we saw loads of cars. Hmmm, they must be only be available for locals. It is a circular city and the roads are easy to get lost in. Google maps finds it tricky to navigate! It’s got beautiful shopping and artisan foods. It’s well known for incredible restaurants and is becoming

more and more popular but is still quiet and calm. Mike and I felt comfortable to leave the kids in the apartment and went out to stock up on some snacks and produce.

The fresh fruit was beautiful and relatively priced. We stocked up on raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. We also purchased some amazing porchetta to eat on top of rosemary and olive oil crackers. Mike of course got beer. We also bought some bread for toast, lollies and juice.

I reached out to my new friend from Lucca, Marie, who we met by the showers the day before and she suggested a handful of restaurants. We went to the closest one to us and managed to secure a time. The food was lovely but we ordered wayyyyyy too much. The highlight for me was the melon and prosciutto. The melon was so sweet. Mike ordered wild boar, Kayden has the regional specialty which is a meat ravioli with more meat on it, Max had a pesto tagliatelle and Isla had pomodoro pica which is like a thick spaghetti. It was very al dente which is how they serve it here. But obviously not what she expected. I had a mushroom pappardelle.

We also had pork lard on toasted bread. Which is like a prosciutto with mostly fat that melts on your tongue. It was too much and too rich for us. Mike and I started to try and spread the food out so we didn’t offend our hosts. We felt like the episode of Mr Bean when he’s trying to hide all of his food in the fancy restaurant under tables, in vases, under plates! This would become common for us to do (not the hiding the food part, but not being able to finish our meals). Not because the food was bad, simply because I get excited and want a

small taste of everything. I’d hate to offend the chef. On the walk home we passed through the circular piazza which was lively and charming with restaurants and pretty lighting. We rolled home and up the thousand stairs in a food coma and all spread out in the apartment. Isla found Italian Bluey to watch on TV and the boys played on their iPads. We smashed out so many steps that we went to bed relatively early.

Day 2
Today we slept in and enjoyed making breakfast in our apartment. Mike and I got two espressos and stood at the bar to drink them downstairs at a cafe for 1.10 euro each. We walked through the quiet maze of streets to hire a 4 person bike for the 5 of us. It’s like a car you all pedal. You’re allowed to ride them on top of the city walls but not inside the city. It was hard work to get up the first hill and a passer by chuckled at us as we all were too heavy and just couldn’t pedal. We were forced to jump out to push it up the steep hill. I was laughing so hard at the effort it took and the feeling we were about to start rolling backwards at any moment. Pure terror! I loved how the kids all thought

it was me who wasn’t pedalling hard enough! “Pedal mum, pedal!” What the heck!? To cycle the whole city wall perimeter took us around 40 minutes. It was busy with pedestrians which I guess made it not as relaxing as we imagined.

From here we walked to Guilgli tower. This tower is unique as it has full grown trees at the very top. It also has beautiful views of the terracotta tiled city. We spotted our own apartment from afar and accidentally timed it so several church bells chimed in the city at midday at the same time. The breeze and shade from the trees at the top made it a nice place to hang out for a while. The bells made it extra special. We were a bit too warm for lunch but the kids wanted a gelato followed by lollies from a lolly shop.

Mike and I dropped the kids home then headed out for lunch on our own in the piazza. We shared a salad with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella then both ate a regional pasta each. We enjoyed the shade and atmosphere so stayed for a dessert and coffee. The waiter gave us complimentary limoncello followed by another one. He said we can go home and sleep. And so we did! Holiday mode is well and truly here.

Lucca is popular for concerts in the summer and they usually have an impressive line up of performers every few days. John Legend, Justin Bieber, Norah Jones etc performed last summer. Tonight was KISS and the fans were everywhere with their painted faces and t shirts. We walked the streets to try and buy some earrings for Isla and came across a store with some sleepers she wanted. Mike then took Isla back to the apartment and I carried on

shopping on my own. I bought myself a gelato for the thrill of the time on my own and soaked up the fact that I was walking in one of the most beautiful Italian cities on a summers day.

That evening we went out for dinner at a restaurant suggested by Marie, our new friend. It was in a car park. Literally a car park for the supermarket. We’ve been walking past it the last few days and didn’t even notice it. Mike and the kids had a few comments to say about it and how it was 7pm and deserted. Have they learnt nothing yet? So we check the menu and there was even a kids menu which is unheard of in Italy! We were the only people there and asked for a table for 5. The Italian owner said no. We’ve learnt to hold it for a few seconds because “no” usually becomes “si, prego” which is “yes, no worries.” We had to assure them that we would be gone by 9pm. “Si, prego, prego” Rossi kids like to eat and leave within the hour. Before we knew it the restaurant was full. Isla was happy to not eat pasta and had cotolleta which is crumbed veal or maybe pork. Kayden had the same. Max our little foodie had gnocchi with ragu. Mike and I had panzanella which is a Tuscan bread and tomato salad and meatballs. The meatballs were amazing. We then had more pork cutlet and an al dente radish and gorgonzola risotto. The wine was regional and delicious and the limoncello was offered at the end. This time we politely declined. As we walked home Kayden purchased a

soccer ball. I’m not sure where he thinks he will play it in the next city of Rome or how he plans to store it in his back pack.

I thanked our new friend for the restaurant suggestion and asked her some questions about how she came to buy in Lucca. A girl can dream. That’s how we got here in the first place right? Dreaming, planning, doing. This morning we are up early and on our way to Roma! The weather has changed and we welcome some thunder and lightning and cooler weather.