Out and About

The weather was pretty nice last week, with temperatures hovering in the low to mid- 20s and only the odd puffy cloud in the sky, so we decided to get out and explore some of the areas beyond the city walls. We had promised ourselves that since we are here for six weeks, we should actually make an effort to leave the old town area at least once a week.

Friday, May 9 - We took our first short trip beyond the city walls today, biking south to explore an old aqueduct. The path stretches for about 3.5 kilometres, leading toward the mountains where streams once flowed into the troughs. This water would travel all the way to a large stone cistern near the train station, and from there, it continued underground into the heart of the city.

There are a fair number of half-decent bike lanes outside of the walls, and even when we have to ride on the road, cars are quite tolerant of cyclists. We’ve been told it’s in part because Italian laws come down hard on anyone who endangers a cyclist on the road.

And so we followed the bike lanes a few kilometres to the cistern and then started riding south along the trail. The 200-year-old aqueduct was quite well preserved, and we enjoyed the ride, although within a few kilometres, we reached a major highway which now intersects the trail. It had a pedestrian overpass that would require us to haul our bikes up and down sets of stairs so we turned around and rode back home.

We had to laugh at ourselves when we found we were a bit disappointed that the aqueduct was only 200 years old, when we are surrounded by so many much older structures.

Sunday, May 11 - We rode our bikes to the Serchio River, which is on the north side of town, less than a kilometre from the city walls, and then followed the bike path northeast along the river. It was mostly level, well-packed gravel path with some paved sections in between, but virtually no traffic, so it was perfect riding and lovely warm weather.

We continued on for about 10 km to Ponte a Moriano, passing farms, forests, and fields of wild poppies, and then stopped for a break in the town hall piazza for a while. We sat in the sun and watched a little boy practice his soccer skills, before we turned around and headed back home.

Monday, May 12 - Finally, we decided to leave Lucca altogether and took the train 45 min east to the town of Pistoia. The train is so easy to take and isn’t super expensive - about €6.20 each to just about anywhere up to an hour away. We walked about 1.5 km into the centre of yet another medieval town and marvelled at some of the beautiful churches and duomos.

Because many shops and restaurants tend to be closed on Mondays, the area was quite quiet, with very few tourists around. We’re not big shoppers, so we didn’t really care — we just wanted to see the area.

We found a nice little restaurant along one alley and had some lunch — more pasta and wine of course — and then we walked back to the station and caught the train home. We were gone about four hours in total, and while it was an interesting place to visit, it really couldn’t compare to Lucca.

Overall, I think we’ve been doing pretty well getting out and seeing more of the area, and while I could easily stay put and be content with getting lost in Lucca’s meandering medieval streets, grabbing a nice lunch at one of the many local restaurants, or better yet, eating meals out on our own beautiful terrace, I’ll admit it is interesting to discover what else there is to offer in and around Lucca.