Our new adventure for today was a train ride to another beautiful Tuscan city, Lucca. The old medieval city is completely surrounded by defensive walls built between 1550 and 1650 that have now become a lovely two and a half-mile walking and cycling park. None of us rented a bicycle, but we did stroll a little while on the wall top. Lucca was settled by Etruscans as far back as 1000 BC, was conquered by the Romans and after the fall of Rome became an independent city state. The silk industry was very important here as well as banking in the pre-Renaissance years. It is still very wealthy and has a thriving paper industry. Inside the city we had a nice lunch and did some shopping. Just about everyone found a treasure or two to take back home (even a bikini for Victoria!) It's not as "touristy" as other places we have visited so it was a nice change of pace. Enjoy our photos as you view "lovely Lucca". More later . . .
