Lucca, Italy (in October)

[daveleo]

We are planning a week in October. Fly into Pisa, train to Lucca where we will bed down for the week. Train into Florence and bus or car down to Volterra, as we desire.

I spent 6 hours in Lucca in 2009 and it looked like a nice town to stay in.
I speak (what I call) Frankenstein Italian .... "Where station?", "Is bus go Volterra?" ..... etc.

This will be my 3rd trip to Italy in 6 years, so "we've been there before". (Padova & Montepulciano were my favorites.)

Is there anything that I need to know about Lucca before we book flights and rooms? I believe there is a very good ??? tourist info center in town.

Thanks, in advance, for any comments you have.

 

[Richard G]

Beautiful town. I was there for ten days, in 1986. I would take my 21mm lens next time, to take in the wall and plane trees and the parks on the corners of the walls, and the ancient remnants deep in the old town. Somewhere I have the drawings I did in the garden of the Palazzo Contorni-Pfanner. Every few years I'll look at the slides. Must scan them some time. How did I know back then to take only slides and not lament later having used colour negative film?

 

[raid]

Nico lives there. I was twice in Lucca with my family.

 

[robert blu]

Sorry for not answering earlier, Lucca is a small beautiful old town (with nice shops). As Raid says Nico lives there and maybe we can arrange to spend a few hours together.
There are interesting places in the area if you have a car, like San Galgano an old abbey without roof, you can anyway give a look here .
Again I'm not sure what my program is for october, I know I'm scheduled to teach a couple of lessons in a photo course and after that (if money allows it) we are planning a trip to USA.
But not yet sure about dates, if possible I would be more than happy to meet you.
Ciao
robert

 

[daveleo]

Thanks for the replies. We are scoping out a plan now that our vacation week is locked in. My nice son 😀 and his wife are going to chaperon the old man - I am (95%) deaf and they worry about me too much.
Will post more here as time goes by.

 

[Moto Mark]

If you're not a sci-fi fan don't go there the first week in November, it's Comic-Con time ! Incredibly it is the second biggest in the world behind San Diego.

Who knew ???

 

[daveleo]

If you're not a sci-fi fan don't go there the first week in November, it's Comic-Con time ! Incredibly it is the second biggest in the world behind San Diego.

Who knew ???

We missed it by 2 weeks. They were setting up the tents. It would have been fun for my son, my daughter and I, but the wives ?....no!

I had forgotten about this thread and never met up with Robert or Nico, so sorry about that. But truth is my hearing is virtually zero now and not a very good conversationalist anyway. My family translates for me even when people speak English to me ! (Possibly having an implant in 2016.)

We had a wonderful time, by the way !

 

[robert blu]

Nice to know you had a good time, Lucca is for sure a special place!
robert
PS: and the pictures ?

 

[raid]

I am glad that you enjoyed the stay in Lucca. Good luck with the implant, Dave.

 

[HuubL]

I was there in 2013. A few pictures:

 

[daveleo]

Robert, as we were on vacation, I came home with "family grade" snapshots, no great art !
FWIW, they are here:
http://www.davesjournal.net/Pictures/Lucca/Lucca.html

Raid, thanks for the comment. Implant is tentatively scheduled for July. "Hopefully anxious" is how I feel 🙂. "Nothing left to lose" is how the doctors feel 😀

 

[robert blu]

You say not great art but you got what the place is, its spirit and this is still art!
In my working time I spend at least one week each month in the Lucca area, therefore the places, the walls around the town sound familiar to me.
Are thew interiors from the place you stayed in? It seems good!
robert

 

[daveleo]

. . . .
Are the interiors from the place you stayed in? It seems good!
robert

Yes. It was a modern apartment just one street "outside the wall", not far from the stazione ferroviaria. Very nice.