After winging it in our departure port of Barcelona and returning on the tried-and-true bus route to Aix-en-Provence, we had a Viator shore excursion to Lucca and Pisa for our fourth country in four days, if you count our starting point in Pennsylvania as day one.
Because this was specifically designated by Viator as a shore excursion with pickup point geared to cruise passengers, we had no problem finding the meeting place in Livorno. Keep in mind that many tours gather in the same spot, so you must actively find your correct guide, usually by speaking with someone in an associated logo shirt with a clipboard who knows which groups go to which bus.
Viator's official itinerary called for us to visit Lucca in the morning, but in fact we went first to Pisa, for reasons known only to Viator or our guide.
We managed to gain admission to admire the Pisa Cathedral in the morning, so all was well. On the bus, our guide shared history and local color about the region.
Our bus parked outside of the Medieval city wall, which to this day surrounds the entire old town of Lucca.
The tour price was relatively cheap for a full day tour, but that meant it did not include lunch or a personal guide showing us point-by-point around the lovely Tuscan village, which is one of the most highly acclaimed in all of the region.
We stopped first at Basilica of San Frediano, featuring an easy-to-remember tile mosaic façade which was designated as our official meeting point should we choose to explore on our own.
We opted to join our guide, for a modest fee, who led us along a printed map of the village and point out various highlights.
She candidly stated that she hadn't been to Lucca in several years, but she had grown up in the area, knew what she wanted to show us from our maps and had a smart phone to consult. We probably could have done the tour without her, but she was certainly very pleasant, and better her consulting internet by phone than us.
Before the actual guided tour started, we were all brought to Piazza Dell'Anfiteatro, a Roman amphitheater that was converted into a lovely oval plaza with shops and restaurants inside the walls. While not mandatory by any means, Julie and I picked out a restaurant that looked promising, where we enjoyed a meal that is always great in Italy: pizza.
Sure, you can sit outside and eat pizza in your home town, but there is something special about a sunny day sitting in a plaza rimmed with umbrella tables at sidewalk cafés on the site of repurposed Roman architecture in romantic Tuscany.
There were more lovely restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating outside of the former Roman amphitheater, too.
Our leisurely stroll took us past the highlights listed in this Visit Tuscany link. Nicknamed "the town of a hundred churches," there are many churches.
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| San Michelle in Foro |
We took an extended stop to appreciate San Michele in Foro. Our entire group spent about fifteen minutes inside this impressive church built in the eleventh century on the site of an 8th century church. It was a stop on the pilgrimage route known as Via Francigena that went from Canterbury, England, to Rome and on to the holy lands. One pilgrim from Armenia, San Davino, is believed to have performed miracles during his time in Lucca, both when he was alive and, through his relics, after he died.
Our guide stopped to point up to the top of Torre delle Ore, the clock tower where legend says a woman climbed 200 steps to stop the hands of time only to plunge to her death upon arriving too late.
She had sold her soul to Satan in exchange for 30 additional years of youth and beauty, which inevitably ran out, because we can't stop time.
Guinigi Tower is easier to find, and it is accessible to the public for panoramic views of the surrounding area.
To me it is a more impressive structure.
Bricks jutting out for workers to complete future maintenance were built into Guinigi Tower and some other structures.
Just as there are lots of churches, there also are plenty of towers, many if not all of which seem to be accompanied by local lore passed through the ages.
It's good to remember wherever you go to look up.
Some wonderful views can be found looking up, whether toward the sky or the ceiling of a building.
We also stopped by a statue of Giacomo Puccini in a small plaza near his childhood home. Born in Lucca in 1858, Puccini is one of the top Italian opera composers, comparable to Giuseppe Verdi according to experts.
For shopping, Via Fillungo is a narrow street lined with luxury retailers, just as it has been for hundreds of years.
Over time, of course, what is popular with shoppers has changed, but many signs indicating what used to be sold remain along with the identification for the repurposed store.
Lovely Lucca for me was similar to Aix-en-Provence or Bath, in that it drips with history but still feels comfortable, with enough of the new integrated within it to lure guests for extended stays.
While we never seriously considered visiting Lucca prior to this trip, we will be tempted to return.
We had a bit of drama when most of us returned to our Basilica meeting point only to find one woman had separated from her friends and was nowhere to be seen.
After quietly standing around receded into a lot of grumbling, our guide heard from our bus driver that the lady had returned to the bus a few minutes late (as well as being at the wrong place), but we made it back to Regal Princess well before it departed for Croatia.
However, should you find yourself on your own or on an excursion not sponsored by the cruise line, be sure to allow yourself a cushion, because you never want to find yourself helplessly watching from the shore as your ship sails away, meaning you must play catch-up, which can get quite expensive and complicated.
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| Duomo di Martino |
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