Do you have a favourite memory? A day that was so perfect. An experience you shared with your family that you love to reminisce about? I have quite a few…but one that I think about often, that I dream of reliving one day is bike riding around the walls of Lucca.
Family day in Lucca…
We stayed just a hop skip and a jump away from Lucca when we visited Italy in 2009. Actually, it was a train ride to Pisa and then another train to Lucca…or was it Via Reggio? Now I’m not sure. Anyway, it only took about half an hour and so it was an easy day out and we did it often. Lucca is the most beautiful town. Still surrounded by a large wall, originally built for the town’s protection..it holds so much history in it’s cobbled streets, churches and buildings. It is also picturesque and leafy. It was such a pleasure to be within those walls.
Riding our biciclette around Lucca was such a dreamy experience but it wasn’t the only reason we loved to visit…Pizza da Felice, our favourite pizza shop was to be found (not easily) down a small backstreet. It was a tiny little cafe brimming with locals. We bought our pizza margherita by weight and we were generous. We feasted on cecina, a local pizza/crepe made from chickpea flour, served with olive oil and lots of crunchy salt. We let the girls drink lemonade while we washed our lunch down with a glass of red before heading off to work off our excesses riding into the cold, our noses red but our tummies full.
Waiting for a spot…it’s worth the wait!
Yay! Cecina!
We had some fun in Lucca. It was hysterical to see my mum on a bike (sorry mum!)…My mum is not the most confident of riders, probably because she has a habit of veering in to anyone, young or old, that comes within her vicinity. We went ice-skating when the winter began, we browsed markets and ate gelato. Many, many machiati were enjoyed and many hours passed window shopping in the sophisticated stores.
On the bike with Francesca in the back…
It was wonderful to experience Lucca as a family but it was also really beautiful to be riding on the bike, soaking in the sights and sounds of this beautiful Italian town and taking the time to reflect on this most amazing journey in peace and solitude. It was inspiring and so good for the soul. I would give anything to return one day. It will happen, I know it. I couldn’t be more sure.
Would you like to read more about our trip to Italy? If you do, have a look at these posts…
Olives and the Goddess of Fertility
Winter in Italy – a story in pictures
What is your favourite memory? Do you have a place in the world that has a special place in your heart? Feel free to share your special moments with us, because that’s what keeps our precious memories alive.
it was Viareggio then Lucca and I did miss that old couple! Sorry again about knocking all the bikes in the shop over when I tried to get on to my bike.
That’s okay mum, we’ll still let you come again xx