Day 12 - To Lucca
Walking and Biking Path on the Wall - Lucca
July 3, 2023: Today we are headed to Lucca by train. We have found the train system very easy to navigate. I have bought all of our tickets on Italiarail.com and imported them into an app called Trenetalia. I found a good tip from the Italy Planning group on Facebook to only look for the train number, not the destination since many of the trains go to several cities and the destination may be different than where you are going. After an hour and 10 minute train ride, we made our way to the Hotel Palazzo Alexander and dropped off our bags. Our room wasn’t ready so we headed to explore and find a place for lunch. We ended up sitting at a pizzeria called “Pizzeria Pellegrini” that was established in 1972. Jimm had a ham and mushroom pizza and I had their carbonara. Really good local place.
We headed back to our hotel and after checking in and going to our room, found out that there was a hole in the window where a cap from the old style air condition with vent was supposed to be. Whoever stayed there last must have taken it with them. We called down to report it and they ended up upgrading us to their best room on the top floor. It had a little balcony which unfortunately we did not get to enjoy because it was just too hot and sunny to sit out there. The Hotel Palazzo Alexander, like many hotels in Italy, has old world charm. The staff was great and the room was nice, you could tell there had been some renovations, but we both felt they could have done so much to the room we stayed in. However, it was in a great location, easy walk to the piazzas, restaurants and shops.
Lucca is a city on the Serchio river in Italy’s Tuscany region. It’s known for the well-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city center and its cobblestone streets. Lucca’s historic city walls form a 2-1/2 mile loop that completely encircles the city. The walking and biking path stretches for the entire loop on top of these walls. After renting our e-bikes, we were close to an entrace to the path, so we were quickly up on the wall. You are not balancing on a narrow wall, as I first imagined; the walls are 40 feet high but they’re also almost 90 feet across. Both Jimm and were glad to be back on bikes again. We did two loops around the wall. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride! On our way back we stopped a place called “Old City Bar” and had an apertivo before heading back to the hotel.
We relaxed and played cards in the hotel lobby for a while before heading out to grab dinner. We did not have a reservation, so we just walked until we found a place called “Flamingo” that looked good near the Piazza del Salvatore. The owner was a typical Italian guy, very gregarious and directing the staff to ensure that everyone was serviced well. We believe his wife was in the kitchen making the food. We could hear her but couldn’t see her. I had the gnocchi and Jimm had carbonara (he was craving it after seeing mine at lunch). Both dishes were excellent and it was so fun to watch the staff in action.
Next stop, Viareggio for a day at the beach.