Lucky Lucca
Lucca is a beautiful Tuscan town, steeped in history and culture, and with a strong food tradition. The old town in surrounded by huge thick walls from the Renaissance period and it’s also the...
View ArticlePontedera home of the Vespa
Pontedera is a small town in the province of Pisa in Tuscany. Although not a bad little place, there’s not that much to see or do around town. However, it is home to the world-famous Piaggio company...
View ArticleA peaceful life in Pisa
I really like Pisa. Sure there are a lot of tourists who come to see the Torre Pendente but most of them seem to get back on a coach and leave pretty much straight away. It’s also a university town and...
View ArticleA super Tuscan steak in Calenzano
The village of Calenzano is nowadays a suburb of Florence. At first it might seem like a large retail park and industrial zone, and indeed much of it is, but there is an old area with a medieval castle...
View ArticleA quick flirtation with Florence
With nothing open on a Sunday in Calenzano (see previous post), I decided to jump on the bus to Florence. I first came here as a student when I was 17 and I have strong memories of the city’s...
View ArticleViareggio – staying at the Hotel Mirage
Viareggio is a seaside town of about 60,000 people on the Tuscan coast near Lucca. It is known for shipbuilding, fishing, floriculture and its carnival, which began in 1873. However the town is perhaps...
View ArticleViareggio – architecture walk part 1 – along the promenade
As I mentioned in my previous post Viareggio is also known as ‘The Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea’. It was, and still is, a famous seaside resort that had its heyday around the turn of the 20th century,...
View ArticleViareggio – architecture walk part 2 – around town
In my previous post I described the buildings along the lungomare in Viareggio in what was basically just a straight walk along the promenade. This post tidies up the remaining buildings of interest...
View ArticleLucca – Stile Liberty architecture & design
Lucca, with it’s thick city walls and winding narrow streets, comes across first and foremost as a medieval city. However if you move outside the walls, especially in the area to the east of the...
View ArticleLucca – the churches
Lucca has several attractive churches which are one of the main draws for tourists to the town. Sadly they were all closed when I visited during the Covid lockdown but I did get some nice shots of the...
View ArticleLucca – walking around the old town
Lucca is a joy to walk or cycle around, there’s so much to see. I’ve dedicated separate posts to the churches which are pretty esssential (post here) and Stile Liberty architecture and design of which...
View ArticleLucca – a little more local food
Lucca has many fine restaurants, some of which I reviewed on my 2013 trip (post here). Hopefully most of what I wrote still rings true. Unfortunately my visit in 2020 coincided with the town being...
View ArticleLucca – tips and subject index
I’ve been to Lucca twice, in 2013 and 2020. I’ve written six posts in all; a couple on food and the rest on stuff to see. This post provides links to them by subject and gives you my top tips. You’ll...
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