Another ride to school through the wonderful streets of
Lucca; right for quarter of a mile along the shaded and slabbed Via Roma dodging pedestrians and bikes from every direction; through the old medieval gate and into the sun before turning left up to the small Piazza San Francesco. It's then a short ride the wrong way up a one way street into the face of oncoming cars and we are there. It is fascinating how
understanding everybody is here about traffic: cyclists cut up pedestrians, pedestrians walk out in front of cyclists
and both potter along holding up the few cars that are permitted in Lucca’s
narrow streets. The bike and the pedestrian seem to be king and everyone here seems very relaxed about it all with no shouting or gesticulating and no sense of
impatience; it is nothing like you imagine the Italian temperament to be. They say that northern Italy views the people
of Lucca as extremely polite and it would seem there is some truth in that.
After another morning of total focus on what is being said
for fear of losing the thread and of trying to get your mouth around Italian pronunciation
we cycled back to the flat, heads full and aching. It was another quick
turnaround for us as we had elected to join a school trip to the nearby thermal
spa town of Montecasini. A group of about 15 met up at the station and
with the guide (need I say anything about the language spoken…?) caught the
train for a twenty minutes ride west.
Our visit did not include the thermal spa itself (we will
save that for another trip and we have been advised by friends at home that it
is worth the effort) but we wandered through the lower town and caught a
funicular rail up the steep hillside to the original town. Small and old
and compact, it did not take long to wander around and we spent a quiet and
relaxed afternoon enjoying the hilltop view, relaxing in the square and wandering
around the old church whose size and decoration belies the size of the
population it supports.
We arrived home early evening avoiding any social distractions, wondering where the time is going and looking forward to a break as the weekend approaches.
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