Lucca

When planning my trip, I sent out a few Facebook messages to a couple friends who had been traveling before, asking for trips and recommendations. One friend who had been all across Italy told me her favorite place had been the small town of Lucca, which is about an hour's train ride West of Florence. Our travel guidebook also gave high praise on account of its beauty and charm. I was sold, and convinced Brit to go along with me.

Regis welcomes you to the city of Lucca

Lucca is most well known for the wall that surrounds the entire city center. It was built during WWII in the event of an attack....which never came to this specific location. The result is a beautiful wall in perfect condition! It now acts as a huge raised park around the town. Lush green grass, tall trees, and a lovely bike path are main features, and a big tourist attraction.

Taking the little monkey out for a spin. 

The walls of Lucca are sort of an oval shape, so the city inside ends up sort of layered, like an onion. In the heart of the town is the amphitheater; a reminder that this was once a Roman settlement. There are no togas here now...just a lot of restaurants and tourist trinket shops. I ate some risotto and bought my tacky "I ♥ Lucca" t-shirt there...really only because I didn't pack enough tops though, I promise!

You might recognize this place if you've been watching the food network lately...
specifically the  Filippo Berio olive oil commercials!

While there isn't a lot to do in Lucca, per se, there is plenty to see. The little town is a great place to get lost in. Those twisty roads that don't make any sense are very tempting...you always want to see where they are going to come out. And just when you think you have it figured, you end up somewhere new!

It is also incredibly scenic. We took pictures of everything! From markets, to street lamps, to the views from the wall, and of the wall!

To those who are RENT fans, Lucca is the hometown of Puccini. I know nothing about the musical or the music that inspired it, other than I heard some beautiful opera in a store that was all about this guy.

Another tourist draw.

There were very few cars within the walled part of the city, as the cobblestone roads were quite narrow, and it is such a small town that it is more convenient to travel on foot, by bike, or one of these...

I've vowed to myself that someday I will own a Vespa.

While there are obviously a lot of tourists staying in the city, I got the feeling most of them were still Italian! Lucca had a very laid-back, vacation-y sort of feel, as opposed to the bustling souvenir-buying, landmark-ogling, camera-toting (that's me!) feel of Florence. Since there's no real big attractions, most people skip this place for somewhere like Rome. I'm glad we didn't. 

The downside of it being a holiday-er destination was that eating out was quite pricey, and not necessarily any good. The aforementioned risotto was forgettable, and I had a terribly disappointing and expensive tiramisu (I saw the server defrost it in the mircrowave!!! I'm still not over it.). That being said, there are some mean gelaterias around, like Geleteria Veneta, where you can also get decent panna cotta or tirimisu for 2.50 EURO. That, and their coffee is good, and cheap! 1.00 EURO takeaway, or 1.50 EURO to stay in.

Our favorite meal in Lucca was our own little picnic on the wall, hands down. Tired of spending money on overpriced pizza and pasta, we decided to go shopping for our own antipasti.
We wandered down via Croce, and bought some deli meats, cheeses, olives, pesto, bread, and sundried tomatoes for a delicious feast.

The ultimate in budget travel meals!

It was soooooo delicious! I even tried the olives, and liked them. Some things can only happen in Italy. 

We loved Lucca so much we even cancelled our reservations for our first night in Venice so that we could stay longer! There is still so much more I could write about it, but I'll have to do that another time...

Or you could just go there yourself...which I highly recommend :) 

Firenze

Having arrived at Firenze Santa Monica Novello station, and checked in at our super friendly hostel by 8:30AM, left a whole day for exploring Florence...or "Firenze" if you wish to try out your Italian accent. We did. (In fact, by the time the trip was done I was quite certain we were going to study a number of different languages when I got home...it hasn't happened yet)

In my mind, Florence was a mere stopover on our journey from France to the small town of Lucca, Italy. Our guidebook indicated that unless you are big on art museums, there isn't much else to do in Firenze...

This is true.

But it was still totally worth the stop.

In my mind, Florence was going to be boring and expensive and touristy. 3 things I am not especially fond of. Perhaps not the right mindset, but that is what I was thinking as the train pulled up. Remember, this was the very late, already ridiculously long night train. I was sleep deprived. And sweaty. And skeptical.

So it was a pleasant surprise when we followed our hostel's free map and found Piazza San Marco within 5 minutes, and then stood in the shadow of the gorgeous Duomo moments later.

The color on this building was incredible! Especially compared to its bland yellow-ish neighbours.

Touristy? Yes. But there is definitely a reason for it. Florence is a really beautiful city! However it is quite small, and very walkable, which was perfect for us 24-hour-stopover types :)

We wandered through the city, checked out the Mercato Centrale market (wow!), and perused the small shopping stalls that crowded the streets. I made a few purchases that I do not regret (they were on the list of acceptable souvenirs I made for myself before the trip)

We even got to see the Statue of David....

Regis was a bit scandalized. 

Ok, so it was just a replica...but I would never have known the difference if the travel book hadn't told me. That's the beauty of knowing nothing about art. You don't have to pay anything to see the real one, because the cheap fake looks the same to you :)

We crossed the Arno river to find the Piazzale Michaelangelo. Even the bridges are crowded with vendors and tourists...but it was a pleasant hum of people, not the crazed claustrophobic pushing and shoving of Versaille.

Businesses (and houses?) built into the bridge!

It might be worth mentioning that the weather was crazy. One minute it was a beautiful sunny day, and the next it was a ferocious downpour!

Neither of us were wearing our rain gear, but we decided to keep going anyway. Hardcore backpackers don't lose valuable sightseeing time over a little rain! Or so we told ourselves.

The roads didn't make sense...it was awesome.

We carried on. The East Oltrano was definitely less crowded, but that was because there was definitely less to see. It was cute, quiet, and a little more local-feeling. Also, did you know cobblestones are deadly when wet? Especially in stair form.

It was quite a long climb, between trying not to slip to your death, and hiding in the meager overhanging vines so as not to get soaked by pounding rain.

But when we got to the top...it was all worth it!

The view from Piazzale Michaelangelo was incredible!!!

The sun even came out for us, so we could snap a few photos.

I think I could live here.

After admiring the view for a while, our stomachs started rumbling, and we knew it was time to find somewhere to eat. We searched for a couple places in our travel guide, but were unsuccessful, so we stopped in at a little hole-in-the-wall pizza place...first slice of pizza in Italy! It was a proud moment.

The rain was getting worse though. We decided it might be time for these H-Core Backpackers to admit defeat and head back to the hostel for some R&R.

The rain had other plans.

We were literally stranded in a narrow doorway for like...20 minutes. I have NEVER seen rain like that before! NEVER! The best part was the rotund Italian man standing in his doorway, watching us. I'm sure he was shaking his head at our stupid touristy ways.

We made a dash for it when the rain lightened up, but when it started coming down again, we ducked into a covered open air market and tried to wait it out. I spied a gelateria across the way, and convinced Brit we should get some. As we waited in line and picked our flavors, Brit suddenly turned to me and said, "I can't find my wallet!" I don't like to panic unnecessarily, so I made her check all her pockets and every nook and cranny in her bag...but the wallet was nowhere to be found. Inside was her credit card, debit card, and student discount card, as well as around 15 EURO cash. Well that was a huge problem!

We checked back at  a few stores we had stopped in, but no one had found anything, and we didn't have much hope of anyone turning it it if they had. Brit said the zipper of her bag had been open when she first reached for her wallet, so our guess is that a pickpocket got it in the open air market while we were waiting for the rain to stop!
Considering we were not even a week into our trip, it was a bit of a downer to say the least! I have to hand it to Brit though...she was really cool-headed and didn't let it ruin her trip. I don't know that I could have been so mature about it! We quickly found a payphone and called her bank and credit card company to cancel the cards, and then headed back to the hostel to recuperate.

After showering, checking some email, and perhaps a quick nap, we were energized enough to head out again for dinner.

On our search for somewhere to eat, we were flagged down by a girl advertising a place called, 'Little David'. I glanced at the menu, thought the price was a little high, but doable, and Brit agreed to go in. Little did we know the hilarity that was about to ensue.
Our server was THE EPITOME of the creepy Italian man!!! It was so frickin hilarious...he was all over Brit, with his suave broken English and saucy smile. I almost peed myself as he tried to engage her in flirtatious conversation, and convince her to eat her lasagna (it was gross). (For those interested, I had a delicious Tortellini Primavera...possible the best pasta dish I've ever tasted...I don't understand how the same place could make 2 such pasta dishes of such different qualities)

After we had extricated ourselves from Little David's grasp, and had a hearty laugh over it, we explored the streets of Florence in twilight, and treated ourselves to some canoli as part of the authentic Italian experience.
I know what you're thinking: pizza, gelato,pasta, and canoli all in one day...no I actually did not gain weight on this trip! I walked it all off :)

Canoli!

I'm in Love...

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

The Eiffel Tower

When we had worn ourselves out walking around Paris, we Metro-ed back to Le Regent to collect our bags, and then Metro-ed to our new home base, The Ideal Hotel. It certainly was ideal for our needs at the time!
We showered, napped, Facebooked, and rejuvenated for a couple hours in a quiet room all to ourselves, and then set out to tick a Big One off the sightseeing list!

The view from our hotel window

It was an easy 15 minute walk from our hotel to the Tower. It was so exciting to get our first good look at it from the street, and to see it grow bigger and bigger as we got closer!

Brit points the way

I actually have no idea what I expected of the Tower...I had never really given it much thought, to be honest! Having no expectations has its benefits. I was thoroughly impressed!

To me it seemed huge!

Also impressive were the line ups to get to the top! The tower has 2 floors that are open to the public, the first of which can be reached by 704 stairs. If you aren't feeling up to the stairmaster workout, there are also elevators. We decided to get in line to take the lift to the top, because we figured we'd abused our feet enough for one day.

The tower at dusk

It wasn't until we had been in line for probably a 1/2 hour that we realized we were in the wrong line, and that particular elevator wouldn't take us to the top! (In hindsight, I think we were just confused, and that queue would have been fine after all) With some grumbling and groans, we decided to ditch our place and sprawl out on Mars de Champs for a while. And visit a nearby boulangerie for a pain au chocolat!

So delicious! So authentic! 

As evening began to creep in, we couldn't stop taking pictures! There was always a different angle to try, or new colors of the sunset to catch. Or monkeys who wanted to prove they'd been there.

 Necessary.

When the tower lit up, we were so excited! And snapped even more pictures! Sigh...what tourists...

Here's a special treat for you! The grand finale: around 10pm the tower began to sparkle! It was so beautiful!

That sold us...we decided to bite the bullet and ride to the top of the tower, no matter how long we had to wait! While in line it began to rain...and then thunder...and then lightening! We were resolute. We paid the 11.80 EUR, crammed into the lift, and burst out onto the second floor, only to wander back into another line, cram into another lift, and burst out on the top floor!

It was freezing!

We took our look around and tried to snap pictures that weren't blurry (no luck), and ooh-ed and aah-ed at all the buildings we had seen that day that were now lit up, avoided getting caught in other tourist photos of couples kissing. My favorite part was seeing the lightening tear across the clear night sky. The landscape was so flat, and the sky so dark, it was a perfect canvas.

The Seine by night

When we were just about frozen solid, we decided to head back down. The line to the 2nd floor was atrocious, so when we got there we decided to skip the next lift and take the stairs down. Little did we know...the rain had turned this tourist jaunt into a death trap.

Demonstrating how to safely walk down the slick, wet stairs...not.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, despite the cold and long queues. The view was wonderful, and the tower itself is awesome...though I thoroughly recommend visiting it at night for the full effect.

More information about the Eiffiel Tower: http://www.eiffel-tower.com/

I'm Hooked On...

Its such a great show.

On one hand it makes you feel like you are right there, bumping along a dusty pothole-ridden road in South Africa, or sky-diving in New Zealand, or eating fried tarantulas in Cambodia...

and on the other, it inspires you to get off your tush, and go experience some of these things for yourself! (I'll pass on the spiders.)

Basically, Departures is about 3 Canadian guys in their 20's who decide to take a year off and travel the world, filming it along the way. They go to some really awesome off-the-beaten-tourist-track places, like Iceland, Sri Lanka, Ascension Island, Libya, Mongolia, Jordan, and Ecuador.
I'm currently halfway through the second season, they've just left Madgascar, and are headed for Chile!

While they are in these places they do some nifty hikes, eat local food, and often stay with the local people if possible. On top of this, they have so many international contacts, it seems like every other episode they are doing something crazy no normal tourist would EVER get the chance to do...it makes it feel like such an authentic travel experience, and its SO interesting!

The cast/crew is made up of Scott (the walking travel encyclopedia and pro navigator), Justin (the class clown, big-talker, and animal whisperer), and Andre (the camera-guy, and the man I will someday marry).

Don't let the fact that it is Canadian-made lead you to believe it is somehow a low-budget show with crappy production value. I swear the cinematography will blow your mind! Every episode just makes me go "WOW!", and realize just how beautiful and diverse our planet it is! My (quickly Googled) research tells me that it has won Best Documentary Series from the Canadian Golden Sheaf Awards (2008), and 2 Gemini awards in 2010 (Best Photography/Best Editing).

Lucky for my addiction, my brother and sister-in-law own all 3 DVD sets, and have kindly lent them to me to devour. For those of you with cable, Mike tells me you can catch it on OLN or city tv. And then there's always icefilms.info for everyone else.

WATCH IT.

Its the Best.