Lucca Part 2 - Day 5

 Another day in Italy began with a quick shower and then we all gathered for breakfast. Coffee of course, scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit and some cheese cake thingy for good measure... oh and croissants. Yes another filling meal to get us prepared for the day.

Kelly wanted to return to Lucca and visit a certain shop within the walls. Bryan and Linda planned a trip to the coast to pick up their daughter Marisa and her partner Chris at the train station in Viareggio. They were coming down from Genoa to meet up with them.

We bid them adieu and headed down to Lucca. Some sightseeing on the way down in Torre and then we hit the crowds near the fairgrounds, as that section was packed. We did manage to get over to the bike rental place and eventually got rock star parking right beside the entrance to the walled city. Kelly had her parking app going and we had it all paid online. Super slick.  

Hugh and Simone decided to avoid the crowds and walked the upper wall for some exercise.  I walked with Kelly to assist in "directional control" and after we arrived at the store,  I went up to the upper walkway and soon caught up to the Porters. We walked the wall and enjoyed the sights & sounds of families and fellow tourists.

Kelly on a mission in Lucca!

 

San Frediano Basilica

 

View from the wall.

From the wall... I think it's an archery range ??

 

A gun crew moving a cannon.

Kelly had finished up shopping so we went into the city center to meet up for a bathroom stop, snack & beverage.  While we ate our snack, Hugh spotted a butcher shop close by so we headed there afterwards.  BBQ Chicken was on the menu tonight!! The butcher was excellent and ask if it was for BBQ? "Yes" I said and he cut and seasoned the chicken then and there. All very impressive!

 We headed back to the villa with a quick stop for some vegetables at the local store. Once at the villa, we unloaded and then gathered some firewood starter for the BBQ.  While we timed the start of the dinner another crib game broke out. The Gour family arrived with Chris & Marisa and they settled into the villa. We prepped dinner as the pool had some usage.

Crib action!

Chicken cooked over the wood coals.

 Dinner was done and we all enjoyed a game of Five Crowns.... which took us to 11:30 PM!! Chris and Kelly tied after a long battle and we all enjoyed the humor that continued throughout the game

Blogging complete, it's off to bed. Kelly and Simone plan a bike trip to Pisa and the lucky Gour family will leave us for their cruise out of Rome (Civitavecchia) on Monday.

Breakfast is on for 9:30 tomorrow.  Off to the rack.. spelling/grammar check in the a.m. .. as per usual :-)