Tuscany Adventures--Lucca, Pisa, and Cinque Terre

Over the next few days in Lucca, we took day trips to Pisa and Cinque Terre--but first, some random pictures of Lucca!



I might have already posted some of these cathedral pics, but it's such a beautiful building, so here they are again!






Elowen enjoying some bread, her main food group on this trip. She crows with glee when the bread basket arrives. 


The hotel left Elowen a fun craft to do for Christmas--cutting out mom's, dad's, and Elowen's hands in green paper to make a tree and decorate. 


Also what's that on the shelf?? Dr. Pepper!  We find each other in any city, because we are true loves. 


Also, there are a lot of hobby shops in Lucca, which I initially found confusing--but it's because in October there's a comics and characters festival that draws five hundred thousand people! That explains this awesome Harry Potter shop I found by the hotel, with Harry's Hogwarts acceptance letters flying out of the fireplace to make a garland for the tree. 


Like I mentioned above, one of our day trips was to Cinque Terre, which is a string of five fishing villages clinging to the cliffs along the Italian Rivera. It was a bit too far for a day trip, and I think we wouldn't have taken it if Taylor realized Cinque Terre was five towns instead of a single place (sigh). Given that it's about a 45-minute drive between towns along narrow and winding roads, we decided just to see Monterosso and call it a day. Monterosso is the flattest of the towns, which is great with a stroller, and also the only town with a sand beach (immaterial in December). The town was mostly deserted, as it's a summer destination, and we had the streets mostly to ourselves. 


Taylor had a plate of anchovies, while I had a caprese salad and some cured meats. 




Elowen, an avid student of menus, spent plenty of time perusing what was on offer. 


Monterosso also has a sizeable and very nice playground, and Elowen shocked us both by throwing herself down the steepest slide with no hesitation. Danger baby!










The trip to the town was like driving into a fairy tale, by the way...you pass so many small picturesque villages set amongst greenery-covered hills, with the fog rolling over them. 


Monterosso from a distance. 


Taylor took Elowen to a little Irish pub in Lucca while I rested from my mystery cold...she stole all the coasters and was very pleased with her treasures. 



Our other day trip from Lucca was to Pisa, which may be the most touristy place in Italy? I didn't have any expectations for it, expecting it to be crowded and overrated, and I was so wrong. It was a little crowded, and I wanted to push all the people taking goofy "holding up the tower" pictures into the nearby river, but the tower itself was magical to see. This sounds so silly to say, but it leans way more than I expected--to the point where you wonder how it can stand!--and it's in a beautiful complex of other buildings, including a cathedral and a baptistry. 


The tower is about 183 feet high, and was started in the 12th century. 




And finally, fun facts I learned from Wikipedia, Galileo supposed dropped two cannonballs off of the tower to demonstrate the speed of descent is independent of mass--history is everywhere in Italy.




And that wraps the Lucca and sidetrips portion of this vacation! The next day would take us to Florence. 

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