Lucca – a wonderful, Renaissance walled city in the Tuscany region of Italy and the birthplace of Puccini.  Also, where the next four days would be spent with friends Judy & Tim, who were met at Italian language school in Verona in 2006!  A lovely little apartment in the center of the old walled city with fabulous views was shared.  It was also great for the daily exercise as it was located on the fourth floor with no elevator – but provided the great views!

The view from our apartment in Lucca. Love the trees on top of the Guinigi tower.

A don’t miss is the Cathedral of Lucca in San Marino Square.  The Cathedral was consecrated in 1070 by Pope Alexander II, formerly the Bishop of Lucca.  A peculiarity is the smaller arch to the right that was squeezed in against the bell tower to its right.  Perhaps not the best of planning??

The beautiful white stone and Gothic style are quite stark in this very plain piazza.

Perhaps one of the main attractions in Lucca is the wall that surrounds the old city.  It has been well maintained and as it lost its military importance, the top of the wall became a pedestrian promenade.  The area around the wall is well taken care of with green grass and trees – in essence becoming a park.

A view from the old wall of the city.

More sights along the wall walk.

Lucca is well situated for day trips to many fascinating places and towns.  One of those proved to be Montecarlo!  That’s NOT Monte Carlo!  Montecarlo is a magical medieval town that sits above Lucca in the Tuscany area of Italy.  It has charming little piazzas, an old wall, a Fortress and the Collegiate Church of Sant’Andrea.  There are also many little ristorantes for libations and rest stops;-)

An evening drive to Montecarlo, with our friends Judy and Tim, provided stunning sights.

Beautiful views from Montecarlo.

Another day another adventure.  Barga sits in the Gargagnana, a lush green valley surrounded by the Apuan Alps and the Apennines.  It is a very authentic, hilltop Tuscan town with the marvelous Cathedral – Collegiate di San Cristoforo, considered one of the most important Romanesque examples in all of Tuscany.

The striking Romanesque Cathedral sits overlooking the town from its high perch.

A very interesting Techno_lithic exhibit, which appeared to be the result of this year’s annual workshop, was displayed along the side of the Cathedral.  Even more interesting is that ASU regularly participates in this workshop!

The Digital Stone Project sculpture garden.

Interesting sculptures.

And, with that look into the future it was time for us to consider the trip home.  The next day would literally be trains, planes and automobiles;-)  A very long day to come, but the sweetness of the trip comes with a little bitter of the travel to and from.  And – it has been a very fun adventure.

It is the friends, however, that make the best part of a trip.  We were blessed to begin and end with friends.  Rheta and Tom made the cruise extra special and Judy and Tim made the last few days of our trip a perfect ending.

E&G – Thankful to have the ability to travel and the friends to make it FUN!

The twenty days with WindStar could not have ended in a more stunning way!  Much of the ship was up and on the bow at 5:30AM to watch the sail-in to Venice via the Grand Canal.  According to the Captain, the ship cleared the requirements for this berth by about a foot!  No complaining here as the sights were beautiful – –

Our predawn arrival in Venice – what a sight to see;-)

Piazza St. Marcos with NO people.

And now – off to Rome for the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone GC just outside Rome.  Fingers crossed that the Americans can at least give the Europeans a run for their money????

Marco Simone Golf Club here we come.

In the ‘Fan Zone’ for the Practice round Thursday – Sunny and HOT!

Not overly crowded for the practice round so one could actually see. (The stadium setup for the tee box on hole number 1 is in the right background.)

Jordan Speith climbing one of the many hills on the course (with a smile today).

Friday alternate shot was not a good day for the USA.

The real thing on Saturday and LOTS of spectators. Now – Europe 7 up. It gets worse;-(

E had fun no matter what.

USA play on day 2 was a little better but still not great as the band played on.

Sorry to say, we bagged the final day – it was too hot, humid and crowded. So –  the afternoon was spent at the Hard Rock Cafe watching the game in air conditioned comfort snacking and sipping our favorite libation;-). Some of the commentary from the Italian language broadcast may have been lost but the frequently used “mamma mia’s” wasn’t hard to figure out.

Full attention was to be given the Ryder Cup and no typical tourist adventures.  However – how can one be in Rome and NOT see any of the sights?!?  So, there were a few walks to dinner or coffee, which conveniently wandered by a few of the ‘must sees’.

Beginning with The Spanish Steps, which may have become popular due to their appearance in the classic 1953 film – Roman Holiday.  Built between 1723 and 1726 the 135 steps lead from the Piazza di Spagna to the French monastery church Trinita die Monti and an Egyptian obelisk .  On the way up there are three different terraces referring to the Holy Trinity.  After our stroll by the Steps it was learned that the Ryder Cup teams were just missed as they came down the steps on the way to a formal opening dinner;-(

A crowded Spanish Steps – beautiful at night.

And then there is Trevi Fountain or Fontana di Trevi (derived from tre via or the three roads that come together at the site of the fountain).  The Fountain was built between 1732 and 1762 and features the nautical god Neptune under the center arch with two statues on either side representing Abundance and Health.  Tradition is that if one throws a coin into the Fountain they will return to Rome.

Awesome site.

Interesting how the route back to the hotel took us by the Forum with a glimpse of the Colosseum.  Hard to believe that this political, legal and religious centre for over a million Romans from 27BCE-14CE was buried until excavations began in the 19th century.  Talk about a walk back in time – –

The Forum with the Colosseum in the background.

This column is 7 0r 8 times as tall as Elizabeth it’s HUGE (and beautiful).

Not all was golf and history.  A great little pizza place just a block from the hotel was Crazy Pizza.  It looked a little touristy, but many locals poured in and the entertainment while waiting for dinner was quite amusing;-)  Music blared when the pizza ‘tosser’ came out and sparklers were given to all to participate in the fun.  AND – the pizza was delicious.

Pizza was served with quite the performance from the chef.

While Crazy Pizza is a good recommendation, the Westin Excelsior is NOT.  Don’t stay there.  It was convenient, in a nice part of town BUT OLD and dated.  The best part about the hotel was the picture of Paul Newman on the inside of the elevator door.  He greeted E every morning with that great smile and beautiful eyes.  Hated to say goodbye to him – –

Farewell Paul. Give me another 💋😘

And with that, it was time to move on to another adventure.  The Ryder Cup turned out to be about what was expected – the Europeans won.  Something we were glad to have done, but once is enough.  The few sites of Rome were fun to see after all these years, but friends Judy and Tim were waiting for us in Lucca so time to head to the train.

E & G at the end of a grand experience