Saturday 10 May 2025 – On paper, the day’s schedule was quite relaxed, starting with a 10am transfer to Lucca. However, I wasn’t done with Pisa; I wanted to take a photo of the tower and baptistry in the morning sunshine. I thought that if I got there early enough, I might be the only one there and so could get a photo of the tower with no crowds. I was very nearly right.

I woke up shortly after 6am and decided that I would walk up to the Piazza del Duomo, so I arrived there well before 7am. The site was, indeed, very quiet. But, right bang in the middle of the shot I wanted to take, was a couple who had obviously got up really early so they could get their own shot at a classic view of the site,

except, of course, they were doing fucking selfies! And they were taking their time about it, too, so, rather than wait for them to finish, I walked around the site to get a photo of the baptistry in the morning light.

On the way back to see if my shot was clear, I passed another, clearly serious, photographer setting up with his big camera on a tripod, only to realise that he was doing fucking selfies, too!

Anyway, I got the shot I wanted in the end.

I really wanted an aerial version, too, and I had the drone with me. There was a sign on the site saying “no drones”, but I thought that maybe if I launched from just off the site, I could sneak a quick shot with no-one to notice.  Sadly, DJI’s software had already thought of this, and declared the area an “Authorisation Zone” – I would have to get a special code even to launch. Not only did I not know how to get this, but I realised that if I did, They would know that I’d taken an illicit shot. So, with a sigh, I packed up and walked back to the hotel.

Pisa looked very fine in the early morning light,

which made me feel extra glad that I had made the effort to get up early.

Our 10am transfer went very smoothly, with an entertaining driver who got us to Lucca in about half an hour, and deposited us at the Hotel Rex

whose staff seemed somewhat disenchanted to see us so early and bade us come back at 2pm to check in. They did allow us to leave our bags there, so we did that and wandered off into a lovely sunny day.

Embarrassingly, I had never even heard of Lucca before we planned this trip, but when I mentioned it in various conversations, people cooed about how lovely the place was; I’d seen a photo of the cathedral and heard about the walls, but that was about it. According to Wikipedia, “Lucca is known as an Italian “Città d’arte” (City of Art) from its intact Renaissance-era city walls and its very well preserved historic centre.” The hotel lies just outside these walls, and so we went with a plan to walk around them, as Jane had confirmed that this was A Thing. We first had to find a way through them

and soon found a path that led through a tunnel

and up into a delightful area. There’s a well-developed and wide path that completely circumnavigates the walls, allowing for walking, running, cycling and

the cycling equivalent of pedalos, which are for hire at many spots round the walls. The route is tree-lined and very pleasant to walk along.  It offers many a great view of the city and its buildings,

all the nicer for it being a beautful sunny day.  The round trip is around 4km, and we covered about half it before diverting off in search of a coffee, which we found in the Piazza del Amfiteatro. Jane had mentioned that there were maybe a couple of restaurants there, and actually the whole amphitheatre area is rammed with restaurants

and featuring a market in the centre.

We chose a place at random (OK, the first one we got to) and passed a pleasant hour over coffee and drinks before completing our circuit round the walls, a process which took us to just after check-in time.

En route, we passed the very pleasant Piazza San Frediano

which gets its name from the Basilica which stands on one edge, a building with a very striking facade

which features a fabulous mosaic image at its head.

It was open, so we went in, and found that the interior was every bit as striking as the outside.

It’s “Chapels’R’Us” down the sides of the nave

and there are many interesting details – lush decor and frescoes.

An extra side chapel has, among all the other splendours, a wonderful ceiling,

and, all in all, it was a very worthwhile detour. We carried on round the walls, past more splendid edifices

and, for reasons not entirely clear to us, a giant panther.

I mean, obviously it’s something to do with the Giro D’Italia cycling race, but exactly what we don’t know.

The hotel was more welcoming when we arrived at 2.15pm, and checked us in smoothly. Behind the reception is a neat floral display;

the shape of the walls, made out in hydrangeas – as can be seen in the track of our walk.

Having checked and settled in, we then mounted an expedition to find lunch, which is where we struck the first (minor) obstacle; all the serious restaurants had clearly shut their kitchens. We stumbled about until we found somewhere that could provide us something better than a packet of crisps, and had a relaxed time over focaccias and salads. There seemed to be a few hen parties in town, and one passed us whilst we were at lunch.

They were clearly having a good time, as were we.

We repaired to the hotel for a restorative cup of tea and, as the sun was going down, ventured out again, this time in search of gelato. It amazes me that we’ve been in Italy almost a week and this is the first time that ice cream has featured as part of the plan. So we headed back towards the old town, taking the opportunity to pass the cathedral, which has a very impressive facade.

We then blundered about a bit, ending up by the Piazza Napoleone. We had wondered, earlier, whether there might be restaurants here.

Yup.

It’s-a nice-a place; we may well end up having lunch here tomorrow. Jane also found a highly-recommended gelateria for us to sample – Caffè Casali, on Piazza San Michele. This is a civilised ice cream parlour

which also serves cocktails and pastries. It made for a pleasant coda to the day.

Tomorrow is the last chance we get for a leisurely schedule; after that the hard walk starts. There are a couple of towers to climb and maybe a couple of churches to visit (no shit, Sherlock – Ed). So stick with us and you’ll find out how we spent our last non-walking day.