In Love With Lucca

So this Saturday I wanted to go on a small little day trip. I didn't want anything too far away or any of the big cities nearby because Mom is visiting soon for spring break, which I am so excited for! Now I had heard that Lucca was a good place to visit, and since the train ticket there was only €7.50, I decided it was worth  it.

And worth it, it was.

I got a nearly empty train at around noon. I would have left earlier, but I just missed the train. Thankfully there are always trains going to and from, so I wasn't worried. I boarded the train, ate the rest of my Italian meringue from the night before, got my fix of podcasts, and saw the beautiful Italian landscape (not featured in any of the pictures that I took in the train).

There's just something about public transportation that I love, probably because growing up in a smaller town made it so I had to drive myself everywhere. I would pay to ride around on public transportation all day--wait.

Unlike Siena, the train station was actually pretty close to the enclosed portion of the city, so I only had to cross the street to get to the main historic piazzas and towers. The sun was shining, the air was pleasant, and I had a couple hours to just wander the city.

I fall in love with so many of the places that I visit, but there was something really special about Lucca. Maybe it was the combination of the day and my mood, but something about Lucca just felt right.  

It was an a beautiful city. It wasn't an extravagant beauty, but a subtle fondness. The buildings were gorgeous, trees were blossoming. It almost felt like it was a small town in a big city. At least where I was, there was this sense of personal, closeness, and community while also at the same time having tons of choices with shops and restaurants. There were quite a few people but less cars, so it seemed less chaotic overall.

One thing that I saw almost immediately in Lucca was this Piazzetta del Libro. I caught a glance of a stand of books from the main street that I was walking down, so I stepped into the piazzetta and wow! No picture could do this book stand justice. It felt like an entire bookshop was emptied into this  piazzetta. Maybe even two bookshops, it was that extensive. There were just rows and rows of books and other stuff. Art books, comic books, kids books, Italian books, English books, French books, German books, maps, vinyl, cds, dvds, theatre scripts, and so much more!

Needless to say, I was absolutely loving every second I was there.

And to top it off, they also had art that you could buy. Now I didn't buy any of the art, but I did get a couple other things that will probably be gifts to some people.

I stumbled across a couple of churches in Lucca. The one below is the Basilica di San Frediano. It was so beautiful, and the outside was absolutely stunning to see.

And I ended my night was grabbing some pizza, how else? I'm still constantly amazed at how amazing pizza is here, and I've similarly amazed at how bad I am at handling knives and forks. And so as the sun set, I sat in Amphitheater Square and ate my delicious prosciutto cotto pizza.

I will definitely be visiting Lucca again.

Oh look, another video that I made! This video is over various cultural things that have surprised me since coming to Italy, like how they use forks and knives for pizza.