In the Tuscan Sun with Friends

During the Labor Day weekend (Sep 5-7, 2009), Jan and I drove

north to spend a wonderful weekend with our friends--the Loucks and Youngs. Thanks to Sandra's persistent research, she found us a beautiful Tuscany Villa nestled at the top ridge with a wonderful view of the valley below. Within an hour of Lucca, Pisa, and Cinque Terre, we had a variety of venues to visit. But first, we settled into the evening after a long drive. After unloading MUCH luggage, food, beer, wine and cheese (on a side note--this involved a lot of steps down to the villa), we began preparing our renowned "Low Country Bog" for dinner. Unfortunately, I could not find fresh shrimp for the dinner; nevertheless, frozen shrimp from the commissary worked perfectly. Following dinner, we settled into the main room to enjoy an evening by the fireplace to discuss our adventures for the remainder of the weekend--ventures Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Lucca.

Our first day out brought us to Cinque Terre. In northern Tuscana Region and along the eastern Mediterranean lies five cities (Cinque Terre) built on the sides of the mountain and extending down to the water. Without a major highway well above the cities, access would be nearly impossible. After parking on the highway and taking a bus to the first city, we sat at the Med's edge for a wonderful Italian lunch--with wine of course. After lunch, we boarded a connecting train to each city. We did have the option of walking an elevated path between cities but given the distance (24k round trip), we opted for the train ride. The next day took us to Pisa and Lucca. Of course, we all know about the leaning tower of Pisa. The tower is actually a bell tower built in a walled square with 2 very large cathedrals. While there, we of course took the typical picture of "holding up the tower". Besides the leaning tower (which is enough to draw tourist), I would not recommend planning a full day visit. Go, see the tower, and leave. After Pisa, we headed to the walled city of Lucca. Unfortunately, I did not research the why regarding the wall, but can only presume "protection" back in the day! Regardless, its a very unique city with a great deal of shopping opportunity for the girls. By the way, the wall is about 2 stories tall and wide enough to drive 2 cars abreast. For Jan and I, Lucca ended our trip to Tuscany as I had to return to work. The others returned to the villa and enjoyed a quite evening around the fire.