ON TO LUCCA

I didn’t sleep too well last night, thinking about Judy, Kerry and all that’s going on in CT. Cathy and I had gone out late, around 9:30 to go back to Georgia’s (the wine bar we had gone to on arrival) but it was closed!! I settled for chocolate and pistachio gelato for dinner!!! :) 

I tried to go to sleep after Angie and I fought over hot water for our showers - me downstairs and her upstairs!! We should have planned and staggered our efforts!! I couldn’t sleep so brought my pillow and quilt upstairs so I could turn on the light and read. I got a text from Kerry that she was there alone with Judy and I could call so I did. We talked for awhile and she was doing fine! Everyone had gone home and she was going later to a Sheraton nearby. 

I read for awhile and couldn’t get comfortable on the two seater sofa so by 2:30 a.m. gave up and went downstairs. Unfortunately, Angie is a light sleeper so she would wake up with my coming and going. Anyhow, I got up at 6:30 before my alarm and had breakfast (Cathy fixed me the night before a cup of oatmeal, milk and strawberries that I just heated in the microwave! - great new idea for traveling next time - a bag of oatmeal, nuts, etc.) I went outside to see if the little fruit market around the corner was opened (NOT) or the church nearby so I could light some candles (NOT OPEN). 

By 8 everyone was putting their suitcases by the door and cleaning up to leave. David had shown Angie how to text the taxi company for them to pick us up. It didn’t work; finally she tried actually phoning and that didn’t work either! Fortunately David called and called a taxi for us and we made it to the station an hour before departure. We had already purchased our ticket to Prato and Lucca yesterday when we got our tickets for Ravenna! Now we are on the train and should arrive in Lucca around 1:30 p.m. Looking forward to biking on top of the city wall that surrounds the 2 sq. mi. old town!

I LOVE Lucca!! It’s more small town - completely encircled by city wall (we will bike on it tomorrow. There’s a 4 person bike that we will get Angie on (she doesn’t bike!) for an hour or so. Then she and I have a walking tour around town. Our apartment (we took a taxi there) and he kindly called our airbnb host who had the cleaning lady (Sabrina) let us in. It’s not as elegant as Bologna but it will do. 

Angie waiting with our luggage for our train.

A typical Italian train

We headed off down the main street to pick up our tickets for the Puccini recital tonight which I had ordered on line. There is a performance EVERY night of the year in the church/basilica where Puccini was baptized and often performed as an organist. He was born in 1858 here into a musical family. He soon decided he wanted to be a composer, after seeing Verdi’s Aida. He studied at the Milan Conservatory. He wrote 12 operas in all and is the most performed opera composer. 

Silvana Froli, Gabriele Spina - amazing!!

Plus Diego Fiorini on pianoforte

The performers are professional opera singers and pianists. They were amazing!! We heard excerpts from La Boheme, Edgar, Turandot, Tosca, Gianni Schicchi, Madama Butterfly and La Fanciulla Del West. Their amazing voices gave me chills!!!

Puccini was kind of a rebel! He made himself unpopular in Lucca by taking up with Elvira Bonturi, married to a very influential and well known merchant in Lucca; AND had a son by her! She left the husband and lived (IN SIN!) with Puccini and had to leave town. When her husband died, they were free to marry and she lived with him until his death in 1924 in Brussels. 

I took some videos but I don’t think I can put them on the blog (Michelle, can I do that? I’ll send you one and see if you can figure it out! :)

On our way home we came across a HUGE crowd of 20/30 somethings outside drinking and our street looks like a huge parking lot!! It’s Friday night; we’re in BettyBlue Cafe (we don’t have internet in the apartment) drinking Chianti and eating all the “tapas” (I don’t know what they call it in Italian - peanuts, breads/sauce, little snacks). Great jazz/blues American music and Stevia (great waitress!) to keep bringing the Chianti!!! 

So more Lucca tomorrow! Ciao!!!