May 13- Lucca

Our first foray using the city bus. And of course it rained. We used the atbus app to figure out how to get to Santa Maria Novella station to catch the train to Lucca. The first C4 bus was so packed, there was no chance of getting on. While waiting, I played around in the app and bought a ticket. Not necessary, because you can just "tap on" with a credit card or Google pay, but it's another experience. We got the next C4, almost half an hour later, but we had planned plenty of time. Our tiny bus dropped us off just across from SMN. The first cafe was packed, so I suggested going to the "Self Serve" which also has a huge bookstore. Graffa for him (the cashier didn't know the word graffa🤷‍♀️ -but donut worked) and an espresso and mini muffin for me.

Then wait. I spoke with a woman from Bolivia whose husband is Spanish, and shared some time.

The train ticket is second class on the Trenitalia local to Pisa. Comfortable, new, no complaints here. But I do have renewed appreciation for the high speed trains.

We got off the train and saw a promising path that took us through a rabbit warren that tracked through the wall and into the lovely city of Lucca . We were really hungry, so got pizza Mediterraneo (mozzarella , olives, tomatoes, onions) at a nice little place. There were some enterprising avians, including a tiny bird that landed on our table and helped itself to a small piece of mozzarella from Wayne's plate.

Then walking, pictures, towers, churches, statues....

Interesting fact - they were filming for Season 4 of "The Diplomat", with the plot including G7. The city was decked out with G7 signs.

I stopped in to several churches, but lit candles at San Michele in Foro- which as best I could fathom was Saint Michael in the Hole. I found this disturbing. After a bit of research, I discovered that it was named for the Forum, which had apparently been in that area previously. Beats being in a hole. In our travels, we found a kitchen store, and I was able to get a replacement for the missing part of the 3 cup espresso pot. Hopefully no more explosions. Then to a yarn store - L'Arcolaio Laura, where I met Laura, resisted purchasing yarn, but did get some thread and needles to try to repair a rip in Wayne's rain jacket.

We walked out of the walled area, had a Coke Zero and espresso, then walked back across, re-entering through Porto Santa Maria. A stop at a gelateria near San Michele in Foro, saw an Irish Pub called Little Folks, then exited via Porto San Pietro. We identified a train, and had an uneventful trip back to Stazione Santa Maria Novella. Picked up some candy and Doritos at the train station - it's been a couple of months since we've had the salty, crunchy delights- and located the C4 bus back to our digs. We had what was left of our Mozzarella ball and shared a Nutella candy.

Almost 15k steps- but no hills, so we might not be wiped out tomorrow. Achievement - figuring out the bus situation.Read more