We had been looking forward to today since before the trip. I had looked up this amazing wine tour that started in the Lucca City Centre. It was going to take us on a ride thru the vineyards to some wine tastings and an organic farm lunch. If you can't tell for the "woulda, coulda," we didn't go on that tour. Instead, we went on an even BETTER one.
The Lucca tour is dedicated to a lovely lady on her birthday. A few of us wouldn't exist had she not been born and the other few would probably be in some other space and time right now. We all thank you and wish you an amazing birthday Grandma!
To Grandma (or Mom or Pat, whatever you call her).It started in Viareggio with our first glass in hand.
Oh wait, that's not true, Erika and Jamie had already enjoyed a caffe latte with a little bailey's surprise. So, call this number.... whatever, who's counting anyway.
Here is our guide that got us safely to Lucca...
And drum roll please (Erika can you play them?).... Here is our Lucca wine tour guide! She may not have known any of the wines, but she sure had a knack for picking them.
Welcome to Lucca! Lucca is an old fortress city that is still surrounded by walls. They turned the huge walls into a bike and walking path. Here is a view of one of their gorgeous courtyards and towers.
I was having a little trouble keeping my bike up, and the wine tour had barely even started. We had only had our first taste about an hour before. This does not bode well...
Jamie in her grandma glasses doing what she does best capturing all the great moments of the day. I feel like it is important to shoot the artist in action (or just before action).
Stop # 1: Prosecco and dessert. It was a great way to start. As you can tell by the empty plates, the tarts did not last as long as the Prosecco, and the Prosecco was delicious!
Another city view from back on the wall...
Stop #2: Two frizzantes and 4 Lucca whites. The red drinkers had to be lured away from their beloved. But Erika's expertise prevailed and everyone enjoyed their white round of tasting.
A couple pictures of the group. Look at that sexy lady in red, who wouldn't want to have her as a tour guide!?
Dad and I trying out the random seating the bar was embracing.
And we are back on the Rode road to our next stop...
Stop #3: this didn't come around until our 2nd loop around the wall. So, we can call it the red loop. This time we just shared a local bottle of Erika's choosing with the help of the nice waitress at Betty Blue's bar.
It was delicious of course. She struck gold again.
Then, we ventured in to this nice little market ran by a Scottish lady. We found some real gems here with the help of a torrential down pour. This lady was probably so thankful that we took refuge in her cute little shop. She did A LOT of business. But, we really did find some major gems.
The rain let up a little and we high tailed it back to the bike shop to get them back on time. Erika and Jamie found out that scarves are very useful. They don't just make your outfit pretty, they second as a head cover. I continued to enjoy it as an outfit enhancer and took on the wet hair look.
But despite the rain, it was a beautiful and memorable day in Lucca. We all came to the agreement that it was our favorite of all the places we had been.
Guess the other four cities of Cinque Terre have big shoes to fill. Let's see if it can take the cake for best days, or if Lucca will remain the favorite for the trip. Only tomorrow can tell...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Lucca, Italy
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