Reading the guidebook on the train to Tuscany, I couldn't help notice that only about 10 pages were dedicated to Lucca. The book bluntly stated that there are no real "sites' to see for tourists in Lucca. You don't come to see the cathedral or the bridge or tower or the (fill in the blank) that you travel to other European destinations to see. You just come to be part of it.
The pace here is slower and more rewarding. You find little places that are beautiful without feeling like they've been staged for tourists. It's just a snapshot of the Tuscan lifestyle captured behind 4 kilometers of wall. Lucca is one of the last Italian cities still surrounded by a wall. Where other cities took theirs down to provide better access to cars, buses and the tourists they bring. Lucca left its in tact in an effort to preserve a simpler, quieter lifestyle without the need for many traffic lights. It worked. What's left is a wonderful village to wander around that's very proud of being home to Puccini.
The food here is wonderful as well. From the melons you pick up from the farmers' market set up on the piazzo in the morning to wonderful pizza and brochetta. Totelli is a Lucca tradition and can't be missed. It's stuffed pasta, but not really ravioli, that's covered with a meat ragu. The penne arribiatta is also a real treat. Lucca is also well known for its meat and pork and I look forward to trying those as well. Still, pasta was a must first stop for me after spending nearly two weeks eating seafood and tapas.
Europe so far has been sort of a Goldilocks experience for me. Some cities were a little too big. Some cuisine was a little lacking in flavor. Some places felt a little too economically depressed with people begging for help seemingly every time we stopped for a breath. We've seen some fantastic things on this trip so far, but it really wasn't until we reached Lucca that I felt like we had found the spot that's "just right" for our family. We don't feel like we are passing through to snap a few pictures. We feel as though we are actually living here and that's not something we've felt since we left home.
If you are traveling with teenagers, as we are, then Lucca has the added benefit of being safe, friendly and enclosed by a wall. It's a place where you can set them free on bikes with some Euros and let them do whatever they'd like and then meet back to have dinner together. After being in some of Southern Europe's larger cities, it's nice to be able to relax a little bit as a parent and let them have the freedom they need. After all, when you were a teenager, could you have imagined traveling with your parents nonstop for a month? Me neither.
So much has already been written about the sights, smells and tastes of Tuscany that I just wouldn't do it justice. Let's just say that, ya, it pretty much looks like it was pictured in that "meet cute rom/com" you saw filmed in Tuscany and that, ya, the tomatoes really are that much better than you get at home. If you can get yourself to slowdown a bit and enjoy it, you might find that "Tuscan Time" agrees with you.
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