"The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again." -- George Miller
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Day 8
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Lucca to Levanto |
The former Roman amphitheater in the center of the old town of Lucca
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From Volterra we hop back on the bus and head to Levanto and the Cinque Terre, first stopping at the charming walled city of Lucca. Before arriving in Lucca we were able to glimpse the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Carrara marble mines from the bus window. Lucca is one of the few Italian cities that retained its entire perimeter wall. So well built and fortified the wall was never challenged by
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invaders. I now know where I want to be during the zombie Apocalypse. It was widened and improved over the centuries and now serves as a wonderful pedestrian and bicycle pathway. David and I decided to walk its three mile tree lined perimeter under beautiful blue skies after first enjoying the tasty local cecina, a pizza-like treat made from garbanzo beans.
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Did you know? Lucca annually hosts the Lucca Comic and Games festival, the largest in Italy, and similar to San Diego's own Comic Con. I wonder if the tickets are any easier to obtain.
Levanto
Levanto was the perfect jumping off point for the five villages of the Cinque Terre. It lies just a little north of the first village, Monterroso, and is only a four minute train ride away. We enjoyed the low key vibe in this pretty seaside town. The colorful boats, deep blue-green Mediterranean water, and a very pretty beach added to its charm. During certain times of the year Levanto becomes one of the best surfing spots in Italy. Our hotel, The Hotel Primavera, was literally a stone's throw from the
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waterfront and convenient to shops, restaurants, and the train station. We arrived in the late afternoon and had a little time to explore before joining our group for a huge seafood feast, preceded by a pesto making demonstration in our hotel dining room.
Did you know? Pesto originated from this part of Italy. The word "pesto" comes from a Genoese word, "pesta" which means to pound or crush. |
As the evening wore on and the wine flowed freely, the singing began. Caterina swore to us that the chef and hotel proprietor loved the singing, but we noticed he quietly slipped away once the song choices changed from the classic Dean Martin and Italian ballads, to the Broadway show tunes, the Beatles, and finally the college fight songs. It was perhaps the best group dinner of the trip, despite the singing.
"When the moon hits the sky like a bigga pizza pie, that's amore".---Harry Warren & Jack Brooks, sung by
Dean Martin and the Rick Steves Ensemble. |
Along the Way:
We stopped at a roadside comfort station (bathroom) near Pisa that had seven toilets and twenty six sinks. Here's my buddy Josie, trying to decide which sink to use.
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A Blast from the Past
What were we trying to do here?
Possibly the nerdiest tourists in Pisa, ever
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In Hindsight: We wish we had gotten the nerve to sing in front of everyone. We obviously hadn't had enough wine. We may never have another opportunity to perform before well fed, slightly tipsy fellow travelers in Italy. The expectations were so low what harm would it have done?
