Puccini and I

Trouble with Tuscany is there’s too much to see and limited time. Florence is now so overrun with endless queues and choked narrow streets that after some debate we decided to take a look at charming, quiet, rich Lucca. It was all of these and hot too. We ate lovely sea food at a locals’ restaurant with an almost unctuous white wine from the nearby Lucchesi hills. The Puccini museum up two flights of steep stone stairs was interesting, partly for the staffer who has learnt to play the Scottish bagpipes from a retired member of the Scots Guards who moved in opposite him. If you can’t beat them ... and all that.

He’s still smiling!