Two Gentlemen Of Lucca

Giacamo Puccini was born in Lucca and, on the way back from a bit of souvenir shopping on our last morning here, we passed through the small square where the house he was born in is now a museum dedicated to him and his statue gazes sternly across the square.

I rather liked the way this rather splendid Italian gentlemen on his bike was following his gaze.

Because the streets are so narrow and car access is limited, a large proportion of Luccans seem to travel by bike and, after we'd dropped our shopping off, we joined them for another hour cycling around the walls, basking in the warm sun, the singing of birds and the view of the surrounding mountains (see extra)

After a final lunch in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro ( a local pasta called testaroli) we caught the bus back to the airport for a smooth flight home.

Lucca is definitely a city we'd like to return to one day.