Italian Adventures: Lucca and Tuscany

Saturday, April 10, we went on an excursion to Lucca, a walled city that is completely pedestrian. We toured the city, had lunch outside a cafe, and went on a bike ride around the city wall. After exploring Lucca, we went to an olive farm called Fattoria il Poggio and had an oil tasting.

Bikes in Lucca

Church in Lucca

Piazza on top of the Roman Amphitheater

Merry-Go-Round in Lucca

Riding bikes in Lucca

View from our bike ride around the city wall

Walking to the oil tasting

Group picture at the Oil Tasting

Sunday, April 11, my dad rented a car and my parents and I drove around Tuscany. We went to San Gimignano first which is a medieval town with huge towers. Then we went to Monteriggioni which is a walled medieval town. We had a really nice lunch at a restaurant and walked around some of the town. The last place we visited was Siena where we went into the Duomo where we saw the Pulpit by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, extensive mosaic floors, Saint Peter by Michelangelo, and a room of frescoes by Pinturicchio. The Duomo also contains a chapel by Bernini and a statue by Donatello, but both were being restored when we visited. Unfortunately it rained all day long, but when we came out of the Duomo in Siena, it finally stopped! We decided to drive back to San Gimignano to see it again without the rain and had dinner in a little cafe. Then we headed back to Florence.