15,000 Steps …

            … by 10:30 am this morning, and a total of 24,000 steps as of this afternoon.  The walled city is not all that big, so I figure by now I’ve been on every street more than once, and for sure I’ve been around the circumference several times.

There are many work crews out assembling large white tents for an event that I’ve finally put together is this year’s Planet Earth festival.  Judging from the size and number of tents, I’ve been braced for an enormous influx of people – I’m remembering Girona’s flower festival earlier this year when we had to elbow our way through mobs of flower enthusiasts. But so far, nothing is happening with the Planet Earth festival despite that it supposedly runs from today (Thursday) through Sunday, and there’s nothing set up in any of the huge tents. A mystery, but I’m happy with the mellow, uncrowded Lucca I’ve been enjoying. Here’s just some of what I’ve done and seen:

I’ve started off my mornings with runs around the Murra di Lucca, where yesterday, I stopped to snap this photo of a hot air balloon.

 

 

Climbed Torre Guinigi, a ~150 medieval tower topped with trees, which offers spectacular views all around. 

Toured the Cathedral of San Martino, Lucca’s duomo.

 

Visited Lucca’s botanical gardens which I rank as a solid ‘meh.’  Honestly, they weren’t much more scenic than our local Green Acres nursery, but I did appreciate this trio of the largest Ginko Biloba trees I’ve ever seen. 

 

            This morning, I eschewed the B&B’s unexciting breakfast offerings and instead walked to the nearby Pasticceria Dianda where I tried to blend in with all the locals getting their morning caffe and pastry. Nobody was fooled, but I managed to order my cornetto al cioccolato e cappucino in Italian, and declined when the barista used English to ask this obvious tourist “Take Away?”  Nope: I stood at the counter like the Italian next to me and downed my caffeine and pastry with aplomb.

Here are a few more sights:

Everyone needs an herb (basil) garden.

There are public water fountains around town where people fill their water bottles.  I’ve seen several people bring bags full of plastic bottles that they refill and presumably, stash back home in their fridges. 

An adorable, one-seater electric mini-car.

 

Apparently, Lucca’s anti-litter mascot is named Linda.