Highway2Home: A Walk Around Lucca in 2 Hours (give or take)

Lucca Italian School activities have kept me so busy that I didn't get a chance to walk around the entire medieval wall until today. Luckily, the threatening rain held off until tonight (unlike nearly every day this week when we had all-day downpours or afternoon squalls). Those big rain clouds you can see in the photos add a touch of grandeur to the landscape and convey Lucca's "big sky" which is similar to Montana's to my eye because of the clarity of the air and the uninterrupted views to the mountains. No wonder my grandfather didn't want to leave Montana for the Central Valley in California, although coal mining in Stockett may have been harder work than asparagus ranching in Stockton (which was what most of his emigre family did).

When I arrived in Lucca a week ago, I immediately noted the multitude of dogs, bicycles, runners, walkers, and cars, yes, cars. Although cars are strictly regulated inside Lucca's walls, they are omnipresent in the streets as you move further out from the center of town. Granted, one car on a medieval street shared by pedestrians and bicyclists (these are commuters not racers) may not equal traffic in downtown D.C., but they "whiz" by at a steady rate. This reminds me of the roads in China which are shared by all manner of moving people, animals, and machines. I have learned "back road" routes to my favorite haunts in order to avoid the dreaded car. On the other hand, I love seeing the garbage trucks and ambulances because they are so human-scale. Yesterday, I saw a female garbage truck driver in full pink lipstick throwing smallish garbage sacks overhand into her truck. You go girl!

All of these photos are taken with my recently acquired iPad mini and I've just discovered the editing features which may or may not enhance their appeal. I'm still learning how to wield this minipad (leave it to Steve Jobs to name it something his tin ear wouldn't recognize as a little bit already in use by a few million non-males) and wish I had a telephoto lens like my regular camera, but it's really easy to point, shoot, and send photos using the iPad camera.

Here, then, are photos from atop Lucca's wall (4 km, 2.5 miles).

Tre amici out for a stroll.