Lucca

This whole “go to bed in one port and wake up in another” is a phenomenon
worth getting used to. So far, cruising appears to be a pretty nice lifestyle and the Insignia seems most accommodating, with the finest amenities and superb staff. In other words – no complaints – other than questionable internet service. But every time I’ve expressed concerns about their service, they credit lost minutes back to my account – so we’re good.

This morning we woke up as we were docking in Livorno – not a particularly pretty port, especially compared to Monaco. There was, owever, the original fort not far from the boat that was picturesque.

Livorno was not our objective for the day. We were off today to see Lucca, an historic walled town, once the centre of the silk industry in Europe. Now they make toilet paper. Oh well! They also have tourism, with 60 churches inside the walled city and some other interesting sites like the birthplace of Puccini and a most unusual amphitheatre.

Puccini began his rise to fame as a church organist in Lucca and I have to tell you, I’ve seen Puccini’s organ and it’s pretty small. No wonder he felt the need to overcompensate with all those operas.

The amphitheatre in Lucca was used for many purposes over the years – fort, pork market, prison and finally the locals decided to build their house on the walls. So today, the entire amphitheatre is houses. They’ve done a nice job of retaining what remnants of the original structure were remaining, with little stone highlights here and there, very nicely tying the whole settlement together.

From Lucca, we drove to Montecarlo – the Italian one – to a family owned farm and winery. Here, we were treated to a Tuscan snack along with samples of their predominantly white wines. Needless to say, some of their wines made it back to the bus.
The drive back to Lucca, took us quite close to Pisa, so we got another look at poor Italian workmanship, which they have turned into a huge tourism industry. Clever guys!
The afternoon was spent around and in the pool, as the weather had turned fabulous once again.

This evening we dined with our newfound Iranian friends and a couple of lawyers from California. We ate in the Polo Grill, another one of the reservation restaurants, but we’re both feeling that good food can be found anywhere on this ship, so the whole big deal about the two reservation restaurants in missing us.