Lucca

On of our day trips we drove to the town of Lucca, located about 10 miles from the Pisa area. It was a great city to walk around and explore. Lucca became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of its historical center is of typical Roman street plan. What is so unique about the city is it is completely surrounded by a very tall brick wall. The kids were running on a grassy part atop the wall when we first got there. Whoa! We got them off that pretty quick once we realized the drop down!

In 1805, Lucca was taken over by Napoleon, who put his sister in charge.

Entering the city walls.
Here is what the walls look like that surround the city.

A shop that Jason bought some AMAZING green olives from!

There is a path that goes around the whole city atop the brick wall (the kids were running along the outer edges). We loved strolling along this and seeing the city from up high.
The Torre delle Ore (Clock Tower) is the only medieval tower left in Lucca out of around 130 that once existed. The tower contains a clock since 1390.

We of course had to take a break for the kids at the playground. It's funny because they can be so tired of walking around the city until they see a playground. Then all of a sudden, they have SO much energy. Crazy kids!



For dinner the next night we went to Livorno. A guard at the gate recommended this place, and a good recommendation it was! Jason had this interesting shrimp pasta dish and I had a pizza with thinly sliced apples on it. They were both really good!
Awww....I so love him!