A Day in Lucca

I mentioned going to Lucca for the Il Desco festival, and I did, but it didn't inspire me to write about the event.  I went to Lucca to "meet up" with a group of ex-pats mostly from the U.S. but also elsewhere.  If I keep spending time with non-Italian speakers, my efforts to learn Italian will be for naught!  A fun day it was, though, making new acquaintances.

Lucca is a wonderful walled city.  The wall was built during the Renaissance and is still perfectly intact.  It is also home to Puccini.  Inside the walls are curvy, narrow, enticing streets.  In addition to all the wonderful history and architecture to be seen and absorbed, if you are anything like me, you will want to bounce from cafe to bar to trattoria and from one boutique to another.  It is a place you could easily leave many euros lighter.  On this visit, fortunately, I did not have the opportunity to get myself in that sort of trouble.

We had lunch at a pizzeria that makes a mean Napoli-style pizza (thin crust) where we were able to sit down and share stories.  This is what gets me every time (teary eyed).  I am constantly amazed at the fairy tales I hear from the people I meet who  live here, doing more or less what I do, living a dream.  Each person I meet has an amazing story as to what they are doing in Italy, how they got here, and what keeps them here.

I am grateful to be here, and I hope my story will be amazing like the stories I am hearing. Stay tuned...

-- Josslyn 'Giosalina'
Lucca, Toscana, Italia