Biking Day – It’s Now or Never

The following morning I was really, really hoping for good weather because I was planning on catching an early afternoon train back to Florence, so if I was going to get a chance to bike the ramparts, it was now or never.

When I came out of the hostel, there was a slight rain already, so I resolved to make a pit-stop at my neighborhood café and then catch the bus to the train station. But as I sat enjoying my crème-burdened brioche, it stopped raining! I’m a gambler by nature, so I decided to risk the weather and try to get my bike ride in after all.

Sure enough, I was able to find a bike shop, rent a little touring bike (Miami-vacation peeps: it was exactly like the bikes we used to tour Alligator Alley), and pedal my way around the city walls. It was so fun! It’s not quite an aerial view (the towers were certainly better for that) but more like a…circumferal view. It was cool to be able to scoot around and see both the perimeter of the city as well as what lay just beyond the walls.

After one lap around, I thought, “Why not see it from the other direction? Perhaps the view is slightly different and I’ll notice something I didn’t see the first time!” Normally this would’ve been a fantastic idea, however in this scenario I was simply pressing my luck. About 10 minutes into my second lap it began to rain in earnest. I took cover under a tree for a while, but as you can imagine, there were gaps in the coverage and eventually I figured, “I’m getting wet anyway, I might as well just hurry up and get back.” This proved to be a good idea, as I moved out from under a rain cloud and it cleared up a bit further on…until right before I reached the end of my loop. Right then it started to POUR. I had no cover as well as no choice but to brave it (my time was almost up). I walked into the bike shop a wet, sopping mess. But at least I got to bike!!

By the time I got back to the hostel to collect my bags, the rain had abated. My spirits were so high from my (mostly) successful bike ride, that I decided to skip the bus and walk through town to the train station (sometimes my logic is based on emotion, instead of rationality…yeah.) As I’m sure you can guess, it wasn’t done raining and my decision to skip the bus wasn’t really a good one. So what should have been about a 20-minute walk took me probably closer to 40 minutes as I played duck and cover all the way to the station. At two different points it was raining so hard that the streets had at least an inch of standing water and so many fat drops were continuing to fall, that the entire street looked like it was moving and alive. It was incredible. People everywhere were huddled under eves and in the foyers of buildings, waiting for a break in the weather. Then it would either let up significantly or stop and everyone would dart back into the street and try to make it to their destination (or a new spot in which to take cover).

I kept feeling like I should really be grumpy about this crap weather I’m having, but I just thought it was funny. I mean, there was nothing I could do about it and it certainly was a sight to see. I mean, I think I tend to be a pretty laid back person in general, but this trip has only served to increase that tendency. Rain? Ruin my day? Nahhh - it couldn't possibly!

Lucca: It's Me & You Today

The next morning I awoke to an empty room and a clear sky. Ahh, considerate roommates and good weather – it’s gonna be a good day.

First order of business was to pick out “my” café. Since I had done some scouting for an internet café the day before, I already had a good idea of where I wanted to go. There was a sweet little mom & pop bar near the hostel I had liked the feel of, despite not using their internet. So I went right in and ordered “my usual.” Oh and did I ever pick the right place this time around. Their brioches were so…dense with crème, ahhhh! They were simply heavy with deliciousness. I could feel the bottom sagging under the weight of the heavenly crème hiding in there. Definitely the best I’ve found yet. Yup, it’s going to be a good day, alright.

As I consulted Rick on my activities for the day, I decided to climb a couple of the towers in town (there was a combo-ticket deal and I was in a stairs kind of mood), to check out what used to be a Roman amphitheatre (I just can’t get over how cool those are), and to bike the ramparts. In medieval times, Lucca was heavily invested in keeping other city-states out, so they fortified their city by putting walls up to completely surround themselves. The walls still stand today and are wide and flat and perfect for biking. Rick says you can rent a bike by the hour and easily do two laps in about 40 minutes. I could hardly wait!

The amphitheatre was first on the list (as it was the closest) and it was also my briefest stop. As it turned out, it was only a ghost of the old amphitheatre – the town had kept the basic shape and construction of the circumference of the theatre, but it had been transformed into several cute little shops along the perimeter and a piazza in the center. You could even still see parts of the original walls in the existing structure; it was an interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new, to say the least.

Next up were the towers. As expected, both afforded excellent views of the city and it was difficult to stop taking pictures. However, soon after my summit of the first tower, the rain decided to make a repeat appearance. So before it got out of hand, I scurried to the second tower (this one a clock tower to boot!) to enjoy the view and make use of my ticket. I waited around to see the “mighty clock” click into action, but after 15 minutes, nothing happened, so I gave up. And at that point I could see that the rain was turning into more than just a sprinkle.

So with the weather turning, I wasn’t really in the mood to go hunting for a restaurant – especially since all I really wanted was soup (it was really a “rainy day special*” kind of day, but I didn’t think I’d be able to find that, so soup was a good second choice). I dashed back to the hostel for a better jacket and the guy at the desk lent me his umbrella and suggested I try what turned out to be “my café” to find soup. I decided to grab my computer while I was at it and simply hunker down for a while and hopefully ride out the weather.

Unfortunately the weather showed no signs of letting up whatsoever, so it looked like biking was going to have to wait until tomorrow. The rest of my day was very low-key (eating soup, blogging, reading, napping) and I actually quite enjoyed the down time. Despite the rain, I did venture out to a Rick recommended trattoria for dinner and ordered the meat ravioli – an excellent decision. They were absolutely fantastic. So good, in fact, I was inspired to order the dessert of the day. However, as I have mentioned before, it turned out to be a cake-y cookie thing and left something to be desired. Oh well – nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess.

*A rainy day special is tomato soup heated slowly with an egg floating in its midst, until the egg is soft-boiled and the soup is hot paired with an ultimate grilled cheese sandwich (imagine a regular grilled cheese sandwich, except replace the mayo with cream cheese and then add a dash of garlic salt). This marriage of deliciousness evolved out of the many years Becky and I were roommates (and hunkered down together on rainy days). Ever since then, I’ve considered it my mission to teach the world about this fantastic little crappy weather lunch menu item. Consider yourselves learned.

Lucca (I Am Your Father...)

After Cinque Terre, it felt good to get back to my previous routine; back to just me. I was surprised to catch myself feeling...relieved on my way to Lucca. What was that about? I had really enjoyed my new friends - in fact, I was quite sad to see them go - yet there it was: a renewed lightness one feels after lifting a heavy load. Hmm, perhaps protecting my independence was more important to me than I realized. Interesting.

In any case, Lucca lay before me and I was beholden unto it. Unfortunately, the rain from Cinque Terre followed me there. I continued to do my best and shrug it off like a true Northwesterner, but soon it picked up to the point that even I couldn't ignore. No sight-seeing today. So I cheerfully grabbed my laptop, found an internet cafe and set up camp. Shortly after I arrived it absolutely POURED! I couldn't help but smile; I was more than content with my computer and a warm cup of tea (TEA! My long lost friend!) within arms reach.

Eventually I made my way back to the hostel and this is when I had my very first interaction with Sally, the tangential talker. Now, at one point or another, all of us have gone off on tangents. We've probably all even met someone who tends to wear us down with their inability to stick to the subject. However, Sally doesn't quite fall into either of these categories. Instead of taking the conversation into a slightly different thread, she starts in a completely unrelated place and eventually you find that it does, in fact, tie into what you WERE talking about.

So imagine a conversation as a circle. The normal person's deviation from the conversation would be represented by a line that is tangent to the circle (hence the term...), leading away from the conversation. Eventually the person will acknowledge the tangent and return to the circle, siting the point of tangency as a reference to get back on track with the main dialogue of the conversation. (See diagram below.)

Sally is not like this. If we continue with our illustration, then Sally chooses a point no where in the vicinity of the circle and eventually talks her way toward it, until the line DOES (somehow) become tangent to the circle. The conversation then stays on course with the circle for a brief time, until she chooses another unrelated point and again works her way back toward the circle. (See diagram.)

The disadvantage of this is (obviously) that it is quite difficult to stay on par with Sally. However, the advantage (I quickly learned) is that you can tune her out and limit your end of the conversation to simple "uh huhs" at the appropriate pauses. By the time you consciously return, she's come back to the circle and you miracuously know what she is talking about*. This method served me quite well, seeing as Sally is not only a tangential talker, but she also talks non-stop; smoothly and evenly she rolls on and on from one seemingly unrelated topic to the next. Honestly, it was remarkable. In more than one of my departures from attentiveness, I was trying to fashion a way I could document via video her tangentiality for you. However, I decided that neither one of us has that kind of time, so I abandoned the project.

(You're wondering what she looks like, aren't you? Well, she is short and a little stocky, but still kind of tan. She is over 65 and has dark gray hair that is cut very short and like a boy in the back (yet curly and girly up front...yes, it was kind of unusual). Her top teeth look like dentures and her bottom teeth seem to be sawed down at an angle; the teeth on the lower left are taller than those on the lower right. She truly was one of a kind.)

So after AN HOUR of Sally to myself, our other roomie comes in: a cute red-head from Australia named Sarah. We all swap brief stores (who we are and what we're doing here) and make plans for later. Sarah has already eaten, so she and I agree to go out for wine and tapas (snacks) after dinner, but Sally and I** are going to catch a bite now. Fortunately, there is a Rick Steves pizza reccomendation right across the street from the hostel, so Sally and I hit it up. She slows her conversation a bit and we have a nice time. The pizza is okay, but not close to the best I've had so far. Soon we head back and I find Sarah. We head out and have some good convo over wine and snacks. Unfortunately we have to leave after only a half hour or so because the place is completely reserved. We strike out finding another place to go (it was a Sunday evening) so we call it a night. Even though I've "seen" very little of Lucca so far, I like it very much. The entertainment has been impecable; hopefully now the weather will finally shape up...

*For the record, I realize this sounds quite mean, but it believe me when I say it wasn't intentional. When she gets going, it's not possible to get a word in edgewise, and since you have no idea where she going with any given topic, it becomes difficult to follow and your mind naturally wanders.

**Before you get to thinking I'm generous for volunteering to spend additional time with the tangential talker, let me just say, I actually really liked Sally - she was funny in her own way. Plus, in a group of three, she was quite pleasant and her convo was much more linear...er, circular - if we stick with the diagram from before...heh.