{"id":6629,"date":"2012-07-23T08:10:56","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T12:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=6629"},"modified":"2015-07-02T15:15:13","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T19:15:13","slug":"day-56-saturday-july-21-la-specia-to-lucca-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=6629","title":{"rendered":"Day 56, Saturday, July 21 – La Spezia to Lucca, Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The threat of rain this morning, made the 72 degrees seem much warmer as the air was thick with humidity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Thankfully, the clouds kept the temperatures below 80 for several hours which did not keep us from being soaking wet at every climb, but it helped. \u00a0As soon as we were out of town, we paralleled a most captivating\"\"<\/a> yet intimidating Apennine mountain range.\"\"<\/a> We knew at some point today we would have to turn towards it to get to our final destination and it did not seem to be going down in height. \u00a0In the meantime, we climbed rolling hills and enjoyed the picturesque roads.\"\"<\/a>Today’s ride offered a choice in direction, so we headed towards the beach in hopes to have flatter ground to ride. \u00a0This is an incredibly popular bike route; never have we seen so many bikers (and it wasn’t even a Sunday).\"\"<\/a>Hundreds of bikers, all offering encouraging waves and shouts. \u00a0We probably took as many pictures of them\"\"<\/a> as we did of this mountain.\"\"<\/a>In between the incredible looming mountain and farm fields \"\"<\/a>we passed through an occasional small village<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>and one pretty harbor.\"\"<\/a>Finally reached the beach road;\"\"<\/a> even in the overcast skies people were heading to the beach at ten in the morning.\"\"<\/a>The seaside towns all ran together, with the exception of an occasional bridge,\"\"<\/a> it was hard to determine when one town began or ended. \u00a0The difference though, was there were no high-rise condos, apartments or hotels on the beach side,\"\"<\/a> in fact, no building was more than two stories. Bicyclists of all kinds were riding the roads,\"\"<\/a> so we fit right in (except for the large bags, of course). \u00a0But our nice flat road ended when we turned towards the hills about noon.\"\"<\/a>The climb started slowly, then abruptly went to hairpin turns\"\"<\/a>and very slow climbing in hot sun.\"\"<\/a>The ride down was beautiful (naturally)\"\"<\/a> as the sun started to part the clouds.\"\"<\/a>We came to a crossroads with conflicting signs, but were quickly rescued by Roberto.\"\"<\/a>A half hour later we left the countryside\"\"<\/a> and managed our way into Lucca.\"\"<\/a>The old city is surrounded by a most impressive wall,\"\"<\/a> which gives you a true feeling of stepping back in time as you walk through the gates\"\"<\/a> and into the narrow streets\"\"<\/a>and small squares.\"\"<\/a>The Duomo di Lucca (Cathedral St Martin) began in 1063, has a facade unlke any other we’ve seen,\"\"<\/a>incredible detail.\"\"<\/a>Next we found the\u00a0Piazza Anfiteatro\"\"<\/a>and enjoyed an afternoon salad\"\"<\/a> as we watched the world go round, Italian style. \u00a0And since it was Saturday afternoon, there had to be a bride around somewhere\"\"<\/a>strolled right by our table. \u00a0Wound our way back through the crowds \"\"<\/a>to rest until for our next feeding.<\/p>\n

Found a interesting\"\"<\/a> local Tuscan restaurant<\/a> where we enjoyed a most incredible bottle of Toscana wine, Saltimbocca and a pasta trilogy, finished with chilled Limoncello, a most delicious dinner.\"\"\n\t\t