Lucca: Nov. 21st and 22nd

We enjoyed a two night stay in the small medieval-walled town of Lucca. Our first afternoon in town was spent walking around the whole wall (4.2 km). This provided us great views of both inside and outside the walls of Lucca. We enjoyed the mountains surrounding the city and the colorful trees lining the walking paths. For dinner, we enjoyed a supermarket meal of apples, two kinds of pecirino cheese, parmagiano reggiano, prosciutto and green olives. Later in the evening we ventured around the city and ran into a nice fellow at a bar. Blaise (from L.A.) has been living in Lucca for the past five weeks and is an opera singer. We asked for his recommendation on a place to find good tiramisu and he brought us to his friends’ restaurant, Trattoria de Leo. The restaurant has been owned and managed by the same family for the past 28 years. Parents and children work at this fabulous Trattoria and proudly post pictures on the wall. Blaise recommended just about everything on the menu and we ended up trying their two zuppas (soups) – Ben had the fagioli (bean) soup and Liya had the verdure (vegetable) soup. Both were delicious and very hearty. For dessert, we enjoyed the homemade tiramisu. One word - WOW. The lady fingers were soaked with goodness!!! Next, we were treated to a bowl of melon and chili pepper sorbet, a very interesting but tasty combination, and small glasses of grappa and lemoncello. It was such a great meal and place to be that we promised to return the next day for a Thanksgiving feast! After our meal we enjoyed a beer at the local Irish Pub with Blaise.

For our last day in Lucca, we enjoyed window-shopping down its many shop-lined streets. For lunch, we returned to Trattoria de Leo as promised. We were sad to miss our first Thanksgiving away from home and all of the delicious food made by our wonderful family. So instead of a traditional Thanksgiving feast, we decided to do huge traditional Italian feast at the Trattoria. We don’t know how the Italians eat so much in one sitting! A traditional meal would go as follows: Vino, Bread and Antipasto, Primi Plato, Secondi Plato, Side of Veggies or Potatoes, Dolce and an expresso or a liquor to finish. OK, so we didn’t do a full traditional meal but this was the first time in Italy that we both ordered first and second courses with side dishes (we honestly felt satisfied after the first course!!!)To start, Ben enjoyed a savory dish of fresh pasta mixed with greens and sausage and Liya enjoyed a dish of risotto with pumpkin cream sauce. For our second and main course, Liya had bistecca (grilled beef steak), a dish one must apparently eat in the Tuscan region. The grill taste was very nice but she has had better steaks in the States! Ben enjoyed spare ribs with roasted potatoes in olive oil. The meat was so tender and the potatoes were to die for! For our side dishes, we ordered a slice of Vegetable pie (similar to quiche) and a plate of oven-roasted vegetables. After all of that food, we definitely did not have room for dessert! After our huge meal, we went back to our hostel for a siesta! (Just like on Thanksgiving!) The evening was ended on a high note – we had the opportunity to talk to our loved ones back home to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!