Val and Peter Ball are …….

Today starts early with a bright blue sky and swallows flying in formation. We are pleased to be heading home. Bob will have missed us.

Our train leaves at 10.01 but our flight leaves Pisa at 15.50, so we have time to kill somewhere. Val is voting for a walk in Pisa to take in the old town.

Our train was a little bit late but we still managed to get a seat eventually. Val and I got off at the station just before the Pisa Main Terminal as this is where the Leaning Tower and the Cathedral are. We were just inundated by people and as we have cases with us we didn’t go too far. We walked to within easy distance of the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower and took photographs

We found the nearest place for coffee was McDonald’s, facing a street market but in blazing sunshine, absolutely boiling hot .

After coffee we walked back to the station only to find that their next train wasn’t for over an hour. Our only solution was to walk to Pisa Central and get the shuttle bus to the airport

Val got on the train and I got off to take a quick picture of the train and before I knew it the train pulled out of the station without me. There’s a little bit of a high point for us. I’m waiting at the Pizza Central station and Val’s gone

Eventually the train came back and I jumped on and met up with Val at the airport, where we bumped into Valerie and Malcolm, who were standing around because you can’t check in until 2.5 hours before the flight . In the airport we had a delay of over an hour and were supposed to get away by 15.20. We didn’t take off until after 17.25.

The morning air in June was spun from gold,

A slow unwinding of the summer heat,

As cobblestones and stories centuries old

Began to wake beneath our wandering feet.

​With Val beside me, every hour stretched wide,

Through terracotta lanes and arched doorways,

Where laundry danced against the mountainside

And time dissolved in lemon-scented haze.

​We shared the midday shade of olive trees,

The clink of glasses as the shadows grew,

A sudden, cool drift of a Tuscan breeze,

And laughter carried out across the blue.

​When evening fell in washes of soft rose,

And church bells echoed down the quiet square,

We watched the slow Italian daylight close,

Without a single rush to be elsewhere.

​No map could hold the rhythm of those days,

Just sunlit wine, espresso, warmth, and grace—

A golden June remembered through the haze,

With Val’s bright smile lighting every place.

We took the train from the railway station in Monter whatever it’s called and it was absolutely crammed with young people going somewhere, all refusing to give up a seat for us old-age pensioners, kind of looking on very arrogantly. Anyway eventually we’ve arrived in Lucca and we’re presented with the city wall picture below

There used to be more than 250 towers in Luccas’s mediaeval skyline, showing the wealth of the city. Today, only two remain. The 50 m high Torre dell’Oro has 207 wooden steps that take you up behind the clock mechanism developed by Swiss engineers in the 18th century .

Our aim is to walk up two the remaining towers, one is called Torre della Ore and I’m not sure of the other one but we’ll find it later .

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xbiqSSqtwGX57zas6

In 1391 Labruzio Cellotti was commissioned by the Republic of Lucca to build a clock for the Palazzo Pubblico. In 1471 this clock was installed in one of the city’s surviving towers, called the Torre della Litte (Tower of Dispute), because of the numerous arguments between the rival families for possession of it. In the end in 1490 the Republic bought it from the Deversi family and today it soars above the city and is called the Torre dell’Ore or the Tower of Hours. The clock stopped for several years at the end of the last century but the people of Lucca wanted it to be stored. It is now in full working order and visitors who stop for a while within the walls will hear its solemn evocative chimes.

Whether you come from Via Filungo, the best known street in Lucca, or a little side street called Ciasso Barletti, you will be struck by its size and gracefulness and your imagination will be stirred. However I recommend you approach it from Ciasso Barletti because this short narrow street, which is what Ciasso means, envelopes you in its mediaeval atmosphere and prepares you not only for the sight of the Torre della Ore but also for walking the entire length of Via Filungo, flanked by ancient palazzos that are still proud and magnificent.

As you walk along Ciasso Barletti don’t forget to look up at the roofs that almost touch each other. They seem to enjoy hiding the sky; however they show just that little bit that manages to filter down through the shadows, almost creating a magical backdrop to the streets with the old T-shaped shops that still open onto it as examples of the old pride in doing business, a pride that survives to this day.

Ciasso Barletti has its own undiminished dignity preserved intact over the millennia since the time of 56 BC when Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus held a famous meeting in which 200 senators and people of considerable military and political importance took part. You will remember this little street just as you will remember the Torre della Ore that appears in its majesty as soon as you set foot in Via Filungo. It stands almost in front of you, a little to the left, its base made with solid, close-packed, centuries-old stones.

This was one of the few towers left and still to be seen after Augustione della Fagiola of Pisa besieged Lucca on the 14th of June 1314, then entered it and put it to the sword and fire for three days, destroying churches and palazzos and knocking down the towers so that the people could no longer look out over the plain.

When you look at it don’t forget that a legend has grown up here as well. People say that up there, where the bells are, it’s sometimes Labruzio Celletti, the clockmaker who strikes the hours. The tower is too high to see him especially as they say. He appears at night when the city is plunged in darkness and absolute silence. People who hear the chimes in their sleep can tell they’re not the usual times and that it’s as if a skilled and loving hand was at work.

Numerous traps have been laid at night with lights switched on suddenly from roofs and roof terraces and shining white daylight on the belfry. Some people say they’ve seen the shadows of a man shielding his eyes from the blinding light, trying to hide and then running away. Others say that all they heard was a loud noise, almost like the shrill whistle of the wind.

Whether the legend is true or not, people who live in Lucca will tell you that on certain nights those particular chimes make them sleep more soundly and give them the gentle forgetfulness that helps them to face day-to-day life without the frenetic stressful rhythms that make the inhabitants of so many other cities in the world unhappy

Continue reading “Friday 1st May in Lucca”

Off to Firenze.

So here we are. We arrived in Florence and we’re sitting outside the Duomo. The queues are horrendous. There are more queues than you can shake a stick at and we have an hour to kill before going to see the David, where again there is a large queue

We’ve just seen our friends from Essex and they wandered off towards the river, hopefully to find somewhere where there aren’t so many people

After a wonderful coffee we left the square where the Duomo is and walked to the museum which holds the original David. I haven’t been there for many years and only remembered seeing the statues. I was amazed when eventually we got inside at how big it was and how much more there was to see that I just don’t remember the statue itself of David is five metres high and was completed by Michelangelo when he was twenty-six. It took him several years. He was 22 or 23 when he started it. He got a piece of scrap marble that was left in the grounds of the Duomo and asked permission if he could carve something out of it. Out of it came the David. More than 5 tonnes of glorious marble nudity.

After about an hour we felt we’d seen enough paintings of the Madonna and Jesus and John the Baptist. Really the original purpose was to see the David, which we’d more than done, and I’ll add photos after this.

We then left the museum and walked back to the Duomo, past the Duomo and on to the Ponte Vecchio, where Val had originally bought a necklace some how many years ago? 10 years ago. We found the original shop and earrings to go with the original necklace were offered at €170 the bridge itself was originally full of butchers and fishmongers but now it’s full of extremely expensive jewellers, brand names and things that we couldn’t possibly consider spending money on. Having walked across the bridge, we found a nice little cafe where we’re sitting now. We found Moretti beer at €7 a bottle so here we are in the sun enjoying ourselves. Now I’ll add pictures.

In 1593 Ferdinando I introduced a law that banned all businesses involved in the vile arts . He couldn’t stand the smell when he was walking along the raised corridor across the bridge so he banned all meat and fish mangers and only jewellers have been allowed there since. The bridge was built in 1345 after the collapse of an earlier 10th-century bridge. This was the only Florentine bridge to survive the Nazi bombings of 1944.

After a very nice beer we elected to have affogato with pistachio ice cream. It’s something we’ve always felt the best we had was in Norwich from our local gelateria, the owners of which were from the west coast of northern Italy. I have to say this affogato was superb and a very very close contender. A little bit expensive but hey ho, you’re only in Florence once in God knows how many years

On leaving the café, we decided to walk along the river to view the Ponte Vecchio from a distance. We took some pictures, and then Val asked to walk to a particular square where the copy of the David is standing outside the Medici Palace, which happens to be closed on Thursday. We had a wander around there and then wandered on a bit further and found ourselves in a square full of stalls from guess where, Normandy and Provence, with beer, tartiflette, potato, Provençal raclette cheese, wine, etc.

After our beer, sitting in a very warm, nay hot, square, we set off for the main railway station to head back to our hotel, which is about an hour away. The station is absolutely heaving. It’s nothing like I remember it 50 years ago but hey ho, things change

This train was difficult to find. We had platform 4, which was down an alleyway and across a platform, and we were told several times we couldn’t go down there. Eventually we found the train and it’s pretty full . Infact it’s crammed.

Our first day in Monte whatever it’s called . The weather is glorious. The sky is blue and the sun is blazing down and we have a temperature of about 26°C. We took the funicular railway to Montecatini Alto which was an interesting ride after the stories of the funicular railway in Lisbon.

The town is very quaint and very beautiful, going back to the 14th or maybe earlier century . There is a church at the peak of the town which celebrates Saint Barbara, who is the saint of fire, firemen, and weapons and ammunition.  It’s a bit of a tourist trap. The centre of the town is predominantly restaurants, cafes, gelateria, tourist trinket shops, and alike.

But on such a nice day, wearing shorts and T-shirts, it seemed appropriate.

Tomorrow……. Firenze😁

A couple of days before this our Inverter failed. After help from Paul Landregan who was working at Givenergy until the 10th April when all the staff were laid off, we established the battery board within the inverter had failed. I shopped around and managed to find a replacement on Ebay. Of course it’s a risk buying a second hand unit from someone in south London but we didn’t have much choice. Val and I drove to South London to a private house having paid £208.70. Paul was concerned.

We got it home and I asked Paul Wiseman to help me remove the old unit and install the recently purchased one. It went in with no problems and powered up at the first attempt. Paul L had to fiddle around moving the ID from the old unit to the replacement unit.

As you’ll know reader, we’re now back in the UK doing less mileage but still continuing to walk. I was delighted to receive 50 Australian dollars from a friend in Melbourne this morning very early.

Thank you, Alan. Much appreciated

We’re planning and easier day today. St Peter’s and a little window shopping…..

The day started with hugely long queue to get into St Peter’s despite having an online booking.

We ended the day knackered and so we’ll write up the day later

Today the post is written by Val with her birthday tomorrow.

We had tickets for a Vatican tour. As usual, we set off walking from the hotel, leaving at 7 a.m. allowing plenty of time for our 8.30 check in. It was just as well as our rendezvous-vous was at the museum entrance, at the opposite end of the Vatican City to St Peter’s. Once we knew where we were going, we enjoyed a pleasant coffee stop.

We arrived at the museum entrance and there were long queues everywhere. Thankfully as ticket holders, we were able to bypass most of them.

The tour began with an extensive tour of the gardens. Our young guide was excellent and the tour informative. We then had a talk about the art of The Sistine Chapel and a guided tour along the galleries approaching the chapel. After spending a short while in the chapel we took a brief snack break then looked at some of the museum exhibits: art then ethnology.

We wanted to view something else in the afternoon, and it began to pour with rain so we were pleased that the queues for the Parthenon weren’t too long. It was truly awe-inspiring.

Finally it was time for lunch and after checking out somewhere that risked disappointment, we decided to return to our favourite Taverna in the Jewish Ghetto. We were welcomed back like old friends and greeted with a glass of bubbly.. After taking our time over a satisfying meal, we were ready to head back to the hotel and reflect on our day.

We’re now up to 150km of our 160km target……. With a big birthday tomorrow we’ll smash it……

See our pictures at

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEFu5jF4XxVGo1eQ8

and our fund raise at

https://walkforwater.wateraid.org/fundraising/peters-fundraising-page76

Today we’ve been predominantly in the coliseum, and the forum area. It’s quite stunning how huge everything is. The amount of labour needed to build the buildings that are in the area must have been absolutely massive. Val and I have worn our feet out. Continue looking at our Google photos and blog at http://www.peterball.uk

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEFu5jF4XxVGo1eQ8

see our flyover at Check out this Flyover of my walk on Strava: https://strava.app.link/9MuV2E9wl1b