Lucca to Altopascio

I had a great sleep last night at the Youth Hostel at Lucca. A nice bed with crisp white sheets and it was quiet! Fortunately, none of us snore so it was peaceful inside the room, as well. Heaven! And, best of all I was able to hop out of bed without any problem so that was good. It seems that the worst of my fall from yesterday is a large bruise on my bottom, and aint nobody but me gonna see that! Soon we were in the dining room enjoying cappuccinos and bread with jam... Even though I was well rested, I must have looked like I had slept, as the man serving us suggested that I needed two cappuccini today; who am I to argue with more coffee? An hour tour of beautiful and ancient Lucca, and we hit the road under cloudy skies, once again. Perfect weather for walking!


The route was an easy 18 km, just rolling hills and lots of little villages in between. And now, a delightful room for 4 at the sports complex. Just kidding, it isn't that great and I wasn't satisfied ( well actually I'm still not) until I had rearranged the room and had swept away some of the dust bunnies. But at least it feels a little better even if it isn't great.

We have all had showers and done our obligatory laundry, and Gisella has been trying to arrange accommodation for us at Monteriggioni on Friday where there is a big festival for pellegrinis. Ironically, there isn't any room for people who are actually walking. The place has been booked up by others far in advance. Like any passionate Italiana would be, Gisella is fit to be tied, busy spewing expletives like stronzo (asshole) and the like. So where will we stay on Friday? It would be very strange to have to stop walking or jump ahead by bus because a pilgrim festival meant there were no beds!

Later... we are at the library so I can use their Wifi, but the signal isn't strong enough for me to download photos to the blog site, so my meager words will have to suffice for now. I am sharing a table with two young girls who are doing their homework, and making a very neat job of it, in between giggles. And now the folks who work at the library are now involved in the search for somewhere for us to stay at Monteriggioni! What adventure, what drama!

Ciao for now...