Look at the Stars, Look How They Shine for You {Lucca}

This Saturday, Becca and I took a day trip to Lucca, Italy! Lucca is a gorgeous Tuscan city about a two and a half hour train ride away from Siena. It was a nice confidence-booster after the crazy weekend in Spain. We spent the morning and afternoon wandering the streets and circled the town by walking around the medieval wall.

A view of the wall from the outside of the city, with the tower of San Martino church

A big gate, which we walked through to enter Lucca

Robin-egg blue bus (my favorite color) 

Such a quaint town! :)

People would park their bikes along the sidewalks, often without locking them. This bike owner was lucky I had a conscience: I might have stolen this bike! It was so cute:)

Lucca felt very safe. It was still touristy, but it still felt like people actually
 lived there too, a feeling that you don't get when visiting big cities like
Florence or Barcelona.

I'm obsessed with every door I come across! I'm thinking of doing just a
post of "the doors of Italy" :)

San Martino cathedral

Little postcard stand/bicycle. Lucca loves their bikes!

Window from the back of San Martino cathedral

Back of San Martino cathedral. Look at that blue sky in the background! We got so lucky for the beautiful morning/afternoon because as soon as we got on the train to go back, we could tell a storm was about to roll in.

An old lady feeding pigeons. As much as these creatures freak me out, this warmed my heart.

Market in front of one of the many churches with lots of handmade crafts.

We came across a vintage car show and all the drivers were revving their engines continuously. I guess asserting your masculinity is a universal thing;)

A little merry-go-round. Not even close to the Salem Riverfront's, but it was still adorable.

Church of San Michele in Foro

So much color!

Tower of the Chiesa di San Frediano (yet another church)

Charming little flower shop

Impressive mosaic on the Chiesa di San Frediano, made mostly of gold leaf

Anfiteatro, a square built on the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater. A garden show was going on and the smell of spring was in the air.

Climbing Guinigi Tower

Then we climbed the Guinigi Tower. Notice the oak trees growing on the top!

Stairs from about the middle of the tower up. Not nearly as claustrophobic as Siena's tower!

Love seeing the branches from the trees on top peeking into the frame!

The tough climb is always worth the view! Spectacular.

Just beyond the city: beautiful countryside and mountains

Stroll Around the City's Medieval Wall

After climbing the tower, we headed toward the city wall and walked halfway around the entire city back to the gate where we came in.

Again with the door obsession! I tamed it for the blog. I might have a problem;)

Either someone's very elaborate backyard, or just an awesome public building

Many tourists rented a bike and rode around the city. We opted to walk so we could soak it all up and get some great pictures too.

Cute public park

The Oregonian in Becca and I loved seeing all the green. It even smelled like home!

So it's kind of hard to see, but someone wrote a line from one of my favorite songs: "Yellow" by Coldplay.
It says "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you." It was cool to see that words that hold a lot of
meaning for me, are also meaningful to someone halfway across the world.

Another view of the wall

Cool looking church outside the city walls

Trees were blooming everywhere. Becca said, "It smells like allergy season!"

Our trip to Lucca was wonderfully uncomplicated, a big difference from our trip to Barcelona. Next week, we head to Rome for the first time to meet up with my brother, grandma and aunt. Then they come to Siena. I'm very excited to explore Roma with them and show them the city I've been living in the past month.