2017 - The Vespa Museum

This adventure was offered by my Italian language school in Lucca and it sounded like a great way to learn more about one of Italy's icons; the Vespa motor scooter. More information on the museum is here: https://www.museopiaggio.it/en/

We first took the train to Pisa, then switched to another line that took us to Pontedera, home of the Piaggio Museum. See the map. The train system in Italy is fantastic! You can get to anywhere, from anywhere, in about an hour! Well, maybe it takes longer than that, but it's still a great system.

The following is borrowed from the museum's web site: "The Piaggio Museum was inaugurated in March 2000 and occupies the 3,000 square meters of the company’s former tool-shop in one of the oldest and most characteristic bodies of the industrial complex in Pontedera, where Piaggio started its production in the early nineteen twenties. The Museum was created to preserve and highlight the value of a historic legacy. The objective is to tell the history of Piaggio and through it the development of Italian industry, economy and society by exhibiting some of the company’s best known, most representative products and through the documents and images of its extensive archives."

Notice the fellow with the backpack below... Somehow we lost him at the train station, when going back to Lucca. We were forced to take a later train and just had to go to a local bar for some vino. A good way to handle the stress of the 30 minute delay!

The following are a few of the interesting Vespas on display.

La Bugia is 'The Lie', dedicated to Pinocchio.

A Salvador Dali original!

A Vespa 50, dedicated to Mickey Mouse.

The Large and the Small Vespa

The Vespa 150 T.A.P. for the military.

A few more interesting designs.

Would you go over 80 MPH on a Vespa?

With Sicily in mind...

The Paperino. The workers thought it looked like Donald Duck!

The 'post-it' wall....

My message...

And finally, the Armani Vespa. Quite an interesting design.

This was great fun! Now, I will visit the Harley-Davidson museum and compare notes!

2017 - Le Cinque Terre - The Five Lands

Having heard about Le Cinque Terre for years, I just had to go! From Lucca, it's only about 2.5 hours to Riomaggiore, one of the five lands. I picked Riomaggiore as I felt it was easy to get to, with the limited amount of time that I had. 

The following is a picture of the train station. We are looking towards the north, although the town is a bit to the south.

Turning around (looking south), I immediately saw this pathway...

... which appeared to be brand new. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

Looking back towards the station, I noticed how the rock formations appear to be lying on their sides. Many years ago, they must have toppled over into the sea.

Notice the rubber barrier so you don't bonk your head!

                          ***

The ability of the trees to grow here is amazing.

The climb was not subtle. I'm 'huffin n puffin' at this point!

As in most places, tourists cannot resist placing a 'love lock'. I guess it's better than graffiti.

I get my first glimpse of the small harbor, below.

This is the point where I was about to collapse from the climb. Even my small duffel bag weighed a ton! After reaching this spot, I wandered around for about 30 minutes looking for my hotel. Google Maps has it listed incorrectly and I was actually within about 50 feet of it, when I was standing here!

As you travel down this 'main street', you come to the small harbor.

The rock formations are stunning. It also doesn't look too safe!

Still, I had to go up to see another view of Riomaggiore.

Braving the mosquitoes, I got several nice sunset photos. Here are two of my favorites.

The next morning, I watched the kids kick the soccer ball around in their 'play' area. This is the only flat space in town. Notice all of the kiddie bikes... 

A few final photos of the harbor area. The water was getting choppy and it looked like a storm was coming in. It actually rained as I was on the train back to Lucca.

This was a wonderful experience, well worth all of the climbing. By the way, there is a tunnel between the town and the train station. The total time to walk to the station is about 8 minutes. I found this out AFTER I climbed my way up to the city center on the pathway. Doh!

2017 - Two Weeks in Lucca

This year, I studied Italian for two weeks in Lucca. Lucca is a rather small city of roughly 90,000 people and is located about 2 hours west of Firenze, by train. It is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. In fact, you can walk or bike around the inner city on the walls; a distance of about 4 kilometers.

Wikipedia has much information on Lucca, if you click here.

The Ancient City Walls.

There are four ports through the ancient walls into the historic city center; Porta S. Pietro, Porta Elisa, Porta S. Maria and Porta S. Donata. Here are two of them.

The Torre Guinigi is the most important tower of Lucca. It is a typical example of local Romanesque-Gothic architecture. This tower is one of the few remaining within the city walls. Yes, there are trees up there.

My room was are the very top of the building and included a sky-light. There was a full moon during my stay in Lucca.

My day-time view...

San Michele in Foro is a Roman Catholic basilica church in Lucca, built over the ancient Roman forum. See the bubble?

Basilica di San Frediano is an art-filled Romanesque church with a golden mosaic facade, plus an ornate 12th-century font.

A few miscellaneous pictures from Lucca.

2017 - Round 3

Yes, it's that time again. If it's October, I'm off to Italy to learn a bit more of the Italian language and avoid having to deal with all of the leaves that must be falling in Wisconsin. (Sorry Joyce!)

Previously (2014 & 2015), I attended classes only in Firenze (Florence). This time, I chose to attend school for two weeks in Lucca and two weeks in Firenze. Lucca is a rather small city of about 90,000 people and is located about 2 hours west of Firenze, by train. It is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. In fact, you can walk or bike around the inner city on the walls; a distance of about 4 kilometers.

Wikipedia has much information on Lucca, if you click here.

Like most language schools here, we have the option to stay with a local family or in an apartment. I've always chosen the home-stay option as it complements the total-immersion method of learning. You have to speak Italian or go hungry!

During my first week in Lucca, I stayed with the Milianti family; consisting of mom, dad and twin 16 year old boys. Our evening meals were quite lively, to say the least. Unfortunately I could not continue there as my room (a loft, really) was not conducive to good study. There was no desk, other than using the end table and sitting on the bed. I also had to keep my head down to avoid the hand hewn beams.

I've since moved to the Giambastiani family, consisting of mom and dad (and two cats). I have a really large room, with a private bath. There is also one other student here; a young German-speaking girl from northern Italy. She also knows Italian, but it is not her first language. We have interesting chatter while eating and watching the news.

 

As I write this (Oct. 12), I'm nearly finished with school in Lucca. The name of the school is Koinè Center and the learning method is much different from any of my previous classes. We are typically given a situation (in grammar or conversation), and then we are to talk amongst ourselves! Heaven help you if the alpha male you're paired with is clueless in Italian!! I much prefer being lead by the instructor, while still being required to think and speak in Italian. We are having a good time though, as all of the conversation helps us build sentences quickly, even if they're not totally correct. Also, we are getting to know a lot of nice people (the two young girls from Germany, excepted).

On Saturday I move to Firenze, where this story will continue.