My bestie from California.

My bestie from California, Melinda, has come to stay for a week. During her visit we took the train to Cinque Terre, to the town of Riomaggiore, a hill town on the cliffs of the Ligurian Sea. A great day of people watching, but exhausting. Italians live a long life because they walk and they walk and they walk and it is always uphill! While she was here we obtained tickets to hear an opera held inside of a local church. What a beautiful sight. The music and the surroundings were so moving it brought tears to our eyes. On the last day of her trip we went to spend the night in Florence. There is one of my favorite spots for live music, the Piazza Republicca. They always have great music and it is a very peaceful setting. There is a carousel and kids playing with these glow in the dark toys that shoot up into the air. It really felt like Italy. She flew home the next day and I took the two hour train ride home. The train station is a 15 minute walk from my flat and goes throughout all of Italy. As I began to navigate Italy alone, I was beginning to feel at home.

So Mel has gone home and I have started to really explore Lucca and meet some locals. On one of my stops, I popped into a little shop to buy a headband on Via Fillalungo. Here I met Francesca and her dog Poison. She lives in Pisa, but owns her store here in Lucca. We chatted about hair dye and such and she told me her shop was 1 of 80 throughout all of Italy. Francesca gave me a lot of tips regarding different areas of Italy to visit that are off the beaten path. I have taken to walking around with a tiny notebook that I constantly jot notes in. People are very chatty in Italy and have so much valuable information to relay.