Keep Calm & Rock On

So here we are in Lucca, a small town in the Tuscany region of Itay, and we are so stoked! Leaving France and entering Italy is an experience in and of itself because, to me, they just have such a different vibe that it is crazy. You just step on a train for just a few hours, and then, you enter a whole new world. Yes.

Usually when we travel, we don't stay in B&Bs that often, so I was a bit hesitant to book any for our european travels. BUT, I am so so glad we did! We found the coolest little bed and breakfast in Lucca, Locanda Sant'Agostino. We loved it. You won't be disappointed in this little gem and the hosts were super friendly, welcoming, and helpful!

No lie, the BIG key got us into our room! I'm so glad smaller keys were invented!

Front of the building

Interior courtyard of B&B

Shared common space for the 3 or 4 rooms (with a stocked kitchen)!

Secret door!

So, to access our room we do the following: we have to come through the front of the building and through the interior courtyard, then up a couple flights of stairs, then you arrive at this door above, which on the inside almost looks like a secret door that is hidden into the walls. You unlock this door and it opens up onto a narrow outdoor walkway to get to a small set of french doors. The french doors off this hidden balcony actually get us into our suite! It sounds like a lot of work, but it really wasn't. It was actually such a fun adventure every single time we left and came back to the room.

Entry into our room.

Our little balcony.

A view of the courtyard and other homes. What you don't see is all the laundry hanging outside of windows!

Another view of the courtyard.

Pigeons love all the nooks in the stone!

The room was beautiful and spacious, we adored every minute of staying there!

First time we tried a bidet, or at least tried to, ha!

And, finally, to top off our wonderful stay, the host provided breakfast every morning. If it was a nice day we would have breakfast on the terrace! Such a beautiful and welcoming display of food ... fresh juices and fruit and cold meats and cheeses and breads and boiled eggs and fresh cappuccinos. Very balanced and light, yummy. We also would talk with our hosts in the mornings and learn more about their life in Lucca, as well as meet the other travelers staying too. An amazing start to each day!

The beautiful terrace! We'd also come back for breaks here and have fresh cappuccinos!

Breakfast!

I want a breakfast like this every morning!

I must learn italian before we arrive. Totally disoriented with the change up in languages from french to italian ...and I do not know italian! Ciao!

Breakfast of champs: a coke and donuts!

Yesterday was train travel day.

Still in Nice, we awoke at 6am. Packed, ready, checked out, coffee and croissant, and trip across town and on the train by 7:53am. Booyah. We barely made our first train though. Running around with backpacks and luggage trying to catch trams, trains, and the spirit of traveling when you are foreign ... priceless! And, crazy craziness.

One train to the next ... not really knowing our next stop because all of the annoucements are in french or italian and they talk super fast. Obviously, we can't read the signs either. We keep cracking ourselves up with our know how, or lack thereof.

Four different trains later, traveling along the coast of France and Italy, we arrive at the Lucca train station!

But let me just tell you a little more about train travel. Some trains = nice, even luxurious. Some trains = not nice. You get way more room than on airplanes or maybe even in a car. Your luggage comes with you wherever you go and it doesn't get looked through or checked. ( Only on the Eurostar, from London to Paris, did our bags go through a scan and we through a metal detector.) Anyways, I digress. You put your bags either above you on racks or behind your seats or in a luggage designated area. Each seat area usually has a table or a pullout table/tray, mini trashcan, drink holders, or cubbies of somesort. Sometimes we got seats across from each other with a table in between, sometimes in a cabin of six seats, sometimes in a cabin by ourselves.

Bathrooms on trains are funny.

The older or smaller train lines are quite amusing when trying to use the toilet. First, the train is not still. You have to walk down a narrow hallway, swaying each step. Well, the cat comes out in you on the trains, metros, trams, and buses. The sprawl of the feet to stabilize oneself occurs naturally (most of the time).

Once you arrive at the toilet, you never know what you are going to get. It could be clean, most were a little smelly, and most, well all, you can't "sit" on the toilet. The squat and hover mode is in count. BUT, remember the train is a movin' and a swayin', so when in Rome ... you have to balance and a move and a sway to make sure you hit the target! On one train, the glass mirror cabinet was broken and would not latch ... and it was a train that was not smooth and very bumpy. So here I am, already hovering mid air (very carefully as to not fall or slam into the wall), TP was already in hand, while with my right hand ALSO holding onto a 2' x 2' mirror door ... trying to, well you know, tinkle! Straight up craziness.

You know you are a good traveller when this occurs and you can make it happen. I was laughing aloud, cackling maybe ... if only someone had a camera to capture that awkward moment! Some bathrooms were so smelly, you couldn't even go into the hall or corridor to even attempt to go. Others, people left you a big nice surprise. Others let the goods drop right on the train tracks as you went! Push a pedal with your foot, and viola!, you see a 3" circle open up to a full on view of blurred train tracks and gravel and there it goes.

The rides were beautiful on the outside of the trains ... I can't even describe all the gorgeous scenery that blurs by you. I found myself wanting to snap a picture every other second, but I think I have been unsuccessful on fast trains.

The views you see of the countryside or cities or industrial areas or along the coast or the through the mountains ... the view is like what you'd imagine in your best dreams. Pictures you've seen of any of these places cannot compare to seeing in the flesh. The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, clouds whiter and fluffier, flowers more beautiful and bountiful. The trees, my God, are gorgeous in shape and size and color and the negative space created around the outline is brilliant. You see fields of crops, flowers, stone, solar panel fields, wind turbines large and small, little houses, big houses, castles, villages, and oceans and lakes and seas. Throughout France you see tons of patches of yellow (juene!) flowers, then red (rouge) flowers. What are they? Poppies, maybe?

Something else I found fascinating while on the train ... is when you turn your head upwards and watch all the lines (not sure if they were electricity or telephone or train lines, maybe all) and at that speed in which the train passes them by ... they shift and move with ease, as to believe they are a music instrument being played out as you ride along. You can't hear it, but you can feel and imagine it's beat and pulse. Va voomp va vomp va va vomp va voomp, da doomp. Must say I found it gorgeous.

It's the reflection you see while traveling, the energy created, the perception of your very own eyes, it's splendor. Traveling is insightful to what you find important, what you seek maybe. It's a beautiful process, with highs and lows and lots of reflection AND a lot of intake. The output comes later.

OH, back to the trains! They can change the schedule at any time, so be prepared. Some trains come through the station, stop, let off people, and the new back on in just a minute or two. Others park for a handful of minutes, others like 30 minutes. You never knew, so here's a tip ... get your ass in gear and be ready at a moment's notice to hop on. Also, mind the gap, especially on older trains.

BUT the main tips I have is to pack LIGHT, super light, always be prepared for change, and go with it. If not, you'll have a horrible trip, ok? Ok.

Just go with it.