[trip style = sightseeing + wine tasting]
For our second installment of Euro Month, we're heading about an hour inland from the Cinque Terre to Tuscany. Tagging along with friends to the fortified city of Lucca, we discovered the joys of strolling through antique markets, winding our way into magnificent piazzas, eating out and trying our hand at cooking the region's cuisine and trying to burn off the calories biking!
For us, Lucca was all about activity and eating: biking and walking, followed by wining and dining. Even with the activity, I left a little plumper---not sure how Italian women stay so slender with croissants and pasta cat-calling them on every street corner. To compliment our immersive eating adventures, I wish I could say we actually went to wineries, which was actually part of the plan, but we didn't. After a long journey cycling along a busy road with huge big rigs passing us just a little too close, we opted for a safe type of wine tasting: with our meals at restaurants.
Biking
{Lucca is a fortified city with a unique feature: you can bike, walk or run for approximately 4km along the top of the walls around the city}
{Looking into the city from the outer walls ~ the towers are left over from days of old and used to be where prosperous silk-trading families took up residence}
{More biking along the base of the 12ft fortified walls}
{Typical scene from the top of the walls looking in}
{Biking outside the fortification checking out the old aqueducts}
Eating
{One of the most fun lunches while in Lucca: after biking for a few hours---and a fruitless non-encounter with wineries---we found a restaurant on top of the city's outer walls. There we enjoyed a long lunch with pasta, salad and wine, then got back on our bikes and kept on riding! In this pic: our friends and fellow prosecco-lovers.}
{I had to take a picture of this menu ~ see if you can spot the reference to "carpet-shells." I have no idea what those are, but perhaps the joke's on me?}
{Enamored by the throngs of fresh food shops, we decided to make use of our accommodation's mini kitchen and eat in one night. In this pic: naked ravioli awaiting its sauce. Soooo good.}
{After our "home"-cooked meal, we went out to this picturesque locale for some prosecco...}
{Open-air drinks in a restaurant mid-piazza ~ there were so many I don't remember which one this was...I think it was Piazza dell'Anfiteatro}
Out & About in Lucca
{Walking into a Piazza}
{Tall, colourful buildings tightly hugged all the walkways}
{Love Tuscany's version of a garage, it's like art}
{Just another day aimlessly walking in the beautiful and cozy streets in Lucca}
Related Content Euro Month :: Italian Riviera
[trip style = active + urban]
Regardless of my fair-weather riding, I've always had a fascination with bikes as a means of getting from A to B, and have recently warmed up to the idea of adding biking to my transport repertoire. Seeing a gazillion people storm the streets on their two-wheels in China was really inspiring, and hey, if London can have a bike program with Quebec-made bikes, why can't Vancouver--a city known worldwide for its lifestyle-driven culture?
After taking part in 
[trip style = adventure + sightseeing]
Where: Pamplona, Spain
When: July 6 - July 14, 2010
Attire: White from head-to-toe with a red scarf and sash
As one of the most internationally renowned Spanish fiestas, the 9-day San Fermin festival draws 1,000,000 people each year. The most famous event is encierro, or running of the bulls, attracting adventurors, observers and locals alike to watch and/or participate in the 800 meter dash through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona. Reading an article in The Globe and Mail about a Whistler tour guide who runs tours to Pamplona each year, he said his biggest clients are 40-something hockey dads seeking a thrill. His advice if you fall or trip during the 2-3 minute run? Stay down and roll to the side.
Where: Bunol, Spain
When: Last Wednesday of August
Attire: Bathing suit and googles
Some natural skin remedies say toning the skin with pure, fresh tomato juice helps to minimze pores and sooth acne, if that's the case, your skin is bound to glow after taking part in the famed Tomatina festival. Each year some 20,000+ people storm the small town of Bueno, Spain to madly throw overripe tomatoes in every direction. The world's biggest food fight is wild, red and may even provide a little stress relief!
Where: Munich, Germany
When: September 18 - October 4
Attire: Lederhosen and Dirndl
Some people actively participate in this beer-drinking festival for all 16-days, whereas others can only handle a short stint. Every year at the beginning of fall, some six million people descend upon Munich in search of pints and pretzels. When I visited Munich, I saw the area used for Oktoberfest and I was blown away by its gargantuan size--big enough to hold the festival's estimated 6 million attendees. While in Munich, our host told us how good Oktoberfest servers can carry 8 or more overflowing beers in each hand. Their biceps must be so toned. I wonder if 
[trip style = weekend getaway] [more pics below]
[trip style = adventure]