Lucca, Italy
During the last day trip in Italy I traveled to the beautiful Tuscan town of Lucca, protected by massively thick 16th century walls. Lucca features some of Italy’s finest medieval and Renaissance architecture, antique markets, and stunning villas in the surrounding hills. Unlike Florence or Pisa, Lucca is a wealthy and colorful town, which is sufficiently off the beaten path. The stunning feature of Lucca is the ring around the whole city; in the early 16th century the inhabitants of Lucca built the brick walls for defense. Today, walking or biking around the entire city gives the average tourist a beautiful view of the city. Upon arrival we set off on a walking tour, weaving in and out of the cobblestoned streets. Our tour guide was exceptional and was able to offer us an intimate tour of Lucca through the eyes of a local. After a quick break for lunch at a Panini shop our entire group loaded onto the buses and headed towards a local olive producer vineyard. Here we walked around the grounds of the olive groves and listened to an informational session regarding the process of picking, pressing, and producing exceptional extra virgin olive oil. After the tour we were able to sample the olive oil with bread alongside small apertifs of bruschetta, sun dried tomatoes, marinated olive, and meats. I could not resist purchasing a small bottle of this liquid gold to bring back home with me! Although the weather forcast predicted rain showers it ended up being a sunny gorgeous day – a great end to the many trips I took this semester. 
During the last day trip in Italy I traveled to the beautiful Tuscan town of Lucca, protected by massively thick 16th century walls. Lucca features some of Italy’s finest medieval and Renaissance architecture, antique markets, and stunning villas in the surrounding hills. Unlike Florence or Pisa, Lucca is a wealthy and colorful town, which is sufficiently off the beaten path. The stunning feature of Lucca is the ring around the whole city; in the early 16th century the inhabitants of Lucca built the brick walls for defense. Today, walking or biking around the entire city gives the average tourist a beautiful view of the city. Upon arrival we set off on a walking tour, weaving in and out of the cobblestoned streets. Our tour guide was exceptional and was able to offer us an intimate tour of Lucca through the eyes of a local. After a quick break for lunch at a Panini shop our entire group loaded onto the buses and headed towards a local olive producer vineyard. Here we walked around the grounds of the olive groves and listened to an informational session regarding the process of picking, pressing, and producing exceptional extra virgin olive oil. After the tour we were able to sample the olive oil with bread alongside small apertifs of bruschetta, sun dried tomatoes, marinated olive, and meats. I could not resist purchasing a small bottle of this liquid gold to bring back home with me! Although the weather forcast predicted rain showers it ended up being a sunny gorgeous day – a great end to the many trips I took this semester. 
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