Last Day: Visit to Lucca and Livorno

We arrived in Livorno this Saturday morning; the city is the port for Tuscany, but most of its historic district was bombed and destroyed in World War II. From the port we took a tour bus to Lucca, a wonderful old Medieval town which a fine Cathedral, the unique and highly ornamented church of St. Michael’s and the Anfiteatro, which used to be an ancient Roman arena but in the middle ages turned into a vast apartment house. Also on our own personal agenda was the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest of all opera composers. A small museum occupies the house his ancestors once lived in, and where the great composer of “La Boheme” and many other masterpieces, was born. We also enjoyed the beautiful countryside of Tuscany, full of mountains, with countless trees—cypress, olive trees and umbrella pines--- lining the roads. Tomorrow we return to Philadelphia, to our beloved pets and our friends, before heading up to Fire Island. –Dan