With another perfect weather forecast for today our plan was to walk the Cinque Terre trail, but our research said the the trail is closed and not expected to re-open until spring of this year. Feeling a bit down-hearted we made an alternate plan to visit Lucca instead. Turns out we hit gold. Lucca is lovely, especially under a crisp blue winter sky.

We caught an early morning train and spent the first part of the day walking along the walls of this beautiful laid back town, enjoying the winter sunshine and the fantastic views of the surrounding countryside and the snow-capped mountains beyond. Many of the locals were also out strolling and cycling along the wide, tree-lined path atop these walls which were built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries. They are 12 metres high and in almost perfect condition due to the long periods of peace the city has enjoyed over its history. We walked the entire four kilometres, but punctuated our journey with a side trek into the lovely streets full of interesting shops, churches and restaurants.

We took our daily dose of spaghetti and wine at a lovely outdoor cafe overlooking a square where teenagers seemed to be engaged in some sort of dance competition. Feeling very mellow and relaxed, we wound our way through the maze of cobblestone streets back to re-climb the walls and continue our circumnavigation of the the city.

This may not have been the Cinque Terre, but we still had a magnificent day and consider ourselves lucky to have seen Lucca.