Fri 11/14/08 Lucca - Photo Day with Carmine's Group

Today we were invited by Carmine to participate in a special activity with his therapy group. Today the group was engaged in a photo assignment around the town of Lucca. Carmine works at the local psychiatric clinic. He has introduced innovative methods to treat his group. These clients have different disabilities, but are able to function on certain social levels. The sessions are always open to the public. In this case "normal" people interact with the patients as equals. It is amazing to observe these people engaging in tasks that require concentration, and discipline. The program starts with photo taking, and later progresses through art assignments in a creative way. At the end of the session we sat with everyone reviewing the photos with comments by Carmine on angles, lighting, expressions, etc. We even shared lunch in the art room. I mean really shared. One of the members of the group pulled out sandwiches and offered them to us. They were traditional Italian paninis. We obliged by giving our (cherished) peanut butter sandwiches, which most had never tasted before (even though we found the peanut butter at the local supermarket). We must say that everyone truly enjoyed the peanut butter paninis we offered, and may have since become converts themselves. We felt lucky to be able to interract with a group of people that many societies shun.

Tue 11/11 through Thur 11/13 Rain Rain Rain

If there is anything we will not do again is come to this part of the world in November expecting to rely on good weather. Our bike ride to the beach was scrapped due to rain. The forcast showed rain for the end of time. Oh, well. At least we can enjoy the local beauty of this charming city, walk around, run, excercise during rain breaks, and read lots of books.

Mon. 11/10/08 A Rest Day in Lucca

Today was a fantastic day with sun, and warm temperatures. We decided however that after four straight days of hiking, and cycling our bodies really needed a break. Besides, the weather report called for another excellent day tomorrow...
We walked around town, enjoying semi empty streets (the tourists are mostly gone), drinking good coffee, and climbing up one of the towers - the one with the trees growing at the top - to enjoy the beautiful views of the town, and the surrounding mountains. We could identify many of the features from where we stood. The communication towers at the top of the mountain to the west where we had cycled only a couple of days before, the vinyard covered slopes we had cycled a couple of weeks earlier, and towns we had visited or planned to visit. Tomorrow we were going to ride to a beach town 25 km west of here - Viareggio.

Sun 11/09/08 Hiking the Garfgnana with Friends of the Forest

Our intention for today was to take the special train to a small mountan town in the Alpi Apuane region north of Lucca. The area has a large park with high peaks which is a Mecca for hikers, mountain bikers, and roadies. There was to be a chestnut festival in a small tradional town up at a deadend road, and we thought it would be interesting. However, our SERVAS friend Carmine suggested we joined a group of enthusiastic hikers on a hike up to 1600 meters organized by a local group similar to the Sierra Club. At the end of the hike the plan was to enjoy hot chestnuts, pies, and cakes made of chestnut dough topped with riccotta. Above all, wine was being served as well. This was a great opportunity for us to mingle with an energetic group of people. We were picked up by Carmine who took us to a local parking lot where we were to car pool with other members. The weather was cool, and cloudy, but it didn't rain. The views from ascending the mountain were wonderful. Many of the trees had shed their leaves which offered us open landscapes with meadows, evergreen patches, and granite peaks in the distance. Below we could spot old hill towns with forts, and churches surrounded by stone houses. The food at the end was a treat. We stuffed our faces with warm delicacies before returning to our small apartment in Lucca.