I was a bit tired from my travels and decided to sleep in. I woke up around 9am and had a delicious breakfast downstairs in the breakfast room. The food was really good. Since it was my last day in Lucca, I quickly packed my bags, checked out and had my bags stored at the hotel, while I explored the city some more. It was one of the very few rainy days in Italy during my trip, but it didn't stop me at all. I borrowed a large umbrella from the hotel and was on my way. My original plan was to rent a bike and ride it around the city wall, but since it was raining I decided that biking wouldn't be the best idea and decided to just walk around and enjoy the city instead. Just like yesterday, I enjoyed quaint, non-touristy Lucca, which has no major sites but simply is a beautiful medieval town. I was impressed with the cathedral and spend some time there admiring the paintings by Tintoretto, Fra Bartolomeo and Zucchari, as well as a exquisite tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia from Siena, which was commissioned by her husband Paolo Guinigi, the lord of Lucca. The cathedral also contains the most precious relic in Lucca - "The Holy Face of Lucca", which is a cedar wood crucifix and the image of Christ, which according to the legend was carved by his contemporary Nicodermus and miraculously conveyed to Lucca in 782. After visiting the cathedral I still wanted to explore the famous city wall. It remained fully intact, even though the city modernized and expanded. On the way to the city wall I walked into the street, where all the trees were in their full spring blooming glory. It was amazing. I climbed the city wall and enjoyed the expanse of the part and the view of the city. It was time to get lunch and say good bye to Lucca. I ate a very delicious lunch, consisting of a warm octopus soup and ravioli with meat sauce at the Osteria Via S. Giorgio, walked back to my hotel to pick up my bags and got a taxi to the train station to go to my next destination - Grotta Giusti Spa at the Montecatini Terme.
After 40 minutes train ride I arrived to the Montecatini. I had to use my google maps again to determine where to get off the train, since the stops were not being announced at all, so it made for a fun journey. I took a taxi to the spa (there is no public transportation), which I thought was expensive (around 20 Euro) for a relatively short 10 minutes ride. I made it to the spa just in time to enjoy the Grotto before it closed for the day at 5pm. The Grotto is a series of the underground natural caves, with beautiful weirdly shaped stalactites and stalagmites. There are three zones inside, poetically named Paradise, Purgatory and Hell, where the temperature gradually increases from 31C to 34C in Hell with almost 100% humidity and creating a steam bath, which when taken for 40-50 minutes not only releases toxins from your body but also completely melts the stress away. Limbo has a picturesque lake, which maintains a constant temperature of 36C both in winter and summer. I had a great time in the Grotto, it was something very exotic, which I have never done before, even though I had experienced many different spas. After relaxing in the Grotto, I arranged my appointments for the next day for a few spa treatments. I booked a 80-minutes Vitalstone massage and 50-minutes Ubtan Peeling, as well as Diathermy with physiotherapy massage for the following day. I had a nice dinner at the hotel (it was included with my stay) and retired for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment