Lucca in Bloom

Back on the train and another 20 minutes or so and we were in Lucca. My fascination with this city lies in the ramparts that circle the city. These walls; which are 40 feet high, 50 feet across and with a circumference of 2 1/2 miles are from the 15th century and remarkably preserved. On top it's like a promenade, where townfolk take their evening strolls on foot or bikes, teenagers congregate to raise hell, old men gather on the benches to argue and parents bring the kids to run around the playgrounds. There are places where you can peer over the edge of the wall into enclosed greenspaces where catapult balls {I assume them to be catapult balls} are strewn about the grass. You enter the walls through enclosed walkways, really tunnels, that gradually take you higher and higher until you exit at the top. You are overlooking the city up here and what a grand city it is! Incredibly clean and well laid out, the grid of streets are clearly visible from the top. During our visit the trees that lined the streets were all in bloom, great cup shaped flowers in pink and white, and we walked out of the ramparts to the city inside the walls to experience the fragrance. We didn't have much time in Lucca, it was getting dark and we had a train to catch back to Florence. But we decided it was a town that deserved more exploring on the next trip.