Saturday, August 6th to Friday, August 12th, 2022 - Respite in Lucca, ViaReggio and Cinque Terre, Italy

Knowing that my trip to Ladakh/India was likely to be very active travel, I had planned to follow it with my own mini 'Tuscan Sun' experience, in this smallish Tuscan town, Lucca. I was looking forward to staying here for two weeks - no more packing the bags and moving on for a while.

Lucca

I chose Lucca, because it is the birthplace of Puccini and has an Opera Festival not far away, featuring some of his operas.

Our AirBNB

I found a nice AirBNB that was sunny and well appointed - with three bedrooms! So invitations had gone out to both Robyn and Sarah to join me. How fortunate I am, that both agreed to visit in this little town. Robyn was with me the first week, then Sarah joined us both for the second week.

Madama Butterfly Costume - Puccini Museum

The lovely thing about having the girls with me, was that I could put my brain on R & R and have them be my tour directors. So the first outing with Robyn was a visit to the Puccini Museum - located in the house where he was born and raised.

View From a Window in Puccini's Childhood Home

Puccini's opera's are among some of my favorites - Madame Butterfly, Tosca, La Boheme - so it gave me pleasure to see where the composer was born and grew up. I particularly liked looking out this window to see the beautiful tones of Tuscan yellows and orange in the sunshine. I also learned that he came from a long line of family musicians in Lucca. His great-great grandfather came here in the early 1700's and became maestro di cappella of the nearby Cattedrale di San Martino. This musical position was then passed on to subsequent generations of his sons. Sadly, Giacomo Puccini's father died when he was only six years old. As a result he was too young to take the same job at the church - perhaps if that had happened, his operas might never have been created.

Puccini's Piano

I was surprised to discover that Puccini was a relatively modern composer. He was born in 1858, which sounds like a long time ago, and died in 1924, which sounds like only yesterday! He died of throat cancer at the age of 65 following his lifelong use of cigars - Robyn said he was rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth! Sad. He had not yet finished composing Turandot, so we may never know how i was supposed to end.

Cattedrale di San Martino - Lucca Cathedral

This is the cathedral that Puccini's family worked at. It is a large imposing place and about less than a ten minute walk from their home.

Narrow Pedestrian Streets

Lucca is a medieval walled city in Tuscany. It's history reaches back to Etruscan and Roman times, but the current structures in the town go back as early as 1160. It was organized as its own republic for a long time and resisted  invasion from neighboring states until 1799 when he French invaded. Being a walled city probably allowed it to be independent for this long time, but the limited space available for development also led to real estate pressure - hence the high apartments with the narrow streets. Many are closed off to vehicular traffic, but bikes, scooters and touristy 'surreys' for two or more to cycle, all travel the streets. Even without the cars they were hectic places to walk.

The City Wall From Outside (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

The wall is 2 1/2 miles long, is quite wide and is 30 feet high in some places. It encloses a rounded, roughly rectangular space with six portals or gates. Construction on it began in the mid 1500's.

Wide, Tree Lined Promenade Atop the Wall (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

The resulting space on top provides a lovely promenade around the city asnd is very well used. It is lively at all times of day - walkers, cyclists, runners, sitters, yogis, tourists etc. There are restaurants and cafes and in the evening we heard musicians performing for appreciative crowds.

Public Drinking Water Fountain, Via del Gonfalone

One of the other fun things about Lucca that I really liked were the many public drinking water fountains throughout the city. I read that they are spring fed and our AirBNB hostess told us they have better water than the faucets. I loved the idea that we were putting Pepsico and Coke out of business by refilling our bottles from these. This one was used night and day - people bringing large numbers of big bottles to fill.

Public Drinking Water Fountain, Via del Fosso

I visited all the fountains I could find one afternoon. This was my favorite, although at a later time, I found a more substantial statue elsewhere. 

Mineral Deposits on Faucet

In particular, I loved seeing the signs of ageing around the structures, like these colored mineral deposits around the mouth of the 'water god'? Elsewhere, there was much mildew, moss and the evident erosion of the marble from centuries of water flowing over it.

Viareggio Beach

We were only 30 minutes from the beach by train, so Robyn and I decided to experience the Mediterranean Sea at Viareggio. I can say I've never seen anything quite like the commercial congestion on the shoreline, although having shade and and a chair was nice. The water was murky, with brown algae floating about, so it did not get ranked high in my beach ratings. Fernandina is definitely better!

Ahh, Pinot Grigio at Last!

We also enjoyed a very nice meal at Gran Caffe Margherita in Viareggio. 

Corniglia - Middle Village of Cinque Terre

To eliminate the possibility of my becoming too lazy, Robyn also enticed me to take a walking trip through Cinque Terre, a collection of five fishing villages along the coastline that are joined by a rigorous walking path. In the past, these villages could only be accessed by mule, train or water. They are picturesque, with colorful houses, sweeping sea vistas and vineyards and olive groves hugging the steep hills surrounding them. A road was built in the 1960's and they became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The Path Starts in Corniglia

 At the present time, the two trails between the three most southern towns, Riomaggiore, Manarola and Corniglia have been closed due to a landslide, so we began in Corniglia and headed toward Vernazza. As you can see, it was a pretty steep climb right off the bat! We set out from Lucca at 6 am for a two hour train trip to get here. We were hoping to beat the heat, which worked at first.

Looking Back at Corniglia, with Manarola in the Background

The villages were at sea level, but the path had to climb to find its way around the ridges running down to he sea. Most of the steep areas had steps, but I was glad I had brought my walking poles with me.

Typical Path

When we were in the shade it was a very tolerable temperature, but out in the sun, it got pretty hot, especially as the day progressed.

Olive Groves With Netting 

We walked past olive groves with their green nets ready to catch the crop as it falls.

Vernazza

The fist glimpse of Vernazza was pretty exciting. Although it was barely a few miles, the 600 foot elevation had challenged us. 

Caterpillar Tread Gets the Load up the Hill

Living in a steep place where roads don't exist is clearly a challenge. This little cart with the tank like tracks did a better job of it than my knees.

Vernazza - Cute, narrow, Steep, Colorful

Vernazza was a charming little town, for sure.......

Vernazza Crowds

.....but Oh, so crowded! There was not enough room in the streets for everyone. I guess the UNESCO recognition, Rick Steves, the road and train access has drawn the world to come here. After something to drink and eat, we were glad to get back on the less crowded walking trail to Monterosso, even though we'd lost our early morning edge.

Looking Back a Vernazza

Looking back at Vernazza, Robyn and I noted the amount of boat traffic and as we felt the sweat dripping down our backs, wondered wistfully if it might be a better plan to view these lovely towns by boat next time!

Railings Were Appreciated

It had been a long climb from Vernazza and as we approached Monterosso, the hillside became quite steep and in places quite narrow. Happily these railings provided some protection in the most vulnerable places, but negotiating our way past fellow walkers took co-ordination and co-operation.

Monterosso

Catching sight of Monterosso was a delicious reward, but we were dismayed at the array of umbrellas lining the lovely beach. 

Beautiful, Clear Water

As we got closer, we noted the beautiful water below - no murk or seaweed there! We made another note to selves - 'Bring swimsuit next time!'

Monterosso

By the time we arrived here, we were pretty spent. The distance had not been far, only 2.2 miles, but again the nearly 600 feet of vertical climbing in the midday heat had taken its toll for we flatlanders!

A City Gate in Lucca

We were happy to find the train station and make our way back to Lucca. Soon, Sarah arrives and our opera experience begins.

Tuesday, August 2nd and Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 - The Red Fort, Laundry Ghats, Taj Mahal - Agra

 Knowing that I would be within driving distance of the Taj Mahal once I arrived back in Delhi, I had arranged to take an extension offered by the tour company, in hope of capturing the essence of this iconic and beautiful structure. 

First Glimpse

In order to get a 'preview' of it, we visited the Red Fort, just 2 1/2 miles away, which offers some enticing views across the river Yamuna. The 'Taj' had a floaty, hazy look about it as it glimmered off in the distance.

Jahangir's Palace

The Red Fort is well named! It is massive and its walls are made from red sandstone with white marble trim. When I look up the history of the building, I learn it was built in the 1500's for a Mughal emperor, Akbar, although other structures had existed prior to that. (My research here is confusing - different reputable sites suggest other originators, but it seems Akbar is the one that commissioned it in its present form.)The internal palace in the photograph above was built for his son Jahangir and has white marble trim to provide contrasting ornamentation.  I don't know very much about Indian history, but I understand the Mughals arrived in India from Central Asia (Uzbekistan) in the 1500's. Their name is derived from 'Mongol' and the founder, a warrior king called Babur, was a descendent of Genghis Khan. Akbar was his grandson.

Imposing Columns of an Interior Courtyard

The Mughal Empire was a consequential power throughout south-east Asia between 1580's to 1740's, by which time it had a military of a million soldiers - the largest in the world at that time - and was valued at having 24% of the world's economy. No wonder the Brits became interested in their wealth!

Their architecture is really well represented here in Agra with the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, which have a blend of Indian, Islamic and Persian elements of architecture, which includes symmetry, bulbous domes, slender minarets at the coners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways and delicate ornamentation.

Screening Tiles

This tile-like screen shows some of the lovely design details that were there.

A Serene Portico

There was another screen with holes too small for my camera lens to photograph this porch, so my cell phone did the trick! What a beautiful cool space this must have offered for afternoon tea!

Mosaics

The age of the building shows up, sadly, with some features showing signs of disrepair, as with these and other mosaic features we saw.

Fortifications?

It is called a fort, but in addition to being a military base, was also a small city with many palaces, entertainment halls, gardens and a mosque. This photo definitely suggests soldiers and watchtowers.

Interior Walls of A Mosque

The structures were numerous and our visit was brief, so I didn't manage to understand exactly what I was photographing, but its beauty was unmistakable. The inlays of this white marble in one of the mosques was a prelude to similar features we would see later at the Taj Mahal.

Lots of Other Photographers

As it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was a very busy place, even in the late afternoon when we arrived. There were many megapixels being carried out of its gates and I especially appreciated that this woman's sari coordinated so well with the  building........

A Colorful Head Wrap

........and the vibrancy of this man's head wrap against the red walls.

Happy to Pose for Nathan

When travelling with Nathan Horton, one is travelling with a people magnet. Wherever we turned, even if people were taking selfies, Nathan's skills for engaging often resulted in photo ops. On this afternoon there were many husbands and wives posing together for photos.

A Stylish Couple

Some were trying to get photos with the Taj Mahal as a backdrop, so that part of the complex was quite busy. 

Posing for the Camera

This woman was not so well coordinated with her green dress, but still beautiful. 

Mother and Daughter?

She was with an older woman and as we connected, I noticed their hands.

Recently Married

They told us that the henna tattoos on the younger woman denoted that she was recently married.

Henna Tattoos

The older woman also had tattooed hands and was happy to show them to me for a photograph.

Families Were Out Enjoying the Place

Everywhere we turned, the red backdrop provided a stunning contrast to people's clothing.

White Was Dramatic, too.

In an interesting twist, we also became the subject of people's photographs. Quite a few times, we were asked to be included in photos.

Family Photo

This family was very keen to have their photo taken with us. They were from a part of India that Nathan knew well, so we had a very animated conversation and we are now in their cameras, too.

Dhobi Ghat on the river Yamuna

Before heading over to the gardens opposite the Taj, Nathan wanted to look in on a laundry ghat on the river.

Boiling Vats

Now, I had no idea what a ghat was, until I saw these huge piles of saris being washed by the side of he river. Seeing these beautiful garments lying in the dirt was bizarre, but is seems the way they have done it traditionally, so I guess it works. 

Dhobis

The men who do the laundry are called dhobis. They waved at us and seemed happy to take a break to pose.

Colorful Chaos

Unfortunately, their boss didn't like to see free megapixels leaving his laundry, so he approached Nathan, aggressively demanding payment.

How Do They Get Back to Their Owners?

While Nathan is generally happy to show appreciation for people when they pose by offering a monetary gift, this high handed demand, was not in his style, so we decided to leave instead of being forced to pay. However, I managed to snag a few more photos of the glorious cacophony of colors. Seeing women wearing their beautiful garments, it is hard to imagine that this is how they get cleaned! Although brief, it was a wonderful experience.

The View From The Garden - Mehtab Bagh

Before the day ended, we wanted to have a closer view of the mausoleum and went to a park on the opposite side of the river, so get a view in the evening light. It was a great vantage point to see not only the central white part of the building, which is so well known, but to also see the smaller buildings on either side. The one to the right is a mosque and mirroring it on the left is a guest house.

The Guest House at the Taj Mahal

Here is a closer look at the guest house. The mosque was very similar.

My Favorite Image From the Garden

Our plan was to be the first into the complex the following day. Nathan had arranged for us to meet 'the best guide', Dom, the following day at 4:45 a.m. to be first through the stiles when it opened at 5:13 a.m. (30 minutes before sunrise).

We were to be pared down to essentials, as everything had to be scanned, so no backpack or bags. After that we were to run around the corner to the first spot where we could see the white domes and start clicking.

Taj Mahal in the First Glimmers of Light

Wow! It was quite an experience! I was fortunate that the women had a separate security line for being searched, so I got through quickly and then was off to the races. My camera was on the recommended settings and I was there before others. It was here that I came to understand the meaning of 'blue light'. The colors you see here are due to the magic of post camera processing - Lightroom and Topaz. The untouched photo is a rich, deep blue! However, I got the first glimpse!

Framed By a Concrete Seat

The next target was to find the seat that had a nice arch UNDER it to frame the building nicely. So to get this photo, I was on my belly under a seat doing my best. The light was still very low, so it is grainy, but it does provide a beautiful archway for the building. A nearby guard was amused at my antics as I tried to extricate myself from the seat!

The Magic of Water

Dom really did know his way around. We headed to he mosque next, where he magically pulled out a bottle of water from a hiding spot in the wall and threw it on the floor. He showed me how to use my cell phone to get a nice reflection. My cell phone produced a clearer photo than my camera! (Sad face)

The Light Starts to Appear

Gradually, the light began to arrive and my camera was able to find enough for acceptable photos.

Me With Our Guide, Dom

Dom was a force to be reckoned with. He showed us every imaginable angle and view with an energy and enthusiasm that belied his 45 years of experience as a guide here. He was a memorable character who truly loved his job and his building.

Two Taj Mahals in the Mosque

He wanted to be sure that we could see the inlay in the ceiling of the mosque that shows two Taj Mahals, balanced as if on a scale.

Detail of the Two Taj Mahals

We went into the mausoleum itself to see the tomb of Muntaz Mahal, the favorite wife of Shah Jahan who commissioned it in 1632. Dom wanted us to know that the entire symmetry of the complex was organized around her tomb, while the shah himself was set to her side.

Semi-Precious Stones Inlaid Into the Marble

I was especially impressed by the detail of the semi-precious stones inlaid into the marble. Because the overall impression is so 'white', it is easily overlooked. 

Detail of Gems Inlaid

Up close, you can see the vibrant colors. Another guide showed us the transparency of the gems by shining a flashlight into them. It was very lovely.

Geometric Inlays

I also loved the symmetry of the geometric inlays.

A Final Glimpse

But, all good things must come to an end, so we headed off back to the hotel. Nathan was moving on with another photographer and I was headed back to Delhi, then to Italy.

Because the Taj is highly secured, we faced a walk of 500 meters, as polluting cars are not allowed any closer.

Students off to School

I enjoyed seeing the kids off to school on their bikes......

Beautiful Saris

....a final glimpse of beautiful saris.......

Child With Kohl Around His Eyes

.....and a father who was proudly willing to share his young son for a photo. His eyes were lined with kohl, which is believed to be beneficial for them.

This had been a vivid and rich glimpse of a large and visually rich land. I hope you have enjoyed it. Thanks for travelling with me.