Lucca, Italy

It's Alphabe-Thursday and today we're studying the letter "L".  L is for Lucca.  Never heard of it?  We hadn't either.  We spent a few days near Pisa back in 2010 and wandered through nearby Lucca one afternoon.

The city is surrounded by walls that date back to the 17th century.

{Kids across the wall.  You can't tell, but they're up pretty high.  You can walk on the wall around the city.  It's kind of like a fort dotted with lookouts and hiding places.}

While visiting the town of Lucca, we decided to climb up the Guinigi Tower.  

{The building with trees in the center of the picture is actually the tower.}

The tower, owned by the Guinigi family, was added to their mansion in the late 1300's.  It was an emblem of prestige of the richest families. 

{The walk to the top was horrible, but the views were amazing!}

Going down...

{Starting the trip down.  I am as excited as I look!  I do not like heights - throw stairs into the mix and I am a mess!}

{Oh, my hands are sweating just looking at these pictures!}

{If this tower was built in the late 1300's I wonder what the stairs were like then??  Wooden ladders maybe?}

Aside from the walk up and down the tower, Lucca was a fun town to visit.  

For more on the letter L, visit Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.