Italy 2015 - Part 6 - Sicily comes to Lucca

Saturday, June 20, 2015

It had been years since I've seen our cousins from Catania, Sicily.  But when they heard we were going to be in Lucca, they decided to fly up to Pisa with their daughter, stay a few days and then continue up to Gardaland and ride some roller coasters (it's an amusement park east of Milan).

So Max and I split off from our crew...

 

...so that I could catch up with Rosa and Ciccio (Francesco)...

 ...and Max could dance with Chiara.

They became immediate friends.

  We first checked out Palazzo Pfanner...     ...with its beautiful garden...        ...and great statues...        ...which I obviously couldn't get enough of.      We then toured the various rooms inside the palazzo...      ...and Max found particular interest with the velvet rope...     ...as you can see here.       After the palazzo, the skies began to pour rain and hail...      ...but, fortunately, we had found shelter for a seafood lunch mere moments before...      ...making a shared ice cream seem particularly more spectacular.      Yes, it was a fun afternoon with our cousins from Italy...     ...especially when Max and Chiara were able to burn off that ice cream...     ...by racing all around the square.  

That evening, I went to the grocery store and purchased items for a grand picnic, including...

  ...meats and cheeses...       ...baccala', octopus salad, artichokes, salmon sushi...       ...arancini and fried calamari and shrimp...        ...salad and wine.     Rosa, Ciccio and Chiara brought Max a Play-Doh farm toy...      ...and it entertained him through the evening.     It was, in fact, an enjoyable evening for all.