Ready. Set. Go.

Mike and I are READY for Day 2 of our Italian Conversation Class on the Move on our Bikes. Mike and I arrive early and relax in the garden of the Liberty Style building that houses Lucca Italian School. The school faces Le Mura - the Wall that surrounds Lucca and is an elevated park. The photo is a rare moment of stillness…I waited for the joggers, walkers and bicycles to pass to snap the photo. Well, even though Le Mura is well loved and well used, in the midst of the busyness there is also a tranquil stillness. Our little class of 4 pedaled within, on and outside Le Mura stopping frequently to gleen a language lesson from whatever we were in the midst. We ended our class at Via del Fosso where the crews were preparing the ‘SET’ for filming another scene for the Dustin Hoffman/Helen Hunt movie. They were hanging laundry along the buildings. The costume crew had collected clothing, mostly underwear (because undies are more photogenic?), which were then dyed and hung in ‘color patches’. The extra photo shows the colorful laundry. This road is called Via del Fosso because a Fosso or Ditch runs down the middle of the road. Back in the day, Lucca was famous for its silk industry. The water from the fosso powered the machines and the dyed silk was hung to dry on the covered roof that is pictured above the laundry. Now I must GO…