Giro d’Italia: Genoa to Lucca

The Giro d’Italia pedaled into town today at about 5 pm. We situated ourselves up on Le Mura (the walls) directly across from the finish line below and beyond the grassy moat, where we could see the helmets of the cyclists in a niche of open space above the crush of spectators and support vehicles. Very exciting indeed. Afterwards the support cars, each covered with their respective team logo and the roof topped with the team bikes, paraded past us on the wall and down into town. Such excitement! All of Lucca prepared for this event. Pink flags (event color) hang across the main streets greeting the cyclists. Many store windows decorated for the occasion with bike wheels and helmets. My favorite fruttivendolo did an amazing display with a produce map of Italy! Each of the twenty regions created with their regional produce specialty. Sicily was a triangle of oranges; Puglia, fava beans; Toscana, grapes - and so on. Too bad I couldn’t get a decent photo because of the glass glare. The lane of Chiasso Barlatta decorated their one block shopping alley by hanging bike wheels overhead (featured). The Giro is a several day affair. Today the cyclists rode from Genoa to Lucca. We followed part of the same route last year, in the other direction, when we cycled the Via Francigena from Lucca to Piacenza. We took much longer, of course.