Lucca run

Hard to imagine a more pleasant urban run than this. We were staying in the wonderful Tuscan town of Lucca for three nights, and it just happens to be encircled by 4.2km of perfectly preserved rennaissance walls. This was ideal for running, and scores of runners and cyclists were out enjoying the beautiful early morning weather as I set off on the second morning. I did the same route on Saturday morning: a mile warm-up from the hotel to the walls, then the loop, and then back to resume our exploration of Tuscan food culture. Today, I gave the walls a proper blast, and completed the entire 4.2km loop in 16 minutes - not too shabby considering my lack of speed at present. Then, it was off to the train station for a day trip through the hills to Florence, refuelling on tripe and lampreddotto.