Lucca of Italy

About one and a half hour by train east (I think it is east) of Florence is the most quintessential medieval town of Lucca. Perfect for the noise-averted toddler and husband. Lucca is surrounded by a huge wall (also called rampart) that the locals and tourists walk, bike, run and kiss on. We walked on the wall, biked on the wall, and walked all about the town (we may have kissed once or twice but briefly because our son does not like for his dad to kiss me too long). We loved Lucca mostly because we are a very active family. We love biking, walking, hiking and the like, so anywhere we can do these things without worrying about getting hit by a car makes us happy. There are many factors that make Lucca child friendly besides not getting hit by a car when walking such as the towers. Yes, lots of tall towers that toddlers and their dads love to climb (side note: these towers are open to all ages whereas Pisa is only open to age 8 and older). I wanted to climb to the top of one of the towers and I really tried. I repeated a mantra over and over in my head ‘its only fear holding you back, ignore the fear’, but I got the “tummy funny (my 3 year old’s word for sick stomach)” feeling maybe 15 stairs and a narrow opening away from the top and had to plaster myself to the wall as I inched my way back down. I wasn’t always this terrified of heights. I used to be a avid rider of all those scary high rides at the state fair. I don’t know what happened….even now when I get on a plane I tell myself we are going to die in a crash so I am prepared (maybe it is reverse psychology because if I don’t say that to myself then we will crash…or maybe I am just a control freak and not afraid of heights just afraid of falling..during, which of course, I would have no control). My husband and son made it to the top of the tower with the walnut trees and found the view to be very rewarding. Besides the towers there were at least four playgrounds in Lucca that were easily found if you are walking or biking along the wall as well as a large carousel in one of the Palazzos. I found this town to be very child friendly. Even the husband found it to be to his liking.

Our accommodations in Lucca were impeccable -- A Palazzo Busdraghi, Residenza d'Epoca. It was a former palace and the current owner was incredibly accommodating and kind as well as all of the staff.

Florence... Not for Toddlers (or husbands who can't stand noise)

During my research on Italy I had read somewhere that "Florence is not for children." This statement was made by a Florentine woman who urged traveler's not to bring their children there. Unfortunately, we ignored that advice. Florence is beautiful, but the sidewalks are not made for strollers (they were made for Roman soldiers), our BumbleRide barely fit, and we often had to get off the sidewalk because the mopeds and cars were partially on the sidewalks (I felt really bad for the guy pusing the double stroller). In addition to small sidewalks it was incredibly noisy. I believe there must be more cars in Florence than there are in all of Italy. Unfortunately, both husband and child are very averse to noise so suffice to say both were miserable in the city. Fortunately on our 2nd day we found a playground across the Arno on Via della Fonderia just west of the Piazza Taddeo Gaddi which was bordered by the river and thus a little quieter.

I can honestly say if you are planning a trip make sure you and your spouse are on the same page when it comes to expectations. I knew it was going to be chaotic in the city, but did not expect anyone in my family to be miserable. And they were. Can you imagine walking on streets hundreds and hundreds of years old, seeing history in buildings and sculptures, not to mention all the shopping...and seeing it with two completely unhappy and unfazed people (well what could I expect from a three year old)? So there it was...we had to leave Florence and fast.

Prior to leaving the hotter-than-hell-state-of-Arizona we discussed how we would get around Europe especially getting to Florence, Italy. We decided train would be the best way to travel since our toddler despised being in his carseat for any length of time and traveling by train would be fun for him as well as interactive. However, after figuring out that Florence was pretty freaking far from Regensburg, Germany, as in 12-hours-on-a-train-far, and the same cost as flying we decided to fly to Florence and take the train thereafter. So, there we were in Florence, toddler unhappy and husband (sometimes like a toddler) unhappy as well needing a fast train out of 'Dodge.' We decided to head for a medieval-like town, Lucca, with preserved ramparts (walls) surrounding it. I had read about it on the Internet while searching for places to visit and it sounded like a lovely place to stay since cars were limited within the walls and walking was the highest rated activity.