Yesterday evening, I landed in Pisa, took a bus to Pisa Centrale train station, and got on a train to Lucca. I was feeling a little bit tense. It had been a long day since I had left my friends in Derby, early in the morning. My accommodations here in Lucca were a little uncertain. It was getting dark, and this was my first time being by myself in a country where I don't speak the language. (I've spent a few weeks in Toulouse on my own, but that was different because it was for work and I speak French!)
As the bus wound through the narrow streets of Pisa on the short ride to the station, I saw two runners. I noticed that I immediately relaxed, and then I thought about it a bit... These runners had absolutely no impact on whether I would find a place to sleep, find my way in general, and be safe. But somehow, seeing runners made everything seem more normal and familiar.
When I got to the train station, I saw a young woman finishing up her run, and when I arrived in Lucca, crossing the medieval city walls in the dark, feeling all kinds of tense again (medieval walls are beautiful, but tunnels through, up, and over them can seem a tad creepy in the dark!), I saw another runner going along and relaxed a bit again.
There's not a lot of logic to it, (though, I guess one could argue that an unsafe city might not see many runners out and about), but it was neat to observe my own reaction, and I thought you folks might relate.
And now, I'll go explore Lucca in the sunshine.
A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
"I was thinking of you yesterday as I was running through the woods. As I jumped over a fallen tree I said "If I were [bruyere], I'd be bleeding by now"." - Turd Ferguson
Re: A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
bruyere wrote:And now, I'll go explore Lucca in the sunshine.
Going for a run?
Nicholas
Events in 2018
Walking, Yoga, Soccer scrimmages and whatever else I can do
Hip replacement on September 10....now doing a variation of the None to Run plan
Events in 2018
Walking, Yoga, Soccer scrimmages and whatever else I can do
Hip replacement on September 10....now doing a variation of the None to Run plan
Re: A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
Lucca is beautiful. Wish I could have spent more time there. Enjoy!
"Maybe I will be my own inspiration." - UltraMonk (Laura)
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have enough time." - Steven Wright
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have enough time." - Steven Wright
Re: A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
Nick wrote:bruyere wrote:And now, I'll go explore Lucca in the sunshine.
Going for a run?
Ha ha. Nope. Was exploring the old city centre, which is not conducive to running. I did walk half way around the wall, and I'll run there tomorrow or the next day. (It's only about 4km, though, so I'll likely explore a bit outside the walls... and try to not get TOO lost. (Google Offline Maps + GPS = my friend)
I've been away from home for about 26 days now, and have only done one run per location. Too much walking and other stuff...
"I was thinking of you yesterday as I was running through the woods. As I jumped over a fallen tree I said "If I were [bruyere], I'd be bleeding by now"." - Turd Ferguson
Re: A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
La wrote:Lucca is beautiful. Wish I could have spent more time there. Enjoy!
It is, indeed. I leave on Friday and I had grand plans of a day trip to Siena or Florence tomorrow, but there's still much to see here, so I think I'll likely just hang out here. I'm content, I can rest, etc. etc. I don't really feel like rushing about to try to "SEE AS MUCH AS I CAN!!!" you know? No matter what I do, I'm missing out on a bunch of things.But I'm enjoying other things...
"I was thinking of you yesterday as I was running through the woods. As I jumped over a fallen tree I said "If I were [bruyere], I'd be bleeding by now"." - Turd Ferguson
Re: A funny thing - being a runner and travelling
I love your attitude. Nothing like combining travel and running to see the sights.
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