Enroute to Lucca

We made a lunch stop (after all, it's been 2 long hours from our last meal!) at Pistoia, a small town that was delightfully local. It also has a relic...a piece of St James the apostle's head! 

It also has an alter made from 2 tons of pounded silver!


It's crazy how much art is tucked into niches all over Italy!

What I liked about this town is the local feel. Whereas I'm glad we've seen the places we've been to already, I really want to see the small town local life. I could certainly see spending time in a town like this, just absobimg the Dolce Vita lifestyle! People seem to be much more social here, and live much more of life in the piazza among friends and neighbors...and much less time cooped up at home with a TV! Everywhere we go, the street cafes fill up about 8:00 and stay busy till....I don't know, sometime after we turn in!