Lucca, located in Tuscany northeast of Pisa, still maintains its charming medieval character with its 16th century enclosing city walls and a traffic-free interior. This fascinating and beautiful city will thrill you with its stunning sights, music, shopping and architecture - with some buildings dating back to the 6th and 8th centuries. There are plenty of places to eat and drink and some beautiful apartments and hotels to stay in. Lucca is small enough to easily get around. You’ll enjoy roaming its maze of narrow streets. These cobbled streets are traffic free but full of people on bicycles. The city walls are over two and a half miles around and wide enough at the top for bicycles and a picnic.

Lucca’s population of 84,000 is actually more than that of central Venice.

Each July Lucca comes alive with the Lucca Music Festival. This year the month-long celebration will host Elton John, Los Lobos, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, Billy Idol, Snoop Dogg and more.

If your music tastes are more into opera and the classics, head to Church of San Giovanni for the Puccini International Permanent Festival. From March 31st to October 31st you’ll find evening concerts there nightly at 7pm. Each evening concert features a different cast of international singers and musicians.

Lucca is an easy day trip from Florence. The 1 hour, 19 minute train ride will cost you about $10 each way.

When we inspect hotels in Italy we make a point of checking out the roof-top patio and the view. Some can be austere but the best are garden settings with a handy bar nearby and maybe even a pool. There is something calming about knowing that there is a well appointed roof-top hideaway where you can take a break from sightseeing, grab a cool drink and enjoy the panorama.

Top Caribbean Family Hotels and Resorts for Mom - With Mother’s Day around the corner we are getting calls for special Mother’s Day gifts of family vacations in the Caribbean. Families are looking for children’s water and play areas, beautiful and relaxing locations, professional staffs, activities for teens – especially water sports, great food for any finicky appetite and fantastic facilities – including a spa for Mom. - Where would you like to go? Need a few ideas?
Here are this year’s Travelers Choice Award winners in the Caribbean Family Resort Category….but please share your best picks with us as well!
1. Beaches Negril Resort & Spa, Jamaica
2. Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages and Spa, Turks & Caicos
3. The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real, Dominican Republic
4. The Reserve at Paradisus Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
5. Beaches Ocho Rios Resort & Golf Club, Jamaica
6. Playa Linda Beach Resort, Aruba
7. Memories Splash Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
8. Jewel Runaway Bay Beach & Golf Resort, Jamaica
9. Iberostar Rosa Hall Suites, Jamaica
10. Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa, St Lucia
11. Round Hill Hotel & Villas, Jamaica
12. Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Jamaica
13. Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
14. Caribbean Club, Grand Cayman
15. Las Casitas Village, Puerto Rico
16. Turtle Bay by Elegant Hotels, Barbados
17. The Tuscany, Turks & Caicos
18. Club Med La Caravelle, Guadeloupe
19. The Venetian on Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos
20. Sunset Beach Resort, Spa and Water Park, Jamaica
21. The Reef Atlantis, Bahamas
22. Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, Aruba
23. Grand Isle Resort & Spa, Bahamas
24. Villa del Mar, Turks & Caicos
25. Comfort Suites, Bahamas

On a recent trip through Seattle we tried out the new off-site rental car facility at the SEA-TAC Airport. The 8AM Monday morning trip from our hotel in Tukwila to the SAE-TAC rental car center to the bus to the terminal and the walk to our US Airways ticket counter took slightly less than an hour. The transit bus from the rental car center to the terminal made two stops. A helpful customer service agent was on the bus to help with baggage and to answer questions.

A Virginia Howdy to our friends in Texas, especially those in San Antonio who will be celebrating the 11-day San Antonio Fiesta beginning today. We discovered this flamboyant citywide block party back in 1993 but it has been a San Antonio tradition since 1891. So head to San Antonio for yummy food, cold drinks, colorful costumes, music and dance, parades and the fun sights and sounds in old Texas. For more information check out http://www.fiesta-sa.org/.