There are 71 steps to our apartment.
We went up 230 steps to get to the top of the Torre Guinigi
And to celebrate Canada Day, we did 850 steps up and down in the Grotto di Vento (Wind Caves). If the world is Luc’s classroom then this was science class. Subject:Speleology
The caves are in the Apuan Alps north of Lucca. The caves contain many stalactites and stalagmites that have been forming for thousands of years. The temperature stays a constant 10.7 degrees Celsius all year long. It was discovered because the locals wanted to figure out why the wind was coming out of a hole in the mountain. There is only 1 way in and out currently and 4 km of tunnels have been explored, and there still remain at least 30 unexplored branches.
It was interesting and was guided by a Scottish guide who was very informative. A few times I could hear Luc or Dwayne mutter ‘Very sketchy…’ on especially wet and slippery stairs. I was too busy hanging on to the guardrail.
Deep near the bottom of the abyss there was a ‘room’ off to the side with a table and chairs. Apparently in the 1990’s they did a study with asthmatic children, called Speleotherapy. They had the kids sit each day with toys and videos increasing the hours each day that they were below. After 25 months of rotations, most of the children were permanently cured of asthma. This was due to the fact that the air in there is absolutely pure because, if I was a good student and remember this correctly, the 100% humidity grabs all the dust and pollen or something like that. All the guides that work there never suffer from sinus or respiratory problems.
Catch is they all now look like Gollum. 
After all the climbing and educating we decided to eat dinner at a restaurant in a little town called Gallicano. The restaurant was called Eliseo and the food was all made from scratch and was again fantastic. We met a lovely couple from Scotland who had retired there and they were full of great info and recommendations. They were across the restaurant and the wife would talk across to us, so the whole restaurant had no choice but listen, as she told us not to be shy and go to the Turkish Bath when we are in Istanbul. ‘There by the grace of God go I..’ she commented as she detailed all the types of shapes and sizes you see in the baths.
It was a great day to celebrate being a Canadian, even abroad. Age of Canada:142 years
Number of friendly Scottish folk we met today: 3
Grotto di Vento
Going down into the Cave
July 5th, 2009 - 5:42 pm
You’re going to Turkey? Cool. Love the pic of the stairs.
August 6th, 2009 - 2:06 pm
She is right – Turkish Bath is a must. When I was in Turkey we did the Turkish Bath in Kusadai – this is where you enter Turkey from Greece after leaving the island of Samos. I would also recommend you send your lovely sister the olive oil soap they use – not the cheap knock off stuff – but the stuff you get at the bath.