Back in 2008, Laura and I were were asked to be Guests of Honor at the Lucca Comics & Games Convention in Lucca, Italy. We were thinking it could be something of an adventure, so we accepted an invitation from Alessandro Stanchi, used the tickets to fly first to Paris and then changed planes to Florence before being driven into the center of the magnificent city encircled by an ancient wall. in the heart of romantic Tuscany.
Laura and I fell in love with the city, the convention and, especially the people whom we met there. We ran an unforgettable ‘Killer Breakfast’ event at the convention. That our antics had to be translated into Italian for our audience did not dampen their enthusiasm. The picture heading this article is of one table group who in a moment of inspiration, attempted to create a dragon. I still remember them with a smile every time I see this picture.
We have carried the experiences of that visit with us down these nearly twenty years.
Now as Lucca celebrates their 60th anniversary, they reached out to our friend Joe Manganiello to see if he could convince us to attend again this year. Would we be willing to travel once more to that beautiful city and help them celebrate?
The question was not an easy one to answer. Laura and I are, notably, nearly twenty years older than the last time we walked those walls. We both are still recovering from significant health challenges that make long-distance travel in general and walking any distance on ancient cobblestone streets a significant issue. The desire to return to Lucca was strong, but could it even be possible given the state of our health?
The fabulous team at the Lucca Comics and Games Convention heard our concerns and, it seems, moved the not just mountains but the equivalent of the Alps to make our attendance possible. We are forever grateful to them both for their determination and their kindness in making our attendance possible.
So, Laura and I are preparing to travel to Lucca this month to meet not only our friend Joe Manganiello but as many of our European friends as possible. We’ll let you know our schedule as soon as we have it hammered out.
We will be there October 28th through November 1st. Ciao!
