It Happened In Lucca

First, you need to book, really, really early. All the hotels and B&Bs in Lucca and around are completely full for the whole convention. Then try to find something either in town (the best option) or near a train station. Finding a parking space is nearly impossible, and if you don't park properly, chances are that you will be fined.

Once in Lucca, there is probably no need to buy a ticket to enter the tents. For €15 and most likely a long wait, you get the right to enter the various tents where you can... spend your money on comic books and all sorts of gadgets. I can't even tell you what's the best ticket office to go to, because their location changes every year.
Better to hang around the heart of the action, between Piazza Napoleone and the Walls, by the Cafè delle Mura, and then on the Walls toward the stage on the right. That's where all the people in costume parade and will gracefully pose for photographers. Don't forget the compulsary Gelato break at the Gelateria Veneta, on via Vittorio Veneto.

There is no need to get up too early, as the Sun gets over the trees around 10:30am, which is when you will get the best pictures. In the evening, at that time of the year the Sun sets early, around 5:30 - 6pm, and most costumes aren't really designed for the cold. So everything is pretty much over by 7:30pm. You can still get some nice pictures in the dark though.

The 2011 edition was great: the weather was beautiful for the whole 5 days, which made life so much easier both for participants, no wet costumes this year, and visitors, the Sun helped a lot getting nice pictures.

More links, more photos:Flickr Group

The main trends for this year: quite a few characters from Avatar, less Naruto than in previous years, and above all lot of red: red hair, red hats, red faces, and quite a bit of blood. Of course there were also, as usual, hundreds of anime characters I had never heard of. I did recognize Blastoize (a Pokemon) though but then it was one of the stars of the day.

The next edition will last 5 days, from October 28th to November 1st, 2011.

More links, more photos:Flickr Group

The guided 3 hour tour costs 25 euro per person and includes the cost of the rental of a mountain bike and related gear (helmet, repair kit), a guide and a technical assistent. An average of 30 kilometers, some a bit hilly, will be covered in the 3 hours, so best to be somewhat fit and comfortable on a bike if you'd like to give it a try.

Here are the two proposed itineraries with relative departure times:

Discovering Lucca

A trip following the ancient roman acqueduct meandering through such scenic areas as Coselli, Vicopelago, Meati- and the river Serchio.

Departure: 9:30 a.m. : guided by the Club Ippico Lucchese, or departing at 9:45 a.m. with Tuscany Ride a Bike
Days: Monday- Wednesday- Friday (June to September)
Price: €25
Distance to cover: 30 km, approximately 3 hours
Route: Club Ippico Lucchese - Lucca - Acquedotto del Nottolini - Coselli - Vicopelago - Meati - Serchio - Club Ippico Lucchese – Lucca

Villas and villages

A tour that explores some of the great historic villas just North of Lucca.

Departure: 9:30 a.m. : guided by the Club Ippico Lucchese, or departing at 9:45 a.m. with Tuscany Ride a Bike
Days: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
Cost: €25
Distance to cover: 30 km, approximately 3 hours

For further information and reservations you can contact either of the two addresses below:

Itinera
Vecchia Porta San Donato - Piazzale Verdi, Lucca
tel. +39 0583/583150

Tuscany Ride a Bike
Via Corte Pietri, 1 - 55100 Lucca
Tel. +39 0583/080588
www.tuscanbike.it

As usual the best part was just to wander around town, especially between Piazza Grande and the Walls, and just admire the costumes.

We did buy tickets though, which allowed us to go into the various white tents set up accross the town, so we could spend more money on comics, of course, nearly all in Italian, and a huge array of comics or anime related gadgets. Our son's bounty included a Pokemon T-Shirt, Shadow Sonic and Brock figurines and some Pokemon cards (I'll let you guess what his favourite cartoon is).

The best way to get the tickets while bypassing the enormous lines is to buy then on the previous day, after 5:30pm at the tickets offices in town or near the station. Multi day passes are also available, but you don't save much money with them, and you still have to queue, although not for too long, on the day you are using them in order to activate them.

The weather was beautiful, which was good for some of the most lightly dresses characters (as Edvarg Endel above left, who was wearing only a tiny pareo).

More links, more photos:Flickr Group

The 41st edition of Lucca Comics and Games hosted 58 000 visitors. They first got... quite wet on Thursday and Friday, then a lot happier on Saturday and Sunday, which saw the return of the Sun.

I really appreciated the Sun when I had to wait an hour and a half to get ticket to the pavillions. Actually you really don't need to get tickets to enjoy the event. Just hanging around between the Piazza Grande and the Walls is enough to have a great time. But as I wanted to buy a few comics for Tonio, well, I had to wait...

More links, more photos:Flickr Group

It's really a great event, the cosplay is really spectaculr, and it's well worth visiting Lucca during that period (you might want to book your hotel early though).