Tag Archives: Lucca

Morning Market Delight in Pistoia

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Market Day in Pistoia

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It was Wednesday and it was market day in Pistoia. We drove down from Bagni di Lucca and parked the car at Lucca train station and took the morning train to Pistoia.

It is just a 40 minute train ride from Lucca to Pistoia through lovely Tuscan country side and passing by dozens of local nurseries. The area of Pistoia is very well known for the cultivation of plants and flowers exported all over the world, with a long tradition of local nurseries being passed down generation after generation.

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The city of Pistoia, a distinctive medieval city, is located in northern Tuscany, halfway between Florence(Firenze)  and Lucca and about 40 km away from each. What a gorgeous town. It is so easy to fall in love with Pistoia.

 

Miky from https://passion4food4fashion.com/ was waiting for us as our train arrived at the Pistoia train station. I first was introduced to Pistoia through Miky’s blog which I started following a few years ago. Miky is absolutely passionate about her home town and must be their greatest ambassador.

Miky walked with us through the town pointing out every building, statue and landmark with descriptions and information about them all. We stopped at Miky’s favourite bar/cafe for coffee and the best Italian dolce (pastry) I can remember ever enjoying.

 

We chatted and she filled us in on her involvements in Pistoia including telling us about her family restaurant Pollo d’Oro. Miky I will definitely come to the restaurant next time I am in Pistoia.

 

 

After coffee we continued our walk to the Piazza Della Sala where we found the colourful weekly markets. The Piazza Della Sala is a piazza with charm and character, a very traditional market  that sells top quality Italian fruit and vegetables

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The piazza was crowded, and the eating places around the square were pretty busy. I always love the atmosphere and vibe of Italian markets and this one was no exception. Extending out towards the street was another market, selling all kinds of household items, clothing, shoes, jewellery, Bric-à-brac plus so much more.

 

After the markets are finished each week, and everything is packed away, the piazza transforms into a busy hive of activities with its pizzerias, restaurants and bars.  This continues on in to the evenings. We did not stay long enough for the evening activities however it is a definite must for me next time I am in Italy.

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From here I took the train on to Ferrara and Debra caught the train back to Lucca.

Thank you Miky for sharing your beautiful town with us.

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Memories!!!    Bagni di Lucca.

12 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by in Memories. Bagni di Lucca

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It is 12 months since I was in Bagni di Lucca. I have the most wonderful memories and photos of this beautiful area which will last a life time.

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My first introduction to Bagni di Lucca was through a blog called www.bagnidilucca.wordpress.com The first time I read this blog I fell in love with Bagni di Lucca and I knew that I must visit and stay there. So, 3 years ago, I rented an apartment in the little village of Ponte e Serraglio. The apartment overlooked the river and the village. It was wonderful.  I was definitely living the dream.  Thanks to Debra Kolka the author of www.bagnidilucca.wordpress.com I experienced more of the areas around the little village where we were staying that I learned about from Deb .

Then last year while I was planning my trip to Italy to stay in Lucca for a week, Debra invited me to stay in her gorgeous apartment in Bagni di Lucca which is about a 30 minute drive from Lucca. The apartment is on the river looking directly at the little village. To me it was the best location in Ponte e Serraglio.  The view took my breath away every time I stepped on to her balcony.

 

After my stay in Lucca, Debra picked me up,  we went down to the markets in Forte dei Marme before returning to her apartment in Bagni di Lucca.

Debra is well known and well respected in the village and thanks to this I met so many of the locals and regular visitors to the area.  I met up and chatted with many new friends every morning when we went to Il Monaco for our morning coffee and dolce. I also loved chatting with many other new friends each afternoon when we walked across to Bar Italia for our aperativo.

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While staying in Debra’s apartment, from Foligno, which is the next village down from Ponte e Serraglio, I took the train to many of the towns in the Tuscany area for short stays.  It was just so easy for me. Debra would drive me to the train station and was always sitting waiting at the train station when I returned a few days later.

I enjoyed the changing of the flowers on the bridge with Debra which she does twice a year.  This is totally her initiative and her expense but she loves doing it as she is so passionate about her little Italian village.

 

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We visited Casa Debbio in Vergemoli up in the mountains several times and I was also fortunate enough to stay in this gorgeous house for a few days. The views overlooking the valleys and the mountains in the distance where stunning.

 

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Last year, my stay in Bagni di Lucca was one of the highlights of my travelling life thanks so much to Debra and her husband Jim and their generosity.  It certainly was a wonderful experience for me. Thanks so much Debra.

 

A Fun Day out – Markets in Lucca

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Martkets in Lucca, Tuscany

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The markets in Lucca are on every Wednesday and Saturday morning, in Via dei Bacchettoni.

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Lucca Markets

I am a big fan of the local markets in Italy and always make a point of visiting them if my visit coincides with the days they are on.  Sometimes, I buy lots of different items, sometimes I buy just some lovely fresh local produce, and sometimes I just go to enjoy the local atmosphere and sit centrally and enjoy a locally made delicacy.

On this last trip to Lucca, we headed out from our apartment early to not only enjoy these rather large markets but also to beat some of the crowds. After wandering and exploring for a while, we took time to sit on some “child-size”chairs to enjoy our first coffee and dolce of the day, and, of course, people watch.

These markets set up in the early morning and start taking down about 1 or 2 pm, so remember to go early.  The area around the markets is total chaos so make sure you walk to them as finding a car park is just about impossible.

The majority of the stall-holders make their living from the markets, so in general, the prices and quality are good, and there are bargains to be had.

Get a real taste of the local culture while watching the bustling shoppers banter with vivacious vendors. But most importantly: Don’t forget the food! Seasonal fruits and veggies, farm-made cheeses, fresh fish and meats, and local wines are to be found in the friendly stalls. Italy can boast some of the best food in the world and that food is at its very best in the local markets.

Lucca markets are really very good with an array of everything from shoes to bedspreads, clothes, fruit and vegetables, household items and hardware and everything in between.

dscf8504dscf8507dscf8510The markets are usually cash-only so you should always carry enough cash to get you through the day, and don’t expect vendors to accept credit cards or any other form of payment.

Although visiting the local markets is a great outing they are specifically for the locals and by no means oriented towards tourists so very little of the “cheap” imported products are to be found. However, you will find some items from China etc.

A visit to these local markets, can be a fun, inexpensive day out.

People Watching – Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro

06 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Lucca, Piazza dell' Anfiteatro, Tuscany

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It wasn’t till my last visit to Lucca did I discover Piazza dell’Anfiteatro.  I must have walked through this piazza on previous visits to Lucca; however, I did not “see” it.

The Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro is a large circular piazza located in the north central region of Lucca Italy within the walls.  It was once the site of an ancient Roman Amphitheatre where gladiators and beasts engaged in mortal combat.

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Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro

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Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro is now a popular tourist destination featuring an assortment of outdoor restaurants and cafes.

The remains of the Roman amphitheatre are preserved, incorporated in the buildings bordering the present day Piazza dell’Anfiteatro

Art day in the piazza

Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro

We stopped here one morning for our coffee and knew immediately that we would be returning, which we did, again and again.

This is my favourite Piazza in the walled city, to sit and relax with a coffee, cold drink, apertivo or a meal and just watch the world go by. Any time of the day or night there is always entertainment, excitement and enjoyment.

It is rather quaint with a lovely atmosphere. It is easy to walk around and to explore the local shops. There really are some lovely shops. One that we particularly enjoyed and did some serious shopping in is Tre Sorelle.  Also,you can go through the archway, which circles around the piazza, to find many more shops, bars and restaurants.

There are horse and carriage rides available from within the circle of buildings.

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It is definitely a wonderful meeting place for both visitors and locals and their best friends.

This piazza is a must visit. You cannot visit Lucca without checking out this special oval square. There are many restaurants, lively ambiance and a unique setting

Vinci – Leonardo !!! Who

31 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in Vinci, Tuscany

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In 1452, in the little hamlet  Anchiano, in the Tuscan hills, on the outskirts of the village of Vinci  a little boy was born. He was named Leonardo.

When Leonardo was baptised in the church of Santa Croce, in the village of Vinci, he became known as Leonardo of Vinci, or in Italian, Leonardo da Vinci. This is a Renaissance Florentine name. The name da Vinci is an indicator of birthplace, not a family name.

Today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.

Vinci is a small town  located in Tuscany, in the province of Firenze.  Vinci is located more or less mid way between Pisa and Florence and right in the heart of rural wine growing Tuscany and is about 35 kilometres west of Florence.  We travelled there by coach from Lucca which took about 45 minutes

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Vinci View

Vinci is surrounded by the Tuscan hills with vineyards and olive groves and amazing views

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Vinci

I really enjoyed our time in Vinci and wish we had more time there. In a Tuscany that has been taken over by a lot of tourism this little town still has the right mix of “real Italy” and convenience for visitors.

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If you have the chance to visit Vinci be sure to take time to walk around Vinci’s small historic centre. It provides plenty of quantities of culture, scenic beauty and a taste of Tuscany.

Vinci is a very small town so moving around is fairly easy. There are only a few places to visit in Vinci which can all be covered on foot. The historic centre of the town is very compact and is not suitable for driving around in a car because of its many winding narrow streets and lanes. Around the centre there are restaurants and bars, shops, tourist information, public restrooms, parking lots, and a park with picnic area. You can also visit the small Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci (open 10:00 to 1:00 and 3:00 to 7:00 in the old castle cellars that has a private collection of documents and reconstructions).

The economy of Vinci is based on agriculture, production of wine and olive oil, pottery and items like paper, clothes and furniture.

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View from Vinci

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View from restaurant in Vinci

Vinci is a great place to browse the shops, stroll the streets, enjoy a gelato or buy some  local hand-made pottery and take in the wonderful experience of being in the Tuscan Hills

A little bit of Paradise in Lucca

17 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in Botanic Gardens Lucca, Tuscany

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There are so many advantages to spending extended time in a town or village when you are travelling. So when we rented the apartment in Lucca for a week we took advantage of that extra time and we visited places that normally one does not have the time to when just passing through or spending a day or 3.

One of those places was in fact the Botanic Gardens of Lucca – the Orto Botanico di Lucca

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Botanical Gardens Lucca

They are small, not far from our apartment and tucked up inside the walls of Lucca.  You can view the gardens from the ancient wall, however we wanted to have a closer inspection and paid the entrance fee to go inside and look around

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The Wall and Gardens

 

Once entering we were given a map of the area and were able to easily stroll through the gardens and enjoy their beauty.

The botanic gardens were quiet, elegant and simply stated. There were indications that they needed some more care but they were still lovely.

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There are a variety of trees and plants from all over the world with most of them having signs explaining their origin.

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We spent a couple of blissful hours wandering through these pretty gardens and admiring the plant life. We rested on a well placed bench and soaked up the sun for a while.

 

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There is a lovely pond with a wooden bridge which is a great attraction. Standing on the bridge looking in to the pond was the best part for me. We watched the turtles climbing on to the lily pads and many fish swimming around. It was tranquil.

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Wooden bridge over pond

The pond of water lilies was amazing, as was the story of the ghost who inhabits the area around Halloween/All Saints Day – it might be a bit of historical fiction but very intriguing. The plants and colours were plentiful, as were the seating areas around the gardens – I am so glad we went there!

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           Do put the Gardens on your list of places to visit when you are in Lucca.                                                    I’m sure you will enjoy it as I did.

Supermarket in Italy

11 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by in Supermarket in Italy, Tuscany

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One of the many advantages of renting an apartment when in Italy or any where for that matter, is I have the chance to shop in the local supermarket. While in Lucca our local supermarket, Conad, was less than a 5 minute walk from our apartment.

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Supermarket in Lucca

Whenever I have the time when I am travelling, I always enjoy exploring the local supermarkets. It makes me feel more at home and I guess I just enjoying being a part of the local scene. While I was in this Conad supermarket I could not resist taking some photos to share. While many of you have in fact shopped in an Italian supermarket I am sure there are some of you that have not, so I thought you may enjoy some of these photos.

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Although, a supermarket is a supermarket,  I always find that they still do have their individuality. For example in Italy, they definitely have an Italian flare.

Here are some photos of the fresh foods sections.

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In the fruit and vegetable section there are scales where you must weigh and label your produce that you are purchasing. I remember the first time I bought fruit and did not do this, as I did not know. Mama mia, you would think I had committed a crime. The check-out lady was so angry with me. I never made that mistake again.

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Weighing and labeling machine

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Fresh produce

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Fresh produce

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Fresh produce

The wine and alcohol section always has a great selection even in a small supermarket like this Conad. The prices for alcohol in Italy are usually lower than here in Australia.

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Wines

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Prosecco

The are many similarities to our own supermarkets but there are definitely some unique sections. The fresh meats, pastas and pastry sections in this supermarket were fabulous.

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Fresh pizza and pastries

As the cashier is ringing up your purchases they will usually ask you if you would like Borsa, which is a bag as they do not automatically supply shopping bags. These “Borsa”usually cost a few cents. Occasionally there is no charge for the Borsa

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Check-out register

Here are a few photos of a much larger supermarket I shopped in – Esselunga – which is not far from Lucca.

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If you have the time when you are visiting a new town or city, go in to the local supermarket, even if it is just for a look.

Perfect Place for a bike ride

03 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in Bike Riding in Lucca, Tuscany

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Lucca;  a city in Tuscany.   A great city to visit.

I have visited Lucca several times but this last time I stayed in the heart of the wall city of Lucca in an apartment for a week.  It is very easy to stay in Lucca for a week or in fact longer as there is so much to do and see. While staying in Lucca, we had planned to visit other towns in Tuscany however apart from our Chianti Wine Tour we did not leave the city walls. We loved being in Lucca and  were never short of things to do.

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One of my favourite activities in Lucca is to rent this bicycle built for 2 and explore this delightful walled city. There were 3 of us on our bike.  But, on many occasions I saw more than 3 people on these great little machines. You certainly do not need to know how to ride a bike to manage one of these. Even though there are 2 steering wheels, only one person has control which can be weird for the other person as your automatic instinct is to turn the steering wheel which does nothing.

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It is a pleasure to walk or ride a bike on top of these thick walls which are tree-lined and planted with grass turning the entire area into a huge park. These walls which enclose Lucca’s historic centre are more than 4 kilometres long with 6 gates.

I have hired bikes several times in Lucca. On this last trip we rented the bike twice as it was so much fun and just so easy. The first time was riding around the city on top of the wall and the second time was riding around exploring within the city.

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The ride or walk around the wall has a really great buzz, with lots of cyclists, runners, families and dog walkers. Although its only about 4km it took us almost an hour as we stopped often to look at and take photos of the spectacular views of the mountains and city.

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This has to be one of the best walls to walk or cycle. It is wide, flat and lined with trees and dotted with parks. We loved cycling around it

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Walking or biking on top of the walls is a great way to see Lucca.

Gastronomia Prodotti Tipici – Lucca

26 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by in Gatstronomia Prodotti Tipici, Lucca

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One of the many advantages of staying in an apartment while in Italy (or anywhere in the world) is you have the option of eating in or out.

Although we enjoyed most of our mid day and evening meals out we always ate breakfast at the apartment.  Our apartment in Lucca had a fully furnished kitchen which made it easy to prepare foods and a pleasure to eat in. We had a supermarket just around the corner so it was very easy to just pop out early morning or sometimes we ducked out the evening before to pick up fresh fruits and yogurts.  Right by the supermarket there was a fabulous patisserie where we could also buy freshly baked breads and pastries.

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Supermarket

In Lucca you will find many Gastronomia Prodotti Tipici – Gastronomy Typical Products.  Late one afternoon after several hours of exploring this wonderful city, we popped in to this Gastronomia Prodotti Tipici.

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Gastronomia Produtti Tipici

 

We were like children in a candy store. We could not get enough of what we could see.  So, we made the decision to buy some of this lovely produce,  fresh bread and some local wines, and take it back to the apartment and have an “antipasti”dinner. We had eaten lunch out so we did not need another big cooked dinner. We selected so many different delicacies.   It did not take long to realise that we had bought far too much but how do you know when to stop. We sure didn’t.

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Gastronomia Produtti Tipici

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The fun continued as we walked home talking about all this fabulous foods that we had just purchased and the ones we left behind.  And then, when we arrived back at the apartment the fun really began as we started opening all the different containers and packages.

We purchased a bottle of my favourite blend of wine, Vermentino.  Vermentino is a light-skinned grape wine. We also purchased a lovely bottle of red.

 

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After laying out our spread, we sat and enjoyed and talked about every thing we were eating.  Our spread included sardines & anchovies & smoked salmon, cheeses, artichokes, olives, tomatoes, mushrooms, bread and strawberries.  What a pleasure.

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Dinner

This turned in to another wonderful memorable evening for us in Lucca.

A vacation in Italy is complete when you buy, eat and enjoy the lovely local produce.

The Apartment in Lucca

20 Friday May 2016

Posted by in The Apartment in Lucca, Tuscany

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I arrived at the apartment in Lucca, took one look at the stairs and sighed!!!! After 36 hours of travel from Australia I felt too tired to climb them. But. There was no choice, no elevator, just stairs to climb. Luckily a very good person carried my suitcase up the stairs for me as I struggled up. It turned out there were only 2 floors up to our apartment.

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We then walked down a short hallway to the apartment. I was happy.
Often when you book your accommodation on line, the photos can be very misleading, but, in this case the photos were true. We walked in to the entry which lead in to the large eat-in well appointed kitchen. Also leading from the entrance was the large nicely furnished lounge room/dining room.  The 2 bedrooms were also large and there were 2 bathrooms.
This was our home while staying in Lucca and we were delighted.

 


We often sat on one of the large window ledges just lapping up the sights and sounds of Lucca. I could never tire of this.

 

We were able to come and go easily and it did not take long for the 4 flights of stairs to become a lot easier. In fact they were probably a blessing after our pasta, pizza, wine and gelato which we enjoyed on a daily basis.

These tiny round fixed windows in the lounge room  fascinated me. I am not exactly sure of their purpose.

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Small Non-Opening Windows

If you have the time when staying in Italy, think about renting an apartment.

I highly recommend it