Lou’s brother John arrived from the States for a short stay, Wednesday through the following Thursday and this gave us plenty of time show him Lucca and explore the surrounding region. And boy did we explore! We went from the hilltop town of Corsagna to the mountain ski resort of Abetone, to the island of Elba, to Cinque Terre, finishing off in Florence from where he departed. The only means of travel John did not take was by donkey as he traveled by plane, bus, bicycle, train, car, boat, and taxi during his stay here.

On our trip to Abetone, we made a stop in the small hilltop town of Corsagna. One of those picturesque hilltop villages scattered throughout Italy, accessible only by carefully negotiating the hairpin turns on the very narrow road. Unfortunately the word ‘carefully or slow’ does not compute with my husband. Lou considers these types of roads a challenge and delights in the look of terror on his passengers face as he whips around the bends. If it is a road, we have traveled more than once he tries to beat his last time as though it were a competition, anyway not to digress! Our side trip to Corsagna was to visit the uncle of a friend of John’s from Pittsburgh, Dominic Branduzzi. His father Antonio, who sadly passed away several years ago left this small village and moved to Pittsburgh years before. We visited Dominic’s uncle and aunt, who remained behind in Italy and are owners of Ristorante Branduzzi, one of the only restaurants in this village.  It was still too early for lunch [pranzo] othewise we would have stayed and sampled what no doubt would have been a memorable meal.

After chatting with the Branduzzi’s and two espressos later, we walked the narrow viccolos to the top where a tiny church sits alongside a cemetery. One can only imagine the lives that were lived here over the centuries and the stories they could tell. The view from the cemetery was spectacular and looked down upon the valley and small towns below. These Italian hilltop villages provided natural defenses for their inhabitants who were constantly threatened by surrounding villages during the middle ages and earlier. Their remoteness made them easy to defend, but no doubt made life hard for the inhabitants.

Silence or the absence of artificial ‘noise’ is something that is so rare nowadays in our modern society and yet in these villages all one hears is the wind. Or the chatter of two women gossiping while hanging their clothes to dry on a line stretched between two olive trees or the old men, playing cards outside a bar teasing each other, the way life-long friends do. It is a tonic for the soul! One can only wonder what life must be like living in these remote villages, which are sadly losing their youth, lured to the cities in search of the world we have created where nothing seems to be genuine and authentic friendships and traditions are fleeting.

After leaving Corsagna, we traveled down the corkscrew mountain, [at breakneck speed, thanks, Lou] and headed north toward Abetone. Abetone is on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany and has one of the best ski resorts in the Apennines. It is reached by miles of narrow switchbacks and the higher we went, the more winter-like and spectacular the scenery. One of the things that we love so much about this region is that within 20 minutes of Lucca we can be at the seashore and within an hour in the mountains, skiing, hiking or just enjoying nature.

I don’t think any of us knew quite what to expect when we arrived, so the magnificent scenery was such a pleasant surprise. We arrived around 2:00 which is lunchtime or pranzo in Italy and I would be remiss if I did not mention the great meal we had at La Locanda dello Yeti. Just writing about it makes me salivate thinking about the homemade pasta with a beautiful sauce or ragu made with cinghiale or wild boar and a glass of their vino della casa or homemade house wine! Afterward, we walked around, played like school kids in the snow, throwing snowballs, playing with a very happy and friendly local dog and just had a wonderful time.

Today instead of the mountains we decided to head south toward Livorno and the Maremma region of Tuscany. We had no real destination in mind then decided on a whim to see about perhaps taking the ferry to Elba or Isola d’Elba out of the port of Piombino , which is a port city and the jumping off point for ferries to Elba, Sardinia, and Corsica. For those of you who may not know, [and I did not either], Elba is a small island about 10 miles or so off the coast and is notable as the exiled home of Napoleon in 1814 before he returned to France and infamy.

The terminal was almost empty, and we thought we were in the wrong area but then saw a ticket window. Lou asked what the cost was, and the lady said a ferry was leaving in 10 minutes, so without a second thought, or knowing anything else about Elba, he bought three tickets, and we ran to catch the boat. We boarded the ‘fast ferry’ [the word ‘fast’ being subjective] for Elba, an approximate 20-minute ride away. As we approached the island on this chilly but sunny day, we were greeted by crystal clear water and a lush landscape with a small port. There were only about 15 or so other passengers on board and as soon as we pulled along the quay one of the stewards jumped off and began to lower a plank. John, Lou’s brother was so anxious to get off and explore he was the first to depart, As I was nearing the door, I noticed that not everyone was disembarking and I mentioned this to Lou but not wanting to get separated, we quickly walked off the boat to catch up to John. No sooner had we gotten off ferry the steward promptly removed the plank, and the boat pulled away from the dock with most of the other passengers onboard. We quickly discovered that there are two ports-of-call on Elba. The main port, Portoferraio, and Cavo which is where we were. Cavo is very small village, and not much was open in the off-season, but we found a pizzeria for lunch, which advertised itself as having the best pizza in the world, not quite but still a delicious meal sitting by the water gazing out over the port with the Italian mainland visible on the horizon. Afterward, we walked along the stony beach and up and down some of the lanes just imagining how beautiful it must be in the warm summer sun. Elba is a lovely destination, and I know we will revisit. We caught the last ferry back to the mainland, and in spite of our getting off at the wrong port, we had a memorable time.

The “Fast Ferry”

Cinque Terre:  Part of the Italian Riviera, in the Liguria region of the country. It is composed of five, pastel hued small towns (hence the name “Cinque Terre”): from west to east, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  The five villages of the Cinque Terre and the surrounding hillsides are all part of a National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In 2011 a massive mudslide buried much of the town of Vernazza and caused flooding and five people lost their lives.  Read more…

We have visited this region before, but one can never get used to the endless views from the hilltops which are breathtaking.  The towns are strung along a 10-mile stretch of rugged coastline, and none is more than a two-hour walk from the other. Today one can still approach by sea but also by train and car. The drive there is not for the faint of heart or those with acrophobia as a good portion of the road is basically one lane, with no guard rail, extremely tight hairpin turns and nowhere to go but over the cliff if you lose control. Did I mention that Lou considers roads like these a challenge?

This area is a rugged coastline, and the mountainsides are littered with terraces that grow olives, grapes and chestnuts. On one side is the deep blue sea and inland are steeply terraced vineyards that are still farmed by traditional means, the only modern addition being monorails used to haul baskets of grapes up or down. These monorails plunge over the sides of the mountains, and many seemed to be homemade.

One note about Cinque Terre that sadly is true of so much of Italy today and other beautiful places in the world and that is mass tourism [and I am aware that we are tourists] is ruining the experience in so many ways. Oh sure, the landscape or architecture is the same but the genuine warmth of so many of the inhabitants that one found if you were lucky enough to travel years ago is now being lost and replaced by a jaded and forced friendliness. One shop owner in Florence we spoke with said she likes the money but dislikes the tourist who descends on her hometown like locusts. Cinque Terre is no longer the remote village with friendly people in summer but one crowded expensive tourist trap, and the 10 mile trail between the villages is now a congested throughway where many, not all, impatient and rude tourist make it impossible to enjoy the moment….Thanks Rick Steve LOL!

It was time for John to depart after a short but fun-filled few days and we all took the train to Florence, his point of departure and spent the night at a small hotel. Continuing on my earlier comments about mass tourism, Florence was overrun with tourist, even though it was cold and February and without question, at least two-thirds of them were Chinese, [arguably the world’s wost tourist] who due to their growing middle class have made Europe a favorite destination. They are in groups, led by a flag or an umbrella carrying tour leader and when one stops to take a photo, the entire group takes the same picture or they pull out their selfie-sticks, and do NOT try to cut across one of their lines. Oh and a sobering thought, currently only about 13% of Chinese hold a passport, it is hard to imagine what cities like Florence and Venice must be like in the height of the tourist season. Lou showed me this Bloomberg article titled, Chinese Tourist Are Taking Over The Earth, One Selfie At A Time!

As anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to cook, and more importantly I LOVE to eat good food. I have never been interested in ‘fancy’ foods or pretentious food, which seems to be so popular today and I never thought about it that much until I came to Italy. Here there is a term, ‘Cucina Povera’ which translates as ‘poor cooking’ and is often used to describe Italian food. Lou’s grandmother’s sister, Angie was the most humble of women, modest and shy but a fantastic cook, who practiced Cucina Povera…cooking with the most basic fresh ingredients and creating wonderfully tasty and healthy dishes.
I loved that woman; she would say ‘come on Peg, let me show you my basil” and we would go to the garden, she in her housedress with a big smile on her face.

By definition, poor people’s food is local, seasonal and carefully crafted to ensure maximum flavor with minimum ingredients. Lucca’s food is epitomized by one of the town’s most typical dishes, tortelli Lucchese. A simple egg pasta served with a rich meat sauce, often cinghiale or wild boar. The food is not complicated, not pretentious, and not served in huge portions- Cucina Povera for sure!

Well, here it is …week 2 of language classes and trying to soak it all in as this is the last week that we signed up for.  We realize that we were not going to be fluent in 2 weeks, but we thought it would give us a good start.  We can study at home……AND we are in Italy!!!!  We can learn by speaking to shopkeepers etc.

These are just a few observation during my first week here:

• Lucca is very clean and safe.  AND it is so very quiet.  Not only in Lucca, but we have remarked about this in other areas as well.  I love how you can actually talk in a restaurant without blaring music to compete with.
• You can get “lost” in the maze of small streets and alleyways, but we can always find our home as we are located near one of the “Portas”, Porta Jacobo, leading in and out of the city.
• The Italians love their dogs!  You see all kinds; big, little, they’re everywhere and they are allowed in shops.  For the most part, dog owners are respectful and clean up after their pooches.
• You need to plan for your shopping.  Most of the shops are usually open from Monday to Saturday.  Some small shops are closed on Wednesdays.  Hours are 9 am to 1 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm in gerneral but thern again it is best to check before going as the schedules are flexible.  There are a few large grocery stores (closed on Sundays), but I prefer to shop at the local specialty shops for most things.
• Separating your trash is very important.  There are days for organic waste, recyclable items, and non-recyclable items.
• You don’t need to buy bottled water.  Water from the tap is ok however, there are many fountains throughout the city which have even better water without chlorine added or other chemicals used in water treatment.  You’ll see many people carrying a supply of empty bottles for filling to these fountains.

Monday 1/15
Excursion…There was a guided tour of the city, different high points were pointed out from last week’s tour and of course, we ended at a cafe/bar.  After chatting with the instructor and a few of the other students who joined the group, Lou and I went with our friend Amanda to another cafe/bar for some prosecco.  Most places give you small sandwiches or small appetizers with your drink in the early evening.  Dinner is usually no sooner than 7:30 or 8 and if you go to a resturant before then you will be the only patrons.

Tuesday & Wednesday 1/16 -17
Although it was raining off and on we walked around Lucca.  In fact, the afternoon excursion was canceled due to the rain. We saw an interesting shop filled with beautiful meats, cheeses, and some prepared/marinated vegetables, and we just had to go in.  The husband was sitting at the end of the counter and Lou didn’t realize that that is where he should have gone to pay, but rather handed his coins to the woman standing in from of him. Well, for you Seinfeld fans;  do you remember the one where Kramer hands Jerry a Jr. mint in an operating theater while watching an operation, and in the handoff, it gets flung into the air only to fall into the patient?  It was almost like a replay, except it was Lou’s coin that bounced off the glass countertop when trying to pay.  The woman  had walked away from the counter as it bounced and went directly into the marinated peppers! Oops…we looked at each other as he told the man and woman “Scusi, mi dispiace cosi tanto” and pointed to the coin in the oil.  The woman retrieved the coin and wiped it off and the husband shook his head  They were probably thinking stupid Americans.  Oh well, things happen.  Lesson learned.  Here’s the scene of the crime.

Thursday 1/18
The day has finally arrived!  A cooking class is offered after the language study. I have been looking forward to this day since I found out that Eva, our language instructor would be giving a cooking class! I encouraged my friend, Amanda to rearrange her schedule so she could take the class too.  Eva did not disappoint.  Eight students from the school participated. It was held at a local vineyard and Agriturismo just outside of the Walled City of Lucca, Fattoria Sardi.
http://www.fattoriasardi.com/?lang=en
We were given a brief tour and history of the vineyard – All In Italian.  I learned that the farmers plant rosebushes at the end of the row of the grape vines to aid in the detection of insects.  It seems that the insects will attack the rose bushes first before going after the grape vines.  We also saw the cellar where the large wooden vats held the wines.  Then off to the kitchen! It was so much fun, not to mention delicious.  I made the cantuccini and some of the lasagne noodles. Here’s the mouth-watering menu:

• Crostini con salsa di fungi (Crostini with porcini mushrooms)
• Lasagne con carciofi e noci (Freshly made lasagna with artichokes in a béchamel sauce with walnuts)
• Polo al limone ere aromatiche (Chicken with herbs and lemon)
• Cantuccini col vin santo (this is like a biscotti – some were made with pistachios and some with chocolate chips – served with vin Santo: a traditional typically sweet dessert wine made in Italy, predominantly in Tuscany. The wine is loved for its intense flavors of hazelnut and caramel. When paired with biscotti, Vin Santo becomes “Cantucci e Vin Santo” which is inarguably Italy’s most famous welcoming tradition.

After making all this we sat at big Tuscan farm table to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  I can’t wait to try making the lasagna but sadly it will have to wait as I do not have an oven in our apartment!

Friday, 1/19
Graduation Day!!! LOL
The last day of class doesn’t mean I have advanced! It simply means I got a tote bag with the school emblem on it and I am a little further along than 2 weeks ago.  Now we are on our own to learn and study on our own.  It was a great experience and we met some lovely people.  The extra activities that the school provided certainly added another dimension to the whole experience.  I said ciao to my friends.

Saturday, 1/20
Lou decided that he wanted to do a road trip. I guess he was feeling his Italian urge to drive…so he rented a Fiat 500!  We invited our friend Amanda to join us for a day trip to Bagni di Lucca (in the 19th century, it was one of Europe’s most fashionable spa towns). We passed through Carrara, which is world famous for its white marble, with queries dating back to the Roman times. Our first stop along the way was at Ponte della Maddalena, or “Devil’s Bridge” – a humpbacked ancient bridge and a nice coffee break at a little local cafe. We stopped later in a small town, Barga.  https://www.visittuscany.com/en/ideas/a-day-trip-to-barga/

We found a restaurant for lunch and we almost didn’t make it before closing time.  L’Altana did not disappoint.  The bread was some of the best we have had! Lou had a wonderful bean and vegetable soup with farro. In Tuscany and Umbria, they often add farro or polenta to soups giving a lovely thickness to the soup.  Amanda and I both had fresh pasta with speck, chicory, and gorgonzola. It was all sooo good. We drove to a hilltop castle town, Castelnuovo Garfagnana. What a view from this mountainous village. We saw a group of children playing in front of an ancient church. I often wonder, what life is like in these small villages and will the young kids remain there when they grow up. It was getting very cold on that hilltop as the sun was starting to set. Off in the distance, we could see the snowcapped mountains. What a beautiful sight to end our lovely day.  We headed home with our minds full of lovely vistas and our palates more than satisfied.

Sunday 1/21
We decided to keep the car until Monday morning, so we headed out for a peak at the Cinque Terre region. Sometimes that darn GPS just doesn’t cooperate.   We got lost.  In the end, it was a good thing because we ended up in an area with a breathtaking view that we would have never seen otherwise. We were high up on a hilltop looking down on the town of La Spezia. We want to explore that area soon.  We realized we weren’t where we wanted to be, so we winded back down the hairpin turns to “recalculate” and get back on our original path headed toward Monterosso, the largest village of the Cinque Terre.  It was a lovely sunny day and we saw lots of hikers who had been walking along the trails. It was so nice to see the sea. We parked the car and strolled along the pathway for a bit and we realized that not much was open so we returned to a cafe we had passed earlier and had a nice lunch.  Lou had his favorite, marinated anchovies along with a pasta course. I had a ‘pasta alla vongole’ clam pasta. We finished off the meal with some espresso and stopped at another place for gelato. We strolled along the seaside taking in the beautiful view. It was a great day until we returned to our car.  Neither one of us had the parking ticket! We searched and searched, but nothing! Lou went to the machine where you pay and came back to the car with a sad face…..50 Euro he said…look again!  Needless to say, it was an expensive lunch! I guess it could have been worse, but it kind of ruin the mood.  We headed home remembering the beauty of the area.  We will return again.

Lucca/Monday  1/8:
Well, we did it!  We made it through the first day of school.  Lou said, “my brain is fried!”  Our first class started at 8:50 am with a short conversational test to determine our placement in a class!  OMG, EVERYTHING is spoken in Italian!  Our class is small…only four students including Lou and I plus a woman from NC, Amanda and another from Russia, Aysa.  Each day following lunch on your own, there is an optional activity which usually meets around 2:30 or 3 and lasts until 5 or so.

Monday’s excursion was a walking tour of Lucca within the walls or Il Mura as it is called. It was very informative (what I could understand!), then we stopped at a “bar” and chatted IN ENGLISH! with the other students – mostly around our age.  We met a nice couple from Australia, Malcolm & Michelle who are in another class and staying in Lucca for one year!  Their daughter lives in Denmark with her Danish boyfriend, Michelle was a former Flight Attendant and Malcolm loves to fish, what a small world!

A note on bars in Italy. A bar in Italy is not like a bar in the US, but rather a place for refreshments, where one can have a quick breakfast in the morning, usually consisting of a caffè [espresso] or cappuccino (strictly drunk in the morning) and a cornetto or some type of sweet. They generally serve Panini for lunch as well. Throughout the day, the bar  serves coffees, juices and alcohol as well, but the point is to have a quick bite or drink, rather than hanging out for long periods of time. These is an exception to this unwritten rule, however.  In many of the smaller villages you will see old men sitting inside or outside playing cards or chess drinking their caffe and having a good old time with their amici.  In Italy you’ll find bars on nearly every corner and in all our trips to Italy we have only seen a few people drunk. Italians drink moderately, almost always with a meal or appertivo and the idea of binge drinking is unheard of.

Tuesday 1/9:
Today was our second day of language class and I guess some is sinking in since I had a dream last night in Italian of being on Sicily with a handsome detective named, Montalbano, oh but I digress!  There is so much to know and I feel like the more I am exposed to it the less I know!

Tuesday’s Excursion was watching an Italian film, ‘Benvenuto Presidente’ – tutto era in Italiano, as usual.  Lou did not go, but I did.  The film lasted for 2 hours, but about 90 minutes into the film my mind shut down and I began to think about, what else, FOOD.

Wednesday 1/10
Our excursion today was to an immigration museum, The Paolo Cresci Museum for the History of Italian Emigration.  This was about Italian immigration to the US and South America.  It was very interesting with lots of photographs and documents.  I was thrilled to see a copy of a document for a Volpe! Not sure if it was a deportation document or not, given our family’s history!

Thursday 1/11
Today we traveled to Pisa by train. I had never been there before, and I was completely blown away.  Our instructor Eva, a bundle of energy, gave us a great overview of the area and history, ‘naturalmente tutto in italiano’ of course!  After a walk in the shopping area of Pisa, we stopped at a bar for beverages.  Lou and I had hot chocolate….not like what we think of in the US.  The chocolate was dark and very thick almost like a pudding, topped with luscious cream, very yummy.  Molto Buono!
Needless to say, most nights we are pretty tired after a busy day! Lou said he was conjugating Italian verbs in his dream!  But it is all great…  Of course, pasta, red wine or prosecco always help!

Friday 1/12
There was no activity after our class, however, Lou and I met up with one of our classmates, Amanda.  She took us to a lovely wine bar, Bollicinedautore, where we had Prosecco and some lite appetizers. I think this can become a good habit to develop. I read once that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so that makes 20 more days to go and voilà!

Saturday 1/13
We walked outside the walls of Lucca to the  Aqueduct of Nottolini.
It was a beautiful sunny day with very few clouds and perfect weather.  When we returned to Lucca (within the walls) we bought pizza (by weight) at a local bread shop which is absolutely awesome, Forno a vapore AMEDEO GIUSTI  We couldn’t wait to find a bench to sit down to eat; It was warm, and we could smell the wonderful aromas through the bag!  Sorry there are no pictures since the pizza disappeared before we had time to take a picture…next time, maybe!

Later we did some laundry.  We have a machine in the apartment, but we had quite a bit, so thought we’d try the local lavanderia, or laundry mat.   We put the laundry in for the wash, and the walked to the local bar to work on my new ‘habit’ and sampled some prosecco! Not a bad way to get Lou to go along!!!

Sunday 1/14
We had a lazy morning then took a walk on the wall, il Mura.  We had a late lunch at a cozy local restaurant, Osteria San Giorgio.  [note, this link is a test, if you have been following along you no doubt must have learned enough Italian by now to be able to translate the text about questo ristorante]. None of the restaurants are large and this was no exception. It was packed with locals and we were lucky to get a table as the waiter asked if we had reservations, which we did not!  After our lunch even though the place was still packed, and the owner/server was very busy, he brought Lou and I two small glasses of his homemade Aranciello Recipe or orange liquor. It was ‘molto buono’. Um, I find I am using that phrase a lot!

Afterwards we strolled thru the town and up on the walls.   The walled area of Lucca is so charming.  At any given time people, are out walking, jogging, riding bikes.  It is such a great place to get your exercise, no matter how young or old you are.  The circumference of the walls is about 4.2 km (about 2.6 miles).  The walking/biking area is quite broad and an excellent surface.  In the evening the path is lit and very safe.   From the outer side in the evening the walls are lit up from the ground making a very dramatic view of the “Walled City”.

Our trip from Miami to London was uneventful…..and that’s a good thing!   We arrived in London at dawn and were looking forward to getting off the plane and walking a bit before our final flight to Milan.  Neither of us slept on the flight over; it always amazes me how people can sleep on an overseas flight and hardly move until we’re about to land!

After about a three-hour layover in London, we finally were on our way, and the short flight to Italy went very fast.  You know you are in Italy when things go a bit pazzo or crazy, and this was no exception!   Our rental car did not have a GPS, and we immediately discovered our cell phones were not able to connect to a network.  So now the challenge is how to get to the Autostrada or Italy’s version of 95, and head for Parma without taking the scenic route through the streets of Milan!  Lou loves to drive in Italy and in no time we were whipping around corners as he double-clutched, kept one eye on the road while never missing an opportunity to comment on a passerby of the feminine persuasion!

Our trip to Parma, our first overnight stop, or so we thought, took about 90 minutes, and since our phones were still not working we decided we needed to buy an Italian SIM card from Vodafone, the European equivalent to AT&T or Verizon.  As anyone knows who has traveled in Europe, parking is tough to find if not at times impossible in large cities, and Parma was no exception.  Lou, once again, summoned his ‘inner’ Italian and found a spot quickly, in spite of my protests that it was a loading zone!  He suggested I stay with the car just in case the Polizia arrived and demand that I move the car, while he went searching for a Vodafone store.  Never did we think that if I had to move the car, where would I go, how would we find each other again and how the heck do I navigate the labyrinth of streets and alleyways to arrive back at this same spot?  To paraphrase a friend’s favorite saying, ‘nothing is an obstacle if you make it an adventure’.

So off Lou goes while I stand guard to ensure our little Ford Fiesta does not get towed.  After what seemed like an hour or so, Lou returns with a concerned look on his face.  Oh oh, now what?  Well, it turns out he did find the phone store, he bought both of us an Italian phone number, so what’s the big deal?  Well, the clerk at the phone store told him that:

• Numero Uno: The SIM cards/phone numbers would not be active for at least 24 hours and,
• Numero Due: The place we are to stay our first night is NOT in Parma but over 45 km away, up in the mountains!  It’s is getting dark, we have no GPS or phone service, our Italian language skills are still locked away in our memories yet to be unpacked, and we don’t have a clue on how to get to our destination.

I keep repeating,  ‘nothing is an obstacle if you make it an adventure’…..

Our final destination our first day was to be in Zibello, not quite a village but rather more of a scattering of farms.   On the way we stopped four times to get directions including hand-drawn maps …not many spoke English but I did get help!    Did I tell you that I LOVE ITALY and ITALIANS, they are so friendly!

In case you have never been to Italy, there are A LOT of roundabouts and very few traffic lights!  I had to remind Lou it was getting late because he insisted on circling the roundabouts a few times commenting on the cornering abilty of our little car!    Using my broken Italian and their better but broken English we found our way in the misty darkness!  We were tired and hungry, but we made it!!!  All part of the adventure we said as we arrived at Trattoria La Buca

To set the scene, you must imagine it is dark, misty, cold a few street lights and not one car parked in the drive.  Racing through my mind was the thought that we either were at the wrong place or we would be told they had NO IDEA who we were and what did we mean we had a ‘reservation’!  A scene from Seinfeld came to mind when Jerry went to pick up a rental car and the agent told him she had no more cars, even though he made a reservation.  He told the reservationist that she ‘knew how to TAKE the reservation, she just did not know how to HOLD the reservation!’  Back to reality as we entered.  Grandma was sitting at a small desk, dressed impeccably in a sweater and pearls and greeted us as though we were part of her familia as she said she was expecting us.    Another woman, as old as granny showed us to our comfortable room which was across the street (there are only four rooms available). She wanted to carry our suitcases and insisted but Lou would have none of it.  The night was chilly and misty, but it was so atmospheric in this small out-of-the-way village – known for its Culatello, one of the most prized salumi in Italy, which is saying a lot.

We freshened up a bit and went back across to the trattoria/office for dinner and lo and behold the woman who escorted us to our room was now our server.  She had changed her outfit and was more than eager to serve us her homemade Pear Mostarda that had a little kick to it and was delicious on the bread (Hand cut pears, candied and preserved in a syrup, dense and sweet, flavored with mustard essential oil and pairs well with aged cheese like Morchiato Pecorino Cheese and with Parmesan Cheese).  It was a lovely dinner in the very small cozy dining room.   There were a few locals dining as well.  Toward the end of our meal, we were definitely fading.   Neither of had slept now for about 24 hrs!  We went across the street to our room and crashed!

We both slept great the first night for 12 hrs!   As we were having breakfast in the owner’s kitchen/reception area a friend of the owner of Trattoria La Buca, was visiting and chatting with her.  He asked where we were from and said,  “How did you find this place? No one knows about it except for locals”  If he only knew!

The good news was, we were in Italy, we did not have to camp out our first night and our Italian cell phone numbers were now active.  Thank goodness for GPS.  We drove from Zibello to Lucca passing snow-capped mountains.  The air was fresh and brisk and the cold was not too bad.    We could see from the map that we were not far from the coastal towns to the east of us.   What a beautiful country!  Wow!!!  We are really here!

We arrived in Lucca and were greeted at our apartment by Paolo, our home away from home for the next two months!  Our place is lovely and looks exactly like the photos online, just what we expected. Lucca is a great city for walkers and our first day we took full advantage of the quiet and virtually traffic free areas to explore.  Our first impression, inside the “Walled City” of Lucca, is wonderful!  But there will be a lot to explore in days and week to come.  What fun!

Close to our apartment we can shop for almost everything; fruit and vegetable [alimentari], the baker, the butcher and the pastry shop. We kept the car until Sunday, so I thought it a good idea to go to the “Superstore”  Esselungo, so we could stock up on the essentials.  We had a light lunch and then walked a lot.  It was drizzling on and off but not terribly cold.  We found our language school where we have enrolled for two weeks of language classes and it is a stone’s throw away from our apartment.  I cooked at home for the first time and it felt great.  I found a beautiful bunch of parsley at the store and made aglio è olio (garlic and oil pasta) and a nice salad. As we have become used to saying whenever we eat out, it was ‘molto buono’.

Oh and I must confess my first two purchases in Italy, were a beautiful fry pan and larger caffe maker or MOKA.  One thing Lou and I have found when traveling is that most of the kitchens are always missing a few important utensils.  Lou still chuckles when he thinks about it, after all, how many wives come to Italy and the first thing they buy are cooking utensils!  I think he thinks I need counseling!

A little note about grocery shopping in Italy.  The system for choosing and buying fruits and vegetables in an Italian grocery store is probably unlike anything you’ve dealt with at home. Near the dispenser for plastic baggies (in which you’ll put your produce), you’ll also see a dispenser for plastic gloves.

1-Put on the plastic glove before you pick up any produce – it’s a hygiene thing, and if you forget you may get some stern words from an employee (or another shopper).

2-Once you’ve chosen your items and bagged them, look for the number associated with it. You may see a number on a sign overhead, or on the bin in which the oranges or carrots or whatever you’re getting is held.

3-With that number in mind, next you need to find the scale. There’s one in every produce section. Put your bag of goodies on the scale, find and press the number for your produce, and take the sticker that pops out. That sticker goes on the bag and tells the checker how much to charge you.

4-No, there are no scales at check-out, so don’t forget to do this.

As for shopping at a fruit and vegetate stand, the biggest rule is this: Don’t touch the produce! You’re likely used to choosing your own fruit or veggies at home, but in Italy, the vendor will nearly always select them for you. You indicate what you want, and how many, and he or she will choose and bag them.

Well, today I am off for my Italian lesson at the Lucca Italian School.  What I am learning is that I know very little Italian, but that’s ok because each day I learn more.  Buono Giornata tutti!

For those of you who have been waiting for photos, I promise to begin to post more.  We have been so busy with school and after-school activities that by the end of the day and a few glasses of Prosecco we did not have the energy to work on the blog.  

Source: Lucca Italian School – Italian language courses in Lucca, Tuscany