More September Lucchese coming this weekend...

The monthly Antique market, one of the best in Tuscany is just on your doorstep on Saturday and Sunday: Giglio's square Cathedral's square, San Giusto,  San Giovanni,Via del Battistero, Via Donnino. Get lost with books, prints, medals, painting, statues, clothes and unusual tools...

If you get hungry in Piazza Napoleone there will be 2 markets dedicated to food: Flavours, Bread & Artisan instead, round the corner in Piazza San Michele, do not forget under the loggia the Local Winetasting open from 12 till 8pm everyday: 6€ for 4 glasses of wine.

Moreover on Sunday, you are invited to head outside the walls in Borgo Giannotti district for Saint Matthew traditional fair market. Great fun! 

Something that can satisfy both ladies and gentlemen will be the exhibition Motorbikes and Art (what a couple?!) in front of the Caffè delle Mura on the walls on Saturday. This morning I have seen some beautiful Harley Davidson arriving. 

I have never heard about this festival, maybe it is the first edition but it sounds very interesting: Histrionika Lucca 2014: street artists as jugglers, musicians, clowns, acrobats, puppeteers will meet in the basement of San Colombano bastion, just under the walls on Saturday from 5 till 11 pm. 

If you are looking for something more relaxing there is a concert in San Michele church on Saturday at 5.30 pm:  Symphony  n.2 “Lobgesang” by Felix Mendelsshon (ticket 10€)

Finally more a typical event related to the city is the The Big Crossbow Tournament taking place on the field outside Saint Peter bastion on Sunday from 3pm/3.30 pm: Lucca will face Pisa and Massa Marittima, you know very well who you have to support, right? Anyway, the event will have a parade first with drums, costumes and flag throwers. 

Fingers crossed for the weather and have a great weekend in Lucca!

Breathe the past times: roman and medieval event in Lucca and around

I would be happier if I could tell you "Let's meet tonight in the square to see the football match!" 

Instead, Italy is out and to be honest with you we deserve it. Anyway, I still like to follow the World Cup now that is getting close to final game.



Here are the schedules and channels if you like it to watch in your comfortable LuccaHolidayHomes with a glass of Prosecco, otherwise there are plenty of bars in town which they have wide screen outside i.e Pult in Via Fillungo, Bar Zero in Via San Paolino, Rewine in Via Calderia, most of the bars in the Anfiteatro square.

Argentina - Belgium Saturday 05 at 18.00 on Sky Italia (this match is on pay tv, so you will have to see it at the bar) 

Netherlands - CostaRica Saturday 05 at 22.00 on RaiSport 1 (channel 57 of your house tv)

Then on Tuesday 8 July: Brazil -Germany at 22.00 on RaiSport1 (channel 57 of your house tv)


Ladies, do not panic the summer sales will start today, so you can shop till you drop in Via Fillungo or wherever you will go in Florence or Pisa... some good bargains are waiting for you!



Then again on Thursday (July 10) it will be shopping night in Lucca so the stores will be opened even after dinner till midnight!


An idea if you have a car this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) is to go to a great event in Versilia, so that you can spend the day in Viareggio at the beach or just walking on the promenade or on the pier and then later on you can move a little but further up on the hill, towards Massaciuccoli, for an amazing Roman festival.

In this village there is an interesting archaeological site where you can see the remains of a roman villa and of the thermal baths. For the event you will be in a real roman village with the military camp, barbarians, gladiators. You will eat roman food based on the Apicio recipes', you can have your roman make up done, you can dress as roman or learn to fight...then music, dances and markets and much more...

The festival starts at 17.00 till midnight. Ticket 7€

Have a look at the website to see last year edition. I am sure you will be impressed!


If you decide anyway to stay local or to give you our best welcome on Sunday even in Lucca there's something to make you breathe the medieval times: The National Crossbow Tournament.

At 16.30 the event will start with an historical parade: drummers, soldiers, dancers, archery, flag wavers, traditional costumes will leave from the east side of the city (via del Bastardo) and will cross Via Fillungo, Piazza Bernardini, Via della Trombe to end in Piazzale Arrigoni (behind the San Martino cathedral, on the walls side)


At 17.00 the tournament will begin. 15 players for each city team: San Marino, Massa Marittima and Lucca will compete for the Silver Cup. Then the three best players of each team will do another competition to gain the title of Crossbow King. 

Off course, I can not forget music and concerts:

• on Saturday night at 21.00 in the basement of the walls at San Regolo bulwark, the students of Boccherini school will perform.
• on Monday night, second appointment with the Lucca Summer Festival offers An Evening of Guitars in Piazza Napoleone 
• on Thursday night you have two options: still in Piazza Napoleone you can dance with The Prodigy or you can relax with a Piano Recital at the enchanting Oratorio degli Angeli Custodi. 
• then on Friday at the Botanical Garden, there is a special event, you pay only 3€ ticket and you can join the guided tour at 18.30 and then be back at 21.00 for the concert Arts under the tree - Italian and Southamerican Music. 

Finally, I would like to dedicate this funny video to all our American guests as yesterday they celebrated the 4th of July!

Tourist for a Day: Siena.

Last Saturday 28 dec,  I was free from arrivals and business matters so I decided to take a day off! … A whole day only for me and my boyfriend. We decide to be "Tourists for a Day": we will go to Siena!!  … just like all my guests do… just to understand if it is really worth it! 

Last time I visited Siena, I was very young. I went there on a sunday - trip with my parents and sister.. 25 years ago? Maybe 30? I know! It’s unbelievable … but as always happens…. you choose to massacre yourself with a 24 hours flight … and you leave the beauty of your country to the others… we are really stupid.

Anyway!! Yes. Siena is beautiful as described in all the books, guides, websites …blogs and so on. It is worth it. And if you come to Tuscany you cannot miss a day-trip there.

It is very similar as Lucca and at the same time very different….It is slightly smaller than Lucca.  Lucca is completely flat. Siena is "up and down". I am sure my guests will love to know it. It is much more crowded than Lucca. On the other side it is a jewel… and when you start walking throughout the daedal of medieval streets … you forget everything, you forget similarities and differences, you forget where you have parked the car, and you forget how to come back to the train station… (now I can understand why so many guests get lost so often!!) When the cathedral  appears to your eyes  at the end of the narrow and shadowed road.. it is vibrant…. it is really exiting. It’s beautiful. Nothing more than beautiful. 

After a first quick glance to the cathedral, we went  straight to Piazza del Campo.. almost desert in this end of the year.. ( a very good reason to come to Tuscany off season is that the number of people you share your emotion really decreases. In my personal opinion this increases the value of your experience) 

..  We walked all the Palio track… admired the majestic buildings overlooking the square .. until I found myself to take pictures to pigeons on the Fonte Battesimale more than to the monument itself. We all are always surrounded by pigeons. Tuscany must be the favorite place of all the pigeons on the world… … while taking pictures to pigeons.. I felt..  from my shoulders something was calling me: Sure! La Torre del Mangia was calling me. With my passion of climbing everything is possible to climb.. could I miss it?  So we decided to walk up to the top of the tower. Almost 90 meters high.. I don t know how many steps… I haven t counted them..  but many!! We were so lucky to find a sunny and clear day.. without any wind.. despite it is the end of december the weather was really pleasant… it helped to enjoy the breathtaking view on the town and the surrounding countryside. Unforgettable. 


We stayed on the top for 20 minutes… ( have a look at the couple! They have kissed for 20 minutes. I have arrived and they have already kissed. I was going away and they are still kissing. Twenty minutes is a very long time, isn't it?) 

We took our way back to the Square… Some Shots in the Square… a quick piece of pizza.. and go!!! Straight to the Museum of the Cathedral… Could I miss the just restored marble mosaic floors and the Libreria Piccolomini? I could not!  Amazing. The Church is incredibly decorated, pretty impressive. You realize that the 2 euros paid for the visit become acceptable. I mean:  it's not good you have to pay for visiting a Church. I have never liked it and I have always though that art and history must be open to everybody and free.. but when you get into such a place you immediately understand that the strength and the work to preserve everything from the time and the ruin must be rewarded. The restoration of the original pavement is the result of an enormous work… The preservation and the maintenance of the decorated walls in the Piccolomini Libreria is another enormous art… this room is a huge treasure..  We were really astonished.. If I can use an italian common say: A Bocca Aperta… … without any mentions to all the other riches in the church… from the marble pulpit to the the cupola with its golden stars, the altar itself…  The visit to the Cathedral took more or less an hour, maybe slightly more… and it was becoming late… but it has not finished yet….

We have been miraculated. Just out the Cathedral we were admiring the simmetry, the colours and the sunset light on the culumns of the facade… and our eyes bumped into … never the less than Steve McCurry exhibition  which I knew it was ended at the beginning of november. I have accepted it: I’ve lost it!! I could not imagine such a gift from this Christmas!!  It is still open til january the 6th. It was my day. Memorable.

Season Greetings from LUCCA!

I wish you all a   M e r r y   C h r i s t m a s  .. and a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful… New Year.
All my best to all of you!

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

Peace

Joy 

Health!!!

.. maybe some Luck???

A nice warm review

It is always a pleasure receiving good reviews... Bob and aw are two my old friend.. they have already stayed in Lucca three times... that's what they write after their third visit.

As always, our two weeks ini Lucca were wonderful, and a major part of the reason is the lovely apartments in which we have stayed. 

We stayed at Calandrino for two weeks in September, 2012. It was our second stay at this location, and our third visit to Lucca. The apartment itself is fantastic, a perfect home away from home. We love being inside the walls. And Calandrino is the perfect location. Each morning we crossed the street to the tiny bakery, that always had wonderful fresh breads, pizza etc. A block away is a small grocery store that could easily fulfill all our needs. For bigger shopping trips we took a short walk to the supermercato outside the walls, again, an easy and fun excursion. Evenings were spent on our terrace, window shopping on nearby Via Fillungo, or listing to opera at the Church of San Giovanni, again an easy walk. Everything is so handy. And what a city for walking in. We enjoyed different restaurants each afternoon, and walked off the calories along the wall, people watching every day. Lucca is our favorite city in Italy, small but big enough to provide history, culture, and good food and wine. 

And staying at one of Debora's apartments means a worry free vacation. Everything is exactly as described, fully furnished and exceptionally clean. And Debora is the perfect host, readily available to assist with any questions or concerns. Grazie Debora!

We are looking forward to our 2013 visit. 

Dow and Bob 

THANK YOU!! 

Coming back to Lucca

It was 2 years ago when I first came to Lucca.

A short visit to Tuscany was coming to an end with an overnight stop there. My friend and I were both delighted and disappointed as we walked around Lucca. The disappointment was the fact that we had so little time in a place that clearly deserved much more!

The next morning, however, news broke about the volcanic ash cloud covering Europe, and we realised that we were stranded in Lucca. With an extra six days to explore the city, our first impressions were confirmed - Lucca is a beautiful, interesting, magical place.

I knew I would return.

This Easter, my sister, niece, nephew and I rented the Tornese Apartment, in Le Scuderie della Cavallerizza. The booking process was smooth and straightforward, and with Debora’s care and efficiency, we were confident we’d made the right choice.

The accommodation is extremely comfortable, a renovation of very high quality with everything we needed to ensure a relaxing holiday. Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the walls was a real treat, and my niece and nephew loved having the bikes to ride around Lucca. From a convenient location in Piazza Santa Maria, we could set out each day either up onto the walls or through the streets to uncover more of Lucca's treasures and charms.

This time, I was pleased to discover the house where Puccini was born is now open to the public. How exciting it was to see his piano, read his letters and look up into the attic that inspired La Boheme.

Some things haven't changed like the nightly concerts in San Giovanni church to keep alive the music of Puccini and other operatic composers. This is one of the pleasures of Lucca, as is humming the tunes along Fillungo on the way back.

The walls of Lucca are amazing both in their original construction and in the part they play in modern Lucchese life. It is a joy to take part in the passegiata around the walls, joining the joggers, dog-walkers, cyclists and other visitors.

A stroll through the little streets and alleyways is rewarded time and again with exquisite architecture and breathtaking beauty. We came upon many unforgettable churches, palaces, cafes and views as we sought to leave no part of Lucca undiscovered.

Some specific things we enjoyed were as follows. The Guinigi Tower is worth the climb to get your bearings and see Lucca from another angle. The trees at the top are an added fascination.

The Cathedral Museum is a brilliant resource, giving a taste of Lucca's rich history.

The Botanical Gardens and the Pfanner Palace and Gardens are both delightfully peaceful spaces, carefully maintained as is Lucca generally.

One of the things Debora arranged was a guided tour of Lucca with her colleague, Maria. Maria’s detailed knowledge of Lucca and her expertise in the history of art combined to provide many insights into the city and its cultural heritage. This was an enjoyable morning during which I learned so much.

From Lucca it is easy to make day trips to other cities. We visited Florence and Pisa. The train service is reliable and inexpensive, and Lucca train station is a short walk outside the walls.

I'm sure there is even more to learn and enjoy about Lucca, and I am determined to come back and find out.

　

Coming Soon....

Oh I am so excited!! I am so pleased to anticipate you this great property which will be ready for your stay in about a couple of months. Let’s see .. from May yes! you could rent this great place for your holiday. This is really the latest in comfort! This is really something difference.

Ok I am telling you everything… from the beginning.

 This detached villa is dates back to the early seventies… about 40 years ago …

At the end of 2009 the owner, a friend of mine called me for an advice: “does it make any senses restoring the villa to rent it to your clients? do you think they would like it? How should I do it ? ” He wanted to understand which kind of restoration works he needed to do. 

My answer, in these cases, is always the same: do it as it was for you! … As you should rent or even buy live it with your family! The most comfortable and nice you do it the best answer you have from the vacation villas rental people.

Well, after our first meeting things have really grown up!

I knew he is going on.. he continuously kept me updated but I could not imagine which level of quality he gets ! I went there two days ago for a visit…. and I was impressed. Amazed.

First of all some words on the Location. It joins one of the most sunny location of the hill of Piano di Mommio just above the beaches of Viareggio in Versilia. A few steps from the village itself of Piano di Mommio where you can walk  to the groceries,  supermarket and pizzerias.

The beaches are about 4 km away. It means you can drive there in less than 10 minutes.  

Lucca is about 20 km – 30 minutes driving. Camaiore a nice small town to visit is less than 10 minutes driving away as well as the great town of PietraSanta.

After that now I try to explain with this my bad English what you will find once here at villa.

A huge terrace with wonderful panorama of the valley leading to the beaches.

An unusual - personally designed - pool with a Jacuzzi area

A spacious and modern living room and a “avant-garde” fire place and a fully equipped kitchen

Four bedrooms and two bathrooms and up here..

From all the windows what you can admire the typical Tuscan landscape made of olive oil trees countryside and an unforgettable quietness. Every window is a painting…. nothing less than a real painting.

Ok.. I know.. until here actually nothing new!!

But this great owner went beyond and really though your comfort and have provided the villa with A sauna a small A small space provided with Jim items and a Turkish bath!!! And of course Air conditioning in every rooms and wifi will be not missing. Have you understood??  This is a private S.P.A. The latest in comfort in a so traditional landscape!! Never seen something like that in our countryside.

Not only – Another important news is that the owner belongs one of the most antique and famous Bagno in Viareggio and he is very pleased to offer a whole day at his Bagno where you could join our typical local way of beaching…

And now enjoy some pictures I took straight away! Use your creative fantasy to understand how it will be once ready.