Fall In Love With Lucca

I like European travel. It’s close. It’s easy, and some decent sun is less than two hours away. We’ve done Spain to death, but still love it there; especially the Costa Blanca. The Balearics have been a favourite haunt too, as has Portugal, so why have we not visited mainland Italy? I can’t for the life of me think why not – we loved Sardinia. So, we thought let’s dip our toe in the water, metaphorically speaking.

Everyone bangs on about Tuscany. “Oh, you must visit Tuscany, it’s so pretty! It’s quaint, it’s charming.” So, with a window of opportunity, and, quite frankly, we’d had enough of the British weather, we decided to book a short stay – let’s be honest, if there’s global warming, it’s not warming Wales, or the UK for that matter.

Because we know nothing about Tuscany, we thought we’d entrust our booking to a local travel agent – Sam Smith Travel in Cowbridge. They are very good and basically quizzed us about what we like to do when we’re away. Armed with that knowledge, they set about creating some options, one of which we really liked.

Their suggestion was near Lucca with Kirker Holidays who they assured us were an excellent company with great knowledge of the area. The price was right, the hotel looked beautiful and, more importantly, it was in a great location with access to Pisa, Lucca and Florence (assuming we wanted to visit).

Sadly, we had to fly from Bristol, and to avoid the dreaded Bristol CAZ, we were fortunate enough to engage the services of our good friend Alan Derrick, who happens to own an executive travel services company (North Somerset Wedding & Event Cars). We arrived super early at Alan’s, and he whisked us to the airport in his beautiful Jaguar XF. This meant we avoided CAZ and any airport parking fees.

The easyJet flight out was reassuringly uneventful and the two hours passed nicely chatting and listening to sounds. Our cabin crew were excellent. We touched down at Pisa airport and this is where our Tuscan adventure began. We hopped in a taxi and made our way to our beautiful hotel on the outskirts of Lucca (about 4 kilometres).

Villa Marta is a nineteenth-century hunting lodge, just 5 km south of the historic centre of Lucca, in the countryside that separates Lucca from Pisa. Comfortably and elegantly furnished, it has fifteen rooms, two of which are deluxe, located on the upper floors of the villa and in the annex. Ours overlooked the garden and Chapel Suite beyond. The name came from the last owner to live there, Mrs Marta.

Talking about our room, it was completely in character. High wooden ceilings, rustic tiles, period appropriate furniture combined with a stunning view reinforced our feeling that “yes, we were in Tuscany”. Decorated with elegant and comfortable furniture, some of which come from the family who originally built the house, Villa Marta makes a bold, but understated impression. The floor of the hallway, covered with Tessieri tiles, the big French doors leading into the garden, and the emblem of the Scatena family reveal that the Villa is packed with history – it was built for hunting purposes.

The ground floor, previously dedicated to the kitchens, is today the location of the Botton D’oro restaurant, where the main decorations are cotto tiles, serena stone, rafters and terracotta bricks. This is where breakfast is served, and it really is a beautiful setting. Talking about the first meal of the day; as you’d expect it’s continental, but there are some cooked options on the menu. It was, like the hotel, excellent.

Guests have access to a large swimming pool, free Wi-Fi (and yes, they have Netflix), a beautifully tended garden and two large car parks. You can even hire scooters and bicycles, if inclined.

On Sunday evening, we had booked ourselves in at Ristorante Mecenate in Via del Fosso, Lucca – the restaurant overlooks cobbled streets and cute waterways. If we were looking for a truly authentic Lucca restaurant, we’d found it. Everything about this eatery exuded charm. The staff were extremely welcoming, and the food and wine were Tuscan perfection. We even got to meet the charming owner! These words from his website sum up the restaurant perfectly: Sole: “call me a cook… not a chef!” For 25 years he has been passionately directing the Mecenate’s cuisine, offering acoustic cuisine, which makes the heartstrings and palate vibrate.” In the birthplace of Puccini, you’d expect nothing less. Food is certainly flavoured with emotion here.

This, no pun intended, was our first taste of Lucca and as we walked the streets that evening, we had already decided we loved the town. Its walls are quite literally bursting with history, culture, creativity, style and a myriad of surprises. We were here for four days, and we already knew that wouldn’t be enough to fully experience it or the region.

The next day, Monday, we bussed our way into Lucca and basically spent the whole day there – nothing planned, we just went with the flow. Saw a stunning exhibition of work by photographer Dante Luci at the Palazzo Ducale. Quite inspiring. Then to a beautiful house and garden (Pfanner Palace) which was breathtaking. We walked the streets for a while and happened upon Trattoria Da Ubaldo. Let’s just say the décor is an eye opener. We ended up in Puccini’s house at one point, then San Martino Cathedral and a couple of stunning churches. Honestly, Lucca is quite mind blowing if you’re into a bit of culture – it’s quite the sensory overload, but in a good way.

Above: Artist Giampaulo Bianchi and his amazing gallery

As you’d expect, art and creativity play a big part in Lucca’s magnetism. Besides the museums, there are some great indie galleries like Giampaulo Bianchi’s. I loved his work and even though his gallery was closed, when he saw me peering through his window, he ushered us in. What a lovely guy. He’s in his mid-70s, still working, and looks in great shape.

In the afternoon, we’d earned our lunch, so headed for the Piazza Anfiteatro, the iconic oval-shaped square. It is truly magnificent and full of eateries – the perfect place to people-watch. Podere Micheli caught our eye. Wow, what an amazing meal. Probably one of the best seafood pasta dishes I’ve ever eaten. Jennifer’s beef was excellent too, and very good wine. Apparently, they have a farm and there was a deli behind the restaurant selling many of their products. What a find! Brilliant given we were looking to purchase a few gifts to bring home.

On the way back to the bus station, we enjoyed a good hour window shopping (they have some very cool boutiques which made Jennifer very happy). Just before the station we popped into another old church which was showing an exhibition of artists. While the art was good, it was the building itself what was the star of the show. Absolutely stunning. Back at Villa Marta, we enjoyed a lovely dip in the pool before relaxing in the garden watching the sun go down. Bliss.

It’s Tuesday. We caught a bus to Lucca and we hop on a train to Florence. Hats off to Italia Rail. Superb service and on time every time it seems. The train had an upstairs which afforded us excellent views of the gorgeous countryside. We arrived in Florence and with no real plan, we rocked up to Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore about five minutes from the station. Wow! Just wow! It is impressively huge, and very beautiful We didn’t go inside – maybe next time. We just thought we’d have a mooch around and maybe find a good place to have lunch. Our hour through the Tuscan countryside had been enthralling anyway.

We walked up and down each side of the river for a while and then noticed Angiolino ai 13 Aarrosti. This place oozed rustic charm. There were a few difficulties language-wise but we soon got around it. This was rewarded with some superb food. Jennifer’s beef was astonishingly good, and I had Wild Boar, Mash and gravy. It was divine, as was dessert. This typical trattoria is a reason to return to Florence in itself. It also appeared that Elvis Presley had once dined there. Amazing.

Our train back to Lucca was immaculate. I think it was brand new. Anyway, we got to see even more of Tuscany through its large windows before another late afternoon stroll around Lucca. At one point, we plonked ourselves at Café Restaurante Pult in Piazza Dei Mercanti and just sipped wine and watched the beautiful people go by. Ok, they weren’t all beautiful, but you get the picture. By now we were completely chilled and completely embracing the Tuscan lifestyle. This little Piazza became a firm favourite. It was somewhat of a crossroads for the aforementioned beautiful souls, and we frequently found ourselves there, ‘persone che guardano’, that’s Italian for people watching.

Wednesday. We weren’t going to visit Pisa originally. I’d kind of turned my nose up at it. I just didn’t want to be “that kind of tourist”. But with Pisa being just a relatively short train ride away, it would have been rude not to visit. We’re glad we did, albeit it briefly. We had a quick look at the Tower of Pisa, Battistero di San Giovanni and Cattedrale di Pisa all of which are very beautiful, but there were just too many people. The architecture is magnificent but the touristy vibe takes the shine off what are stunning attractions. When you see the tower with your own eyes, it is hard to understand why it doesn’t topple over.

We found Marina di Pisa on Google and thought we’d take a look. After all, marinas all over the world are usually quite cool places to visit. This one sadly was not. It seemed quite run down. Jennifer said it reminded her of the movie The Crazies. It had a zombie apocalypse vibe about it. It was deadly quiet, and you just expected a rampant hoard to come running around the corner at any minute.

They didn’t, thankfully, but after a good half an hour walk along the non-descript sea front, we chanced upon a real gem: Osteria Marina Il Peschereccio. What a find. One of the best seafood restaurants we’ve ever experienced. Such a cool place. The wine was incredible, the service was perfect, and the food was next level. Whatever we had done to please the foodie gods, they certainly smiled on us in Tuscany. If you love eating out, Tuscany is for you.

We headed back to Lucca for one last walk around the town. We certainly hadn’t seen everything and vowed to return at some point. The following morning, we bid goodbye to Tabata and the team who had made our stay so very special. Villa Marta is a great hotel. Lucca, Pisa and Florence are well worth a visit. And Tuscany, well Tuscany is just beautiful. As Elvis once sang, we just couldn’t help falling in love.

Hot tip
Don’t trust the weather reports weeks before your visit. Despite a four-day forecast of rain, we had three beautiful days and one slightly overcast one. The only day it rained was when we were coming home! The weather in Italy can change half an hour to the next. Even if it had rained, there would have been tons to see, just under an umbrella. Our advice is to pack a for all eventualities just in case. We’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Sam Smith Travel, Kirker Travel, Lucca Tourism and the establishments listed below. We are already planning to revisit the area in the near future.