We kind of felt as if we had been given a bonus day as we had expected to have to get right up and leave for Milan. Instead since it was almost on our way anyway, we spent the afternoon in Lucca. In fact we spent way more time in Lucca than we had hoped. One reason was a pleasant one and the other…well not so much.

After parking in an unmarked parking area we made our way into the maze of ancient streets.

In particular I was taken with the circular piazza

where I found a beautiful shop with an ancient stone wall exposed on one side. The clerk was lovely and she must have assumed that I spoke or understood more Italian than I did because she merrily chatted away and I really did not have a clue what she was trying to say to me.  In spite of my inability to understand her language, I would say that we had a lovely visit nonetheless.

I was originally going to use my birthday money to purchase a trio of ceramic hearts but when it was decision time, I switched instead to two drift wood pieces adorned with ceramic pieces of orange and turquoise. The images included a heart which had initially attracted my attention and an interpretation of Lucca’s tower. The pieces are now hanging in our new kitchen and I am very happy with my choice.

We continued to wander through the quaint streets and shops of Lucca until it was meal time.

Kath’s quote: “I love the language, that soft bastard Latin, Which melts like kisses from a female mouth, And sounds as if it should be writ on satin With syllables which breathe of the sweet South.” -George Gordon Noel Byron

Love never fails.

On this rare day, I still had enough energy to do another walk through Montecatini (this wouldn’t have been the case if we had driven to Florence).

D had discovered a brand new spot where they served every beverage you might imagine including more beer taps than D had seen on this particular trip.

The owner was just putting out offerings of meat and cheese. He said they do so every evening free of charge so that patrons will stay and continue to imbibe instead of heading home or out for dinner.

I wandered through Montecatini before we headed home to get ready for our last Tuscan evening.

For dinner, we went back to Toscano Doc where we were anticipated by Francesco, the waiter we had befriended earlier in the week.  He was busy in another area of the restaurant but had a chance to send us over a complementary focaccia.

It was so simple and so exquisite! The crust was a thin as a cracker and as crispy and flaky too. The char from the wood fired oven was delicious as was the drizzle of oil and sea salt that we applied.

We started by sharing a pasta dish of sea bass and gnocchi. D loved the fish and I remember thinking that the gnocchi was the lightest I had ever tasted, anywhere. I guess made sense given our locale. Earlier in the week D had ordered the fried seafood and I had been so taken with the dish that I selected it again.

Doug’s eye was caught by pork tenderloin served with crispy red onion and rosemary potatoes.

We returned to the hotel to get organized for our departure the next day.

Kath’s quote: “My idea of heaven still is to drive the gravel farm roads of Umbria and Tuscany, very pleasantly lost.”  ― Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun    

Love never fails.