HAPPY NEW YEAR from Around Tuscany!!

AROUND TUSCANY wishes you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
May 2011 be a happier year, full of wonderful trips, splendid photos and much success to everyone. I hope from my heart that better oportunities for Tourism will be presented (and it's also up to us!), as long as travelling is CULTURE, travelling is KNOWLEDGE, travelling is PEACE among different people. This is the time to get over all difficulties and keep being creative, offering more and more different ways of travelling and living. By the way, I would like to say THANKS to all my readers who support this Blog and are the reason of its existence!

Followers on: Facebook, Twitter, Feedburner, Google Friends, Networked Blogs, Meme and TBEX

Foto by Gonews.it Nov 31st 2009. Last year in Siena.

For those who are in Tuscany now, here some tips for the night of "San Silvestro". I'm going to be at SIENA (of course!). In the main square, from 10 p.m. there will take place concerts of Italian music: Paolo Belli and his Big Band, Irene Grandi and Giusy Ferreri. All parking sites will be opened and free during the night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. See you there!

Other tips can be:

Montepulciano: Live music in Piazza Grande with Antonio & Dany, free Spumante wine and typical Christmas  desserts. The best feature that the wine town is preparing is a huge bonfire to bring light and heat to the new year.

Pisa: live concerts and fireworks in many different squares: Piazza dei Cavalieri, Piazza Garibaldi, Piazza della Pera, Piazza Gambacorti, etc. Not to mention the Ruffini play at Teatro Verdi. At midnight, the fireworks can be seen from anywhere along the Arno.

Florence: many different concerts from rap to DJ, funky, jazz and gospel in the squares: Santa Maria Novella, Santissima Annunziata, Piazza della Repubblica, etc. Classic music in Piazza della Signoria before midnight and then, of course, fireworks that can be seen from anywhere along the Arno river.

Please send me your comments telling about your own experiences of Christmas and New Year in Tuscany.

I just wanted to close this year with the best wishes for 2011 and hope to see you all and your friends AROUND HERE, I mean AROUND TUSCANY! Cheers!

Tips for travelling around Tuscany for Cheap Oair

I was invited to write a guest post for the CHEAP OAIR . COM 's Travel Blog and I thank them very much for this oportunity. As long as for now I still didn't include some general information and useful tips to visit Tuscany, I will reproduce the same blog post here. Hope you enjoy!

TIPS FOR TRAVELLING AROUND TUSCANY


Tuscany is one of the most famous and visited regions of Italy and I have a particular interest in writing about it as long as I have a strong link to it. My family has its origins at Lucca, from where they moved to Brazil long time ago. I've grown up with the desire to come to Italy in search of my origins.


The dream came true and I have spent almost 5 years living in Tuscany, working the travel and tourism industry. I had the chance to get in touch with travelers from all over the world coming to Tuscany, so I've made an idea of their needs, what do they expect, what do they want to see and to experience and their difficulties with language, transportation, cultural differences and so on. That's why I decided to create a Blog where I could share my experiences and many photos I've shot along all those years till now.


Here are some basic tips for everybody who is planning to visit Tuscany.


Main airports:


Pisa – Airport Galileo Galilei


Florence – Airport Amerigo Vespucci also known as Peretola (the place where it's set).


I recommend my guests when coming to Tuscany not to take flights into Rome, Milan or Venice but try to find flights with direct connections to Pisa or Florence (unless they have one of those cities in their travel itinerary).


Public transportation:


Most important cities are well connected with trains (Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Arezzo). Prefer the trains Eurostar, Frecciarossa or Freciargento for longer distances. They are more expensive (yet less expensive than other countries in Europe). From main cities to smaller towns you should take regional trains (which are pretty cheap but not always comfortable). In some cases, you shoul prefer to take the bus – for example the connection between Florence and Siena or Pisa and Siena.


Driving in Tuscany:


If you are staying in a Tuscan Villa or “Agriturismo” (countryside cottages and apartments) – which I higly recommend – maybe you should rent a car, because most small villages and this kind of properties in the country area are not so well connected with public transportation. Read more about a personal experience on driving in Tuscany from my partner and guest blogger Jessica Spiegel.


Places to visit:


The main Province capitals also known as “art-cities” are Florence, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Lucca but also there are so many little villages and hamlets all around, not to mention the Tuscan coast which is very beautiful. Actually Tuscany is pretty large so it is almost impossible to mention all possibilities.


Food and wine:


The most important products of Tuscany are wine, cheese, extra virgin olive oil. Many of the top quality wines worldwine come from Tuscany. About cheese, the best kinds of Pecorino (sheep milk cheese) are made in this region. About the extra virgin olive oil, it is together with wine one of the top excellences of Tuscany. The Tuscan cuisine is very rich and based in meat (game, beef and pork), mushrooms, fresh vegetables and fruit, cheese and extra virign olive oil.


I recommend my guests to dedicate at least one week to stay in Tuscany as they can taste its real essence and get in touch with the local lifestyle.

Walking around Florence - a day trip guide

FIRENZE, the Italian name for the amazing city of Florence, is one of the Italian cities I love! Not because it's so famous, not only because it holds a limitless cultural heritage but simply because I love walking around its streets, squares, hidden alleys and along the river Arno. Each time I visit Florence, I discover something new: a different antique or handicraft shop I've never seen before, a new alley where I've never been before, a new coffee or wine shop, etc.

Here is a short guide for those who are coming to Tuscany and not staying in Florence, so who is coming just for a day trip. I have the opinion that when I visit any place, I want to have an overview experience which makes me be in touch with many aspects of the city instead of making the "Via Crucis" of most important and famous tourists points. So, even when I have only one day to see a city, I prefer to make 5 or 6 different kinds of activities which can provide me a taste of the local lifestyle, from art and architecture to the street market and shopping, passing through the local food and drink.

Anywhere you are staying in Italy or Tuscany - for example, have a look on my older posts about staying in a Tuscan villa - the best to visit Florence in one day is to take the public transportation. Most cities and towns have train connections while others, like for example Siena, has a better bus connection with Florence. (I recommend the blogpost by my partner Italylogue which I link here about Siena - Florence transportation). All directions will lead you to Santa Maria Novella station. This is the name of Florence central train station (it's important to now it because there are a couple of smaller stations and NO information saying that Santa Maria Novella is the central one). You will find often the abbreviation S.M.N. station.

In the Tourist's Office or in any "tabaccheria" (tobacco store) or newsstands you can purchase a map of Florence, unless you have your smartphone with GPS or internet connection (WI-FI is available for free only  in some spots of the city). Anyway, the city has a great system of attractions signposting (all brown signs are related to tourist's points).

What to do in Florence in one day?

1. From the train station you can walk into the historical centre, one of Tuscany's UNESCO sites. You can easily reach the Cathedral square within a few minutes walk. See Santa Maria Novella church right in front of the train station, there is where you want to go (there is an INFO point there if you need). Lead to the S.M.N. square and just go ahead. Any street you take will lead you to the centre but if you want to go first to the Cathedral, take Via dei Banchi. It's early in the morning so stop for a capuccino and cornetto in the "BAR" which inspires you the best;

2. Reach the Cathedral square and admire the lovely facade of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery and Giotto's bell tower (where it's possible to climb, but I would not do it right now, maybe if you are staying longer);

3. From the Cathedral it's very easy to reach Borgo San Lorenzo, where is set the Romanesque Church of San Lorenzo (which holds many important artworks and architecture by Brunelleschi, Michelangelo and other pieces by Ghirlandaio, Donatello, Filippo Lippi and others). But what I like best of this area is the street market of San Lorenzo, open every day except for Monday. Here you will find mainly leather products: pourses, jackets, cloths, shoes and much more. Leather is one of the most important Florentine manufactures. Besides you will find many souvenir stands with Murano jewelry and souvenirs (prices are lower than Venice!!) and other local handicfrats. Ideal place for purchaning souvenirs and great deals. If you prefer you can postpone this to the end of the itinerary or you will be carrying your stuff all the rest of the day (I just mentioned it in 3rd place beacuse it's very close to the Duomo);

4. Now you can make the way back and the opposite way from the Cathedral, along Via dei Calzolai till you reach Piazza della Signoria. Palazzo Vecchio is the Town Hall, in front of it you will see the David's replication (the original one is now in the Galleria dell'Accademia, which you can visit if you like, but it is highly recommended to make reservations in advance). On the side you see the famous Piazza del Nettuno and on the opposite side, Loggia della Signoria.

5. Behind the Loggia you will reach the Uffizi Gallery, not only one of the most important museums of Florence, for its art collection as well as for its history as the first museum of Florence but also one of the most important architecture projects by Vasari. If you plan to visit the Uffizi you'd better book it in advance, even if you will pay an extra fee for that. It can perfectly be included in a day trip because is not so large and you don't need too many hours to visit it. Anyway, it's worthy even to see its building only from the outside. Along the square, there are many local artists which sell their paintings or make your portrait at the moment.

6. Go ahead to the end of the Uffizi's square till you reach the "Lungarno" - the river's edge. To the right side you will reach the popular Ponte Vecchio, the most famous and older bridge of Florence and also the traditional jewellers and watchmakers of Florence. I recommend you cross the brigde and walk around the streets of the "oltrarno" (beyond the Arno). I'm sure you will find a lovely and delicious local restaurant (an osteria, or a vineria) where to have lunch. Try "pappardelle al cinghiale", or a delicious "bistecca alla Fiorentina" and match it with a Chianti Classico or even the house wine which is always great! For dessert: Tiramisù, of course!

7. You can go back through the next bridge, Ponte della Trinità and walk back into the city centre. Walk towards Palazzo Strozzi, at a certain point turn right on Via delle Terme or Via Porta Rossa. You will reach another small street market at the square of the Porcellino (little pig). The leggend says you must put a coin in his mouth. You will find this curious symbol really full of people. What I like the best of this place is that you find some interesting handicraft for sale, for example the beautiful tapestry work called "arazzo" (arras) which dates back from the Renaissance times.

8. From the Porcellino just go ahead on Via Pelliceria and reach Piazza della Repubblica (seen on the picture above). This square is the mark of the Unification of Italy (which became one single Nation only from the 1861). In fact, the neoclassical archway which leads into the one of the main streets (also known in Italian as the "Corso") of Florence where you will find all important brands. In this square, I higly recommend you to enter the department store called "Rinascente" - opposite to the arch. Climb all sliding scales to the last floor and look for the local Cafè. You must make some more steps and then lead to the terrace. This is an expensive but really worthy coffee break. You have a privileged view of Brunelleschi's dome which is the symbol of Florence. (that's from where I took the picture you see on the top of this post).

Well, this is pretty much some ideas of how you can spend a day in Florence. Of course, there is so much more to see and to do, like visit Giardino di Boboli (beyond Ponte Vecchio); the churches of Santa Croce, San Marco and Santa Maria Novella with so many important artworks by the most famous Italian artists; so many museums like the Accademia Gallery and other kinds of museums like the Archaeology and Ethnology museum, the Pre-history museum, the National Museum of Photography "Alinari", Palazzo Strozzi exhibitions and much more.

Please write me your comments about your own experience in Florence.

Below you can see a Google Map with the places mentioned in this post as you can have an overview of this splendid city!

View Walking around Florence in a larger map

Garfagnana and chestnuts

The Fall has come and one of the most typical products in Italy now are the chestnuts! And the place in Tuscany where you will be able to find lots of them is certainly the Garfagnana, a wide territory in the Province of Lucca which extends from the Serchio valley to the Apuane Alps monuntains. Exuberant nature composed of the dense vegetation of these mountains where the chestnut tree is the queen. Hidden "borghi" (small villages) with lots of surprieses: medieval towns, alleys, churches, bridges and towers; friendly people who love this land and have a lot to teach us; wonderful typical products among them the chestnut and its derivative products, obtained by the chestnut flour (localy called "farina di neccio"). In fact, this month is time for the "Festa della Castagna" (Chestnut Festival).

Foto: "Farina di Neccio" by InGarfagnana.com

It's possible to make a day trip into Garfagnana if you are staying at Lucca (it will take aproximately half a hour driving anyway) or you can rent a villa, find a hotel, bed and breakfast or an "agriturismo" and stay in there for a few days if you can... Whatever you decide, the options of what to do are really wide. Visit each little borgo and taste all its delicious products like salami, cheese, funghi porcini, extra virgin olive oil and wine can be one single option. But you can also decide to go out for a hiking among the woods of the Apuane Park - better if you hire an environmental guide - or for a horseback ride, or even for a bike ride - even if it becomes to get hilly the more you go off Lucca and the more you come near the Garfagnana, the mountains.

Some villages to visit
From Lucca, take the Via del Brennero (the best is to have a car) and drive towards Ponte a Moriano, Borgo a Mozzano, etc. Anyway there are signs to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.
You can stop by many little villages along this route:

Borgo a Mozzano - where you will see whta became the symbol of the Garfagnana: Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's bridge), crossing the river Serchio. The town is rich of Gothic fortresses and buildings.
From here it's wrothy, if you have enough time, to make a deviation and go to visit the village of Fabbriche di Vallico in the heart of Garfagnana, a charming medieval village of Lombard origins. The most famous monument is the old bridge which once used to be the customs between the Duchy of Modena and the Repubblic of Lucca.

Back to the main road towards Castelnuovo you have: Gallicano, Molazzana and Fosciandora among those with interesting monuments to see.

At last you reach the most famous and largest town of this area, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, which is itself a very charming little medieval village. The main square, Umberto I, opens to lots of medieval streets and alleys where you will find all kinds of local shops selling wine, fresh vegetables and fruits, ice-cream, salami and other local products. Two important monuments are the Fortress, called "Rocca Ariostesca" and the Cathedral, or "Duomo di San Pietro".

If you still want to keep going on, there is even more to discover: Careggine, Castiglione di Garfagnana, San Romano in Garfagnana, Camporgiano, Piazza al Serchio till you reach the territory called Lunigiana, the limits between the Apuane Alps and the Apennines, extreme North of Tuscany.

Products made with chestnuts that you will be able to taste in October (I've tried them all, simply DE-LI-CIOUS!):

Caldarroste - these are the chestnut themselves roasted on a kind of barbecue (which charcoal or wood)
Castagnaccio - is a typical cake, not too sweet and very peculiar, made with chestnut flour and other ingredients like walnut and orange peelings.
Necci garfagnini - type of pancake made with chestnut flour and wrapped with a filling of fresh "ricotta" (this is the one I like best)...
Other products that can be made with chestnut flour: bread, pasta (tagliatelle or pappardelle), polenta and other kinds of desert like cakes and creams.

Foto by Turismo Garfagnana Montagna di Toscana

Have a look ate the Google map below to guide you:

View Villages of Garfagnana in a larger map

To have more information about Garfagana you can visit the Garfagnana and Serchio Valley Tourism Association website.

Keep following and send me your comments... did you taste some of the products mentioned above? How did you like it?

I promise new recipes (tried personally at home, with photos step by step) just like the Tiramisù recipe in the section Tuscan Cuisine (the link can be found among the labels, on the right column).

Letters to Juliet: write me yours

Recently I've seen the movie "Letters to Juliet", shot in Italy: in Verona and in Tuscany. It's a romantic movie with two love stories within one, very easy to watch when you just want to relax. It's worthy for the beautiful photography and for the realistic image of Italian people and lifestyle, besides you can also learn some words in Italian.

The scenes have been made in three locations of Tuscany: Siena, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Montalcino. In the movie, the main characters make a long trip within a wide circle which center is Siena. The first images of the movie with all those cypress trees along golden hills of hay makes us believe they are direct to the North. Actually, those scenes belong to the territory between Siena and Montalcino, the Val D'Orcia, which is located in the South of Siena. Val D'Orcia, besides, is one of the Tuscan Unesco sites.

Montalcino:
This is the territory of "Brunello di Montalcino", one of the best wines in the world. Montalcino is also a lovely medieval town really worth a day trip from Siena. With Etruscan origins, its rises on the top of a hill overlooking limitless views of vineyards. The "Fortezza" can be seen from a long distance away, an amazing fortification which imposes over the town. The city center is very charming and is worthy for a day trip, a walk along the medieval alleys, a wine tasting matched with delicious typical products of the Siennese territory and a visit to churches and monuments which are witnesses of the Siennese Gothic art (or Romanesque style).

Castelnuovo Berardenga:
The scenes that show a different landscape of Tuscany with more vineyards and green woods belong to this region on the Northeast of Siena, going direction to Arezzo. Castelnuovo Berardenga is the doors to Chianti, where you start to see the vines and olive groves of the "Chianti Classico". Not only the town of Castelnuovo Berardenga itself are the attraction of this beautiful land, but also many other small villages around it (in Italian called "paese" or in diminutive, "paesino"), like for example San Gusmè. Little fortified village with one or two restaurants, cafes or wine bars where to taste delicious home made local food matched perfectly with the greatest wines of this land.

Siena:
Some scenes of the movie have been also shot in the city of Siena, another Unesco heritage of Tuscany. I had and will have many occasions to talk about Siena, where I have lived for 5 years. There are really many things to see and to do there and I highly recommend you stay at least 2 nights in this city. It's also a great base for day trips as long as it's surroundings, the "Terre di Siena" like usually called in Italian, are some of the most beautiful and amazing I've ever seen. The Province is really wide and includes famous towns like San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza and half of the Chianti lands (towns of Castelnuovo Berardenga, Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti). Besides, the Siennese territory holds 3 of the Unesco Tuscan sites: Siena, Pienza and Val D'Orcia! And the landscape changes like 6 times, as you drive around. A vacation not to miss! I would also recommend you rent a villa close to one of these towns and make day trips around Terre di Siena for at least one week.

After I watched this movie, I was wondering how many love stories took place all around Tuscany... So, wahy don't YOU write me a Letter too?! I'm not Juliet and we are not talking about Verona, but we are talking about love for a land that takes the breath away of many people from all over the world... that's why it's so frequent to see couples getting married in Tuscany! Please tell me in the comments below about your love experience in Tuscany: a wedding, a love story between a man and a woman, and also about love for your family, love for your friends and love for an entire territory, a region like Tuscany! I'll be waiting!
Love,
Adriana.

SEE THE MAP OF THE MOVIE SETTINGS BELOW:

View "Letters to Juliet"'s settings in a larger map

Tuscan Cuisine: Tiramisù recipe

Many stories say that the origins of the Tiramisù come from important patry cooks from Siena in the occasion when Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and well-known "buongustaio" (a gourmand), visited the city in the end of 1600. They created a completely new dessert with the same characteristics of the Grand Duke: important, ostentatious, flavorous even if made with simple ingredients. It has been called "zuppa del duca" and later when it has been connected to aphrodisiac and stimulant properties, has been called Tiramisù (which in Italian means something like "pull me up!").

After a little bit of history, here we go with the recipe!

There are many versions of Tiramisù with little variations, according to each one's preferences: black chocolate or milk chocolate; chocolate in pieces or powder; to add coffee liqueur or not or even to add some other kind of liqueur in the recipe or even wines like Marsala and Vin Santo; to add cream or not... Anyway, the base is always mascarpone, eggs, sugar, savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies) and coffee. I would like to share with you my prefered recipe which I usually make at home. I'd like to say that I don't like it to be too sweet, so I won't add suger in the coffee because the savoiardi are already sugared, besides I prefer black chocolate than milk chocolate. You can play with those ingredients and personalize it as you want.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup of sugar

4 cups of black coffee

Savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies)

250g of mascarpone "cheese"

250g of fresh cream

Preparation:

First of all make aprox. 4 cups of strong black coffee. I used my Italian coffee maker ("moka") which gives me almost an espresso coffee. Let it cool off.

Open your 4 eggs and add them entirely (yolk + glair) to a bowl and add the sugar, like in "Step 1". You will whisk it all until it becomes a "zabaione" cream, like in "Step 2". Keep it. (p.s.: the original zabaione cream is made in bain-marie, but I just made it simply whisking the cream with a hand mixer).

Separately, join your mascarpone with the fresh milk cream, like in "Step 3" and whisk them together until it becomes a dense cream, like in "Step 4".

You will join both creams, but very slowly, like in "Step 5", mixing little by little with a rubber spatula from the bottom to the top, making circular movements. This is to avoid the cream looses its fluffly consistence. Do it until the cream gets one single color like in "Step 6".

Dip the cookies into the coffee one by one, like in "Step 7" but try to make it very quickly as you don't want them to get squashy. They will be covered by the cream so will get even more wet later.

Make many layers of cream - cookies - cream, like in "Step 8", until you cover all your baking tin or bowl. You can make individual portions like I've done. In the end, cover the cake with powder balck chocolate.

Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Serve the dessert cold (not freezed) with Vin Santo - the perfect match - or with other kind of dessert wine (like Marsala, if you have used it in the recipe).

And voilà!!!!


I hope you liked this recipe, please send me comments saying if you have tried this and also any ideas you would like to share with us.

Keep following the section TUSCAN CUISINE, for more recipes.

What to do in Lucca - for WhyGo Italy

As a result of a great experience - a fruitful guest post exchange - me and Jessica Spiegel, travel writer for WhyGo Italy by BootsnAll, have produced for each other useful information for our Blogs. Jessica provided my readers with a pleasant post about driving in Tuscany, a topic which I really aimed to write because is very useful to complete the section about renting a Villa in Tuscany - as long as the car is necessary in most cases.

And upon her request, I wrote her a post about things to do in Lucca, as long as she is allways looking for partner bloggers in Italy to provide some advice of places they know and love... Lucca has a strong significance for me because it's my family's roots birthplace. Also my surname derives from Lucca - it means "people from Lucca" (as you can read in the post I just linked).

So, below here I'm copying down a piece of the original post, I hope those tips will be useful for travelers staying for a short time or at least for a few days in this lovely Tuscan art city:

"A charming city and very popular destination in Italy, Lucca is an art and history jewel for all to discover. Lucca Dentro(inside the city walls) and Lucca Fuori (outside the walls) are like two faces of the same coin separated by the imposing fortified walls that stand tall from the late Renaissance to these days.

The walls hide and protect so many attractions dating back from the Ancient Roman times to now that even for locals a lifetime is not enough to know them all. But, for those who have the chance to visit for a short period of time, below I have prepared a (non-exhaustive) list of things to do in Lucca.
Ride a Bike on Top of the City Walls
Rent a bike and go for a ride around the 4km of public walk on the top of the fortified walls. In fact, from the moment that the walls were no longer useful for military functions on the 19th century, it has been completely restructured to become one of the world’s largest hanging gardens and public parks. If you prefer, instead of a bike ride, just go for a walk or a picnic up there.

Enjoy the Sights Along the Via Fillungo
A walk along Via Fillungo: Enter Porta Santa Maria and walk along Via Fillungo, the main street, then turn right to reach the Basilica di San Frediano, which has an impressive facade of Gothic mosaics. Back to Via Fillungo, on the opposite side, enter a small alley under the buildings to discover Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, an elliptical square where the Roman amphitheater was originally set, renovated on the year 1830. Keep walking, while looking at the shop windows till you reach the corner with Via dell’Arancio – here is another curious point: Torre delle Ore, the clock tower, is the most tall among all 130 towers of medieval Lucca.
Take a Break at Caffè di Simo
Take a break and stop at Caffè di Simo, a historic cafe in the heart of Lucca close to the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. Puccini’s favorite cafe, Di Simo offers special coffee blends, homemade pastries, a rich buffet, and a wide selection of wines and liqueurs. If you’re staying at least one night at Lucca, the best is to come in the evening for dinner with music (jazz, piano bar, jam sessions, and tango).

Sample Local Wines at an Enoteca
Visit an Enoteca and taste the local wines – Chianti Colline Lucchesi, Montecarlo, and others – in one of the many wine bars located in the city. For example there is the Cantine Bernardini (Via del Suffragio, 7), which offers a delicious tasting of typical products matched with all good wines of the surroundings.
Discover Lucca’s Art Nouveau Villas
The Art Nouveau art and architecture style (in Italy called the Liberty style) has been seen throughout Lucca since 1870, when a huge urban growth movement started in the city. That’s why the itineraries of Lucchese villas are so famous. There are three main areas right outside the walls you can visit.

• Exit Porta S. Anna (from Viale Vittorio Emanuele) and go ahead along Via Alfredo Catalani and than Viale Giacomo Puccini 
• Exit Porta San Pietro, cross the avenue to reach Viale San Concordio 
• Exit Porta Santa Maria, on the roundabout take the Viale Matteo Civitali, on your right 

Ask for a map in the tourist information office located at Piazza Santa Maria, 35 (Porta Santa Maria) or at the train station (Viale Giusti – Piazza Curtatone)..."

Read more about things to do in Lucca if you stay a few more days, on WhyGo Travel.

And here is a link for my article about Puccini for Tuscany-villas.com

Driving around Tuscany with a GPS

I'm glad to have this guest post by Jessica Spiegel - travel writer for WhyGo Italy Travel Guide from Portland, Oregon (USA). I've met many tourists in Tuscany who passed through the same experience as Jessica and her husband driving around Tuscany, that's why I'm happy she is sharing this post with us. This is very useful for those who are thinking about renting a Villa in Tuscany, which in most cases will lead you to rent a car. Don't forget to ask for a GPS unit!

Driving around Tuscany with a GPS
by Jessica Spiegel

I have a confession to make. I've never driven a car in Italy.

I know I'm not alone, that many travelers in Italy never get behind the wheel, but for as much time as I've spent in Italy over the years you'd think I'd have driven a car at some point. The truth is that I don't love driving in general - I'm a perfectly safe driver, I just don't love it the way some people do - and I'm usually quite content to let someone else take the reins. And since driving in Italy isn't for the faint of heart, I'm even more happy to avoid it.

On one trip to Tuscany many years ago, however, the importance of having a car - and a GPS unit - was made very clear to me. The husband, who loves to drive, was responsible for all the driving on that trip, and I was the navigator. I'm a good navigator, but so many of the most interesting-looking back roads we came upon in Tuscany weren't on the Michelin map we'd bought that we were very glad our rental car had been upgraded to include a GPS unit.

We had picked up the car outside Bordeaux, and it had taken me all of our time driving through France to figure out how to change the language on it from French to English. By the time we reached San Gimignano, our hilltop base for five days of exploring Tuscany, the GPS unit was speaking the Queen's English and directing our every move.

It was more liberating than we could have imagined.

See, part of the joy of having a car in Tuscany is being able to go wherever you like, right? Being able to go the opposite way from what the main arrows indicate at each intersection, turning down a strange-looking road because you're curious, exploring without a care in the world - that's the dream. The trouble is I'm a bit of a worrier. I can't turn down a back road without wondering how I'll find my way out again. Having a GPS unit took all the worry out of our exploring on that trip.

Each morning we'd set off from San Gimignano with a couple of goals, things we wanted to see while we were out, but we were always happy to deviate from the plan. As soon as we'd seen what we wanted to see, we'd switch off the GPS unit and just drive where we felt like - in one case, we even ended up on a dirt road only used by agricultural trucks (in addition to our little car), and when we popped out again on another paved road we stopped for lunch in a tiny town that consisted of two or three buildings. I'm quite sure we wouldn't have found it if we'd been trying, and to this day I have no idea where we were.

When we felt ready to head back each evening, we switched the GPS unit back on and - voila! - a lovely voice would guide us from whatever remote spot we'd landed in back to San Gimignano.

I'm still not sure I'd be thrilled about the idea of renting a car in Italy if there was another way to get from place to place (unless there was someone else around to do the driving), but when the day finally comes that I get behind the wheel in Italy I'm going to be sure I've upgraded to a car with a GPS unit.

About the Author:
Jessica Spiegel writes the Italy travel guide for BootsnAll, WhyGo Italy. She's always happy to dole out Italy travel tips, from finding cheap flights to Italy to figuring out when to buy an Italy Rail Pass to planning the perfect Italy itinerary.