Helibores grow wild under the trees all over Bagni di Lucca. Even though there is snow on the ground these hardy little plants are beginning to appear.
Here’s one we prepared earlier. I photographed this one last year in Limano. They are such pretty little flowers…I’m glad they are back.
It is cold in Bagni di Lucca…it is the middle of winter after all.
The Lima River is full of water after recent rain and snow.
The ducks…including the white one and the goose…seem to be coping with the cold.
There is snow on the mountains around us.
…and we have been having some beautiful sunsets.
Winter is a lovely time to be in Bagni di Lucca.
Merry Christmas to all the followers of Bella Bagni di Lucca. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
Thank you for following Bella Bagni di Lucca. Perhaps I will see you in our lovely village one day.
I will be back in Bagni di Lucca soon to gather more photos and stories to share with you. If there is anything you would particularly like to see, let me know, and I will do my best to track it down.
Baby pomegranates were growing when I first arrived in Italy in September and now they are ready to eat…..another reason to love autumn.
Pomegranates are rich in vitamin C, vitamin B5, potassium and fibre (if you eat the seeds) and are the latest so called, super food.
You could drink the juice, or use the seeds in salads, knowing that it is doing you good, or you could do these things just because pomegranates are delicious.
LOCAL NEWS
There is to be a live nativity in Monti di Villa at 3.00pm on December 9. It will commence at the church in Monti di Villa and move through the streets of the village. It will be followed with food and drinks…….I wish I was going.
There is to be a bus taking people from La Villa. Please check for details at the information centre in La Villa.
Autumn is a season for mushrooms. These mysterious funghi have been appearing in the forests around Bagni di Lucca for weeks.
I wouldn’t dare pick any of these……leave it to the experts.
It is porcini season in Bagni di Lucca. They are in all the restaurants, proudly displayed in baskets.
If you drive along mountain roads you see cars parked and people scouring the forests for these delicious mushrooms. They grow well in chestnut and pine forests.
Porcini means piglet, perhaps because they look a bit like plump little piglets. They can grow to about 30 centimetres across and can weigh up to a kilo.
I have eaten risotto with porcini, pasta with porcini, fried porcini, grilled porcini and best of all fresh, raw porcini with a squeeze of lemon and black pepper. They have to be just picked for this to work well.
Autumn is here, bringing these delectable delights to eat.
This was what greeted me at my car this morning.
One of the things I love the best about Bagni di Lucca is the obvious change in the seasons. I come from a sub tropical climate where there is not a lot of difference.
There is a view that I have been photographing for a year to document the lovely changes.
I like all the seasons ( except when it gets really hot in summer ). Autumn is particularly lovely in Bagni di Lucca…..and it is about to start.
The blossoms are gone from the fruit trees and the tiny fruit has appeared. Soon we will be eating some delicious summer fruits and berries.
Tiny, perfectly formed pears.
Baby cherries.
Peaches?
Plums?
Figs….my favourite.
Gooseberries.
Don’t know.
Raspberries?
And let’s not forget the grapes.
I hope I get to try some before I have to go home.
Acacia and chestnut blossoms are appearing on trees all around us. The acacia is a bit late this year because of the rain and the cooler than usual weather.
Hopefully soon the air will be filled with the delicious honey like smell of these pretty white flowers.
I know they are weeds, but the bees like them.
The chestnut blossoms stand like proud decorations on the beautiful trees. These are horse chestnut flowers, the real chestnut trees bloom a bit later.
As well as looking beautiful, the blossoms provide nectar for the bees to make honey. The whole area is famous for its delicious, pure honey….lucky us.
Look out for some local honey while you are in Bagni di Lucca. There are lots of small producers in the villages of Bagni di Lucca.
The pansies on the bridge at Ponte a Serraglio are looking gorgeous just now. The smell is heavenly when you walk across the bridge.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 