The beautiful pool in La Villa will be open on 3rd June at 3.30pm.
Click HERE for more photos of the pool.
Phone 0583 86254 for details of opening times and costs.
There is an event his weekend highlighting water activities.
At around the same time, or just after the acacia flowers bloom, come the white or cream clusters of flowers on the sambuca trees.
The tree is also known as elder or elderberry. The flowers can be used to make cordial, syrup, liqueur or jam. The essence of the flowers is sometimes added to Sambuca, the Italian anise flavoured liqueur. They can also be cooked and eaten. The flowers are followed by black, blue black or red berries.
The lovely fountain in the park in La Villa has been broken. I don’t know what happened, but I hope it can be repaired.
Here is what it used to look like.
This weekend in La Villa will be full of people enjoying the Festa dello Sport.
There will be something for everyone.
A restaurant has closed in Ponte a Serraglio. Ristorante da Vinicio had been around for ages. When we first came 14 years ago it was busy every night. Here is a photo from back then.
In summer there were tables along the river, giving the little piazza a lovely festive atmosphere.
A death in the family and a serious illness have brought on the closure of the business. It will be missed this summer.
We need a restaurant at Ponte a Serraglio. Bruno’s is great, but one is not enough, particularly in the summer.
I don’t know any details about buying or renting the space, I just know that it needs a new family to take over…anyone out there?
Acacia trees are in full bloom and right now are covering the hills around Bagni di Lucca.
Bees love the flowers and they make delicious honey.
The flowers are edible. You can dip them in a light batter and fry them. I haven’t tried that but I have eaten one straight from the tree and it tasted a bit like raw peas.
I love the flowers and the smell is heavenly, but they make me sneeze.
i know they are a pest and it is a pity the hillsides are not covered with chestnut, hazelnut, walnut and cherry trees. If you look at old photos of Bagni di Lucca you will see that the hillsides were terraced. Grapevines and vegetables were grown, so the chestnut trees are long gone. The farms were abandoned and acacia grows more quickly than more useful trees, so we are now left with acacia. They are beautiful, but they are a menace…any takers for removing them to start a replanting process?
This was the view up and down the river early this morning.
It looked as though it would be a gorgeous day, but moments later the mist rolled in and the sun disappeared.
I have just planted the geraniums on the bridge…some sun please!
The lovely Tiglio trees provide a canopy for the street market in Fornoli today.
Now we just need some sun.
Thus wonderful old building was once the grand Hotel de Russie. It was designed by Giuseppe Pardini.
Now the building has 6 apartments. I love the balconies on the front.
We have had mixed weather for the last few days. Today was glorious with blue sky and light wind, but there has been heavy rain, fierce wind, hail and snow on the mountains.
The snow melted quickly in the warm sun, but it was pretty while it lasted.
