After weeks of rain some fine weather has finally arrived! Ponte a Serraglio is looking gorgeous.
I hope to visit lots of the other villages that make up Bagni di Lucca soon.
Is summer coming to Ponte a Serraglio?
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Tag Archives: Bagni di Lucca
A rainy night at Villa Aurora
Villa Aurora, the delightful family run restaurant at Fabbriche di Casabasciana, has a beautiful terrace. Unfortunately on the night we visited the rain was pelting down so we ate inside where it was cosy and warm.
The service at Aurora is very friendly. A young member of the family was very keen to be included…meet Cristian. (Not sure of the spelling of his name)
We began with bresaola and bruschetta.
My friend had the bocconcini di manzo and I enjoyed the saltimbocca.
We shared rosemary roast potatoes.
It is difficult to resist pannacotta for dessert.
When the weather is better I will return for an evening on the terrace, one of the loveliest in the area. Now that things are opening up please support your favourite restaurant in Bagni di Lucca.
Villa Aurora…Fabbriche di Casabasciana
349 4316287
0583 85600
La Corona, a new opening
We are very excited at Ponte a Serraglio to see the opening of La Corona, the newly renovated hotel and restaurant. 
Perhaps the name is a little unfortunate right now, but the up side it is easy to remember.
We arrived just as heavy rain began. This was a pity as the outside areas of the hotel are lovely. I will show you those on a better day. We gathered in the brand new bar area.
There was delightful entertainment.
We were taken up to the first floor to see some of the rooms of the hotel. There are 15 rooms and they look great. Each room is decorated individually, with well appointed bathrooms. Several rooms have views over the river, with great views and a couple have their own balcony.
My good friend Tina and I were the first guests in the beautiful restaurant.
The food was excellent. We began with a selection of Tuscan delights.
We both chose the risotto.
Tina had pork belly with crustaceans.
I enjoyed the guinea fowl on a bed of chestnut bread.
La Corona is an excellent addition to Ponte a Seraglio. I wish everyone involved the best and hope they get lots of visitors soon.
There was huge storm last night which began while we were at the restaurant. It settled a bit, but in the middle of the night I was woken by the noise of the river rushing past my window. The water was as high and as turbulent as I have ever seen it. This morning the river had settled a lot, but it was still brown and flowing quickly under the bridge.
Unfortunately the forecast is for another week of stormy weather. I hope the weather bureau is wrong on this.
La Corona…Ponte a Serraglio.
Dinner at Ristorante del Sonno
It is excellent to be able to join friends and sit down for dinner at our wonderful restaurants in Bagni di Lucca. Last night a friend and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Ristorante del Sonno in La Villa.
Ilario has made sure there is plenty of distance between tables and there is also outdoor dining. All precautions have been taken to make sure guests are safe.
We began with mussels and bruschetta.
Followed by grilled trout, roast potatoes and, for me, a stracchino and prosciutto pizza.
Let’s support our local businesses!
Circolo dei Forestieri is open
Circolo dei Forestieri in La Villa is open!
It is great that things are slowly opening here in Bagni di Lucca. I went with friends for dinner at Circolo dei Forestieri for dinner last night. It is so nice to be with friends and to eat something I didn’t have to cook for myself.
I know there was a happy, smiling face under that mask.
The tables are spread out and left unset until guests arrive. There are lots of outdoor tables as well. I hope the lovely terrace over the river will be open too.
We all ordered similar dishes, so I can’t show you variety, but everything was delicious.
Thank you Circolo for a lovely evening. It is great to see things opening up here in Bagni di Lucca. We need to support our local businesses!
Catene Cafe for coffee
My second venture out for coffee was to Catene Cafe in Fornoli. 
It was great to see Paolo and Yanima…and the coffee and sfoglia were excellent as usual.
Every effort has been made to make the situation as safe as possible in this uncertain time. I will be back…It is great to be out and about again.
Ponte flowers
This morning I planted the geraniums on the bridge at Ponte a Serraglio. I was happy to see Bar Italia open for takeaway. The fresh food shop next door was open and busy. The pharmacy had a well spaced queue in front and the Tabacchi was open. Life is beginning to return to the piazza.
It was a beautiful spring morning.
I left the yellow pansies because they have some life left in them. With some luck they will last until the geraniums grow bigger.
A good news story
The people who run and work at the Auser Bagni di Lucca in Ponte a Serraglio are no longer at work in the shops, so they have redirected their energies into making masks. Many are made from wonderful linen sheets donated by generous people.
They are not meant to offer total protection from Covid 19, but anything that helps even a little is welcome. They can be washed and reused.
They are being distributed to those who want them with the delivery of food.
We need good news stories. Now is not the time to spread conspiracy theories and silly supposed protections and remedies. Take advice from doctors, professionals and official directives. Unfortunately the internet is full of rubbish.
I am at our remote house in Garfagnana for the duration of the lockdown. I really miss my morning coffee and sfoglia at Bar Italia. Let’s hope life can go back to normal soon.
A difficult time
I put the pansies on the bridge in Ponte a Serraglio. earlier this week. I felt a bit like a criminal being outside when we are supposed to stay inside our homes. I thought it might cheer up our lovely village just a bit.
I am hoping that by the time they grow ( like these from a couple of years ago) in a few weeks this awful virus will have subsided somewhat and people can slowly return to normal life.
An Italian friend who has lived in Ponte a Serraglio for most of her life has told me she is proud of the way the people of Bagni di Lucca have responded to the lock down.
People are staying in their homes as much as possible. At least one local supermarket is making deliveries to all of the villages of Bagni di Lucca. A restaurant is cooking and delivering food to those who need it. The pharmacy at Ponte a Serraglio has an excellent system of serving customers while making sure there is safe contact.
If everyone plays their part to be safe and there is an improvement with the spread of the virus maybe the lock down will not need to be extended…let’s hope the effort is worthwhile.
Carneval Fornoli 2020
The fun for the student participants, their teachers and parents began around 2.00pm on Sunday across the Ponte Catene.
Everyone gathered in the square with great excitement. The theme of this year’s carneval was the Olympics. It was interesting to see the different interpretations.
Soon the officicials opened proceedings.
And the band began to play.
The procession made its way across the bridge.
It worked its way down the main street.
They gathered in the piazza waiting for the performances to begin.
The infants’ school from Fornoli presented their show, the race between the hares and the tortoises.
The next group performed.
It was the infants’ school from San Cassiano.
The students from Borgo a Mozzano came next. We wondered what the blue fabric was for. We soon found out it was the stream for the canoe team.
Then came the swimmers.
…and the equestrian team.
The fencing team fought with flowers…an excellent idea.
The cycle team really enjoyed themselves.
Corsagna school followed with an Ancient Greek view of the Olympics.
The Fornoli entry was colourful.
The last group sang for us.
The judges retired to consider their choices for the prizes. They soon returned and the first announcement was for the third place which went to Fornoli school.
In second place was Corsagna.
The winners were the students from Borgo a Mozzano.
Top marks to everyone for the wonderful event. Students, teachers, parent and friends clearly spent many hours to present such a delightful spectacle and it was great fun for participants and spectators.
Thank you Marco Nicoli and the team for organising the event again.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 