Then and now…our house

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Our house at Ponte a Serraglio has had a few changes since it was originally built. Here is a photo taken at the beginning of the 1900s.

The front of the building was damaged in WWII. It was originally one house, but at some stage it was divided into 2 apartments with a shop below.

Take a look at a post I wrote a while ago, where my friend Tina talks about the Ponte a Serraglio she remembers from her youth. Click here to hear Tina’s story.

This is what our house looks like now.

I am very pleased that the little balcony was added.

I would love to know the story of the faces above our doors and windows.

From our position on the bridge I can observe what happens in the piazza, and it is just a few steps to breakfast at Il Monaco for Annalisa’s great coffee and pastries…reason enough to live in Ponte a Serraglio. Click here to meet Annalisa.

Alighiero and friend

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

We have a delightful man at Ponte a Serraglio who takes care of the wild ducks on the river. Until recently we also had a white duck and a goose. The duck has been around as long as I have been coming to the village, but he died not long ago, leaving just the goose.

Fortunately he has Alighiero to make sure he is not lonely.

I hope you all have at least one good friend like Alighiero. Have a happy and healthy 2014…see you in Bagni di Lucca one day soon.

Beautiful Bagni di Lucca in 2013

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

I have spent a lot of time in Bagni di Lucca this year. It is wonderful to watch the changes in the seasons throughout the year.

I arrived in January to blue skies and the water high in the Lima river.

Not long after Bagni di Lucca was covered with snow for a while. Even the lower villages were white for days.

A very wet spring didn’t stop everything turning green.

Heavy rain meant the river was often very high.

We did have some sunny days in spring.

Sunny enough for a walk beside the river.

There was late snow in May.

Summer brings flowers, bees, insects and delicious fruit.

I was back in autumn for more changes.

There was more heavy rain in October.

…and pretty autumn colours and mists.

December brought some cold mornings.

…another great year in 2013. What will 2014 bring?

Merry Christmas from Bagni di Lucca

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Merry Christmas to all the followers of Bella Bagni di Lucca. I hope Christmas is wonderful for you wherever you are.

We are in Lapland enjoying a very white Christmas and visiting Santa. Take a look at Bagni di Lucca and Beyond and Beautiful Helsinki for some wintery photos. I hope Santa is good to you this year.

The mechanical cow

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

I prefer my milk straight from the cow. When I was a child a local dairy farmer delivered fresh milk to us in a bucket. He poured the milk into bowl and when it had settled Mum would spoon the cream off the top and pour it into bottles.

I can still remember the taste…a far cry from the stuff we buy at the supermarket now. It is pasteurised, homogenised, skimmed, vitamins added etc, etc, and it no longer tastes like milk.

Luckily there is a place nearby where it is possible to buy milk straight from the dairy…the mechanical cow, or latteria as it is called.

The little hut is in the car park at the Penny Market in Borgo a Mozzano.

For 20 cents you can buy a bottle and €1 gets you a litre of fresh milk.

There is even a photo of the dairies the milk comes from.

I think it is a great idea and I have become a regular at the mechanical cow.

Picking olives

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Olives grow all around Bagni di Lucca on terraces in the mountains. Autumn is the time to pick olives. It would be difficult to find a more beautiful setting for an afternoon of olive picking.

When we arrived the nets were being set beneath the trees.

We were shown how to pull the olives from the branches…a bit like milking a cow.

It is good fun picking olives…but I don’t have to do it for days on end. I may change my mind if I had to do it regularly, or I had to climb the trees to get at the top branches, or set the nets.

It is much easier to pick olives while standing on the ground.

…and look at the view.

The best part of this is the delicious new olive oil. It is best when fresh. Look for the new season olive oil now in your favourite deli or market.

The edge of Tuscany

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Not far from Bagni di Lucca, there is a road through the mountains called Passo delle Radici. It is part of the border between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. It is a place of many signs.

It was a cold autumn day when we drove through the beautiful mountains. There was a distinct difference between the Modena side and the Lucca side.

Here is what greeted us from the road looking towards Emilia Romagna.

This was on the Tuscany side of the mountains.

In between is the tiny town of San Pellegrino.

There is a wonderful olld church there with 2 pilgrims in an elaborate glass case. Click here to see an earlier post about them.

The views from the edge of town are spectacular and the drive up there is excellent. It is about 1 hour from Bagni di Lucca, taking things slowly to enjoy the view.

It’s cold out there!

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Today we had our first real taste of winter. The temperature stayed around 6 degrees for most of the day and it rained…a perfect day for a drive in the mountains.

There has been snow on Prato Fiorito, making it look gorgeous.

As we climbed higher towards Montefegatesi the snow was falling quite heavily.

Montefegatesi looks great at any time, but a dusting of snow makes it look even better.

We went for a short walk around the village. The temperature up there was zero.

There are storms all around us again tonight. Perhaps there will be even more snow tomorrow.

Click here and here for more on Montefegatesi.

Our first snowfall

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The weather has turned cold and there is a fierce wind blowing through the mountains. There have been some dramatic skies and we thought we could see a light dusting of snow on the distant mountains.

As we got closer we could clearly see snow on the top of the mountains.

I think it is beautiful. Perhaps it will snow again tonight. It seems cold enough.

Floating on the Lima River

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The weather has been a bit ordinary for the last few days. It is raining and cool…to be expected at this time of the year.

Autumn leaves are floating down the river, along with our resident ducks.

Despite the weather canoeists were out on the river too.

The little weir at Ponte a Serraglio is the end of the line for canoeists. There wasn’t much water flowing over it on Sunday but they all made it safely.

There is always something interesting happening on the river.

Go to www.bagnidiluccaavventura.it to find out about adventure activities in Bagni di Lucca.

Bella Bagni di Lucca

A beautiful village in Tuscany

Tag Archives: Tuscany