It has taken a while, but the car park area in front of the railway station in Fornoli is almost complete. This is excellent! I often catch the train to Lucca or Florence and lately it has been difficult to find a place for my car. I look forward to using the new area when I return to Bagni di Lucca.
Work is continuing on the repairs the the Chain Bridge.
It is good to see positive improvements in Bagni di Lucca.
Diego Fornaciari wants to share his hometown of Bagni di Lucca with adventurous lovers of cycling. He has launched Tuscany Adventure Tours to give visitors a chance to “Live and Breathe Tuscany’s Authentic Beauty”. He wants to help others enjoy the beautiful places he loves and knows so well.
He has many years of experience guiding cycling tours in the Bagni di Lucca area.
Now based in Australia, he is organising small group guided bike and leisure tours through the heart of Tuscany. His tours will immerse you in authentic Italian life, country farmhouse style accommodation, food sourced from local ingredients, restaurants locals love…all with stunning scenery seen from seldom trodden paths.
Cool down in a mountain stream or enjoy aperitivo in a bar with the locals.
Tell all of your friends, especially anyone who loves Tuscany and loves to cycle.
Please go to Diego’s website for much more information…
http://www.tuscanyadventuretours.com
Send an email…
info@tuscanyadventuretours.com
Phone…Australia…+61 404 782 348
WhatsApp…+39 348 974 0863
There is an excellent restaurant in the small village of Fabbriche di Vallico, about 30 minutes from Bagni di Lucca. The food is good, local fare served by cheerful people…what more could you want?
The village is beside a small, but fast flowing river. We parked in the central car park and wandered through the village
The restaurant takes its name from the still operating flour mill, which is beside the restaurant building.
The mill dates from 1726. It still uses flowing water from the torrent to drive the machinery to make flour from chick peas, chestnuts, farro and wheat. The water flows under the mill.
We were given a tour of the mill before making our purchases. Grains are ground in different rooms.
On the ground floor is the shop where you can buy the flour.
After selecting our flour we walked next door to the restaurant. It was a cool day so we sat inside. There is an open area which would be lovely in summer.
The food is typical of the area. We enjoyed our delicious lunch and mill tour.
Fabricche di Vallico is a pretty drive from Bagni di Lucca, well worth a visit.
This weekend FAI (a bit like the National Trust) organised walking tours of the Casino and Bernabo Spa in Ponte a Serraglio. The tours were extremely well attended on Saturday and Sunday, bringing lots of new people to the area.
Our tour began at the casino. It is the first purpose built casino in Europe. Carlo Lodovico di Borbone commissioned Giuseppe Pardini to build it in 1837.
We then walked up the hill to the Bernabo Spa. It has been beautifully restored and offers a range of treatments along with a fabulous deep marble bath and natural steam rooms.
There is a great view of Ponte a Serraglio from the terrace in front of the spa.
From there we walked down the hill and stopped briefly in front of what was the English Club, which is now the home of a friend.
We walked back to the casino for an inside tour.
The entrance and sitting room.
This was once a ballroom.
This is the orchestra stage.
The beautiful ceiling.
Detail of some of the decoration.
Delightful Virgilio gave us some lessons in the types of games that were once played in the various casinos that were operating in the area.
Look out for any future walking tours with the FAI.
I have returned to beautiful Bagni di Lucca after being away for almost 4 months. I love the winter here, especially the view from my balcony in Ponte a Serraglio.
Time for a walk to see familiar things.
Spring will be here soon, I love that too.
It is good to be back in bella Bagni di Lucca.
I am currently in Brisbane, Australia and we have experienced our first seriously hot days. The temperature has been around 35 degrees coupled with high humidity, an all night storm with rain, strong wind and incredibly loud thunder.
I missed the gorgeous autumn in Bagni di Lucca so I looked at some of the photos I took in past autumns.
I will miss the lovely cold winter days with the possibility of snow…I hope there will be some when I return in late February.
There are some interesting things coming up in Bagni di Lucca over the next couple of weeks.
A concert at the Casino to raise money for Auser, which helps a lot of people in the community.
Plant an olive tree.
The final street market for the year.
The river is as low as I have ever seen it under the Ponte della Maddalena at Borgo a Mozzano, on the way to Bagni di Lucca. I have been coming here now for almost 20 years.
This is the view I usually see.
This is what it looks like now.
From the other side.
From the top.
On a brighter note the vegetation is growing back on the site of the landslide.
We have had some rain recently but it will take a lot more to bring the river back to its usual level.
While it might not be great for those who are here on holidays, the recent rain is very welcome after a dry, hot summer.
I like the misty morning and the sound of the rain at Ponte a Serraglio.
The rain is needed to fill dams, the springs that feed the rivers and the poor distressed plants. Let’s hope we get good rain over the next few months.
On Friday night 29th July in the garden of the Comune building in La Villa there will be a concert under the stars.
The regular second hand market will be held on Sunday 31st July.
….
Bella Bagni di Lucca 