Back from Holidays!

Did you notice I was away?! :-) Well, we were on our summer holidays and this is how we mainly spent our time!

It was paradise!
We went to our favorite places in Tuscany - for the beach to Viareggio, for living and eating (really well!) to Lucca and for shopping to Florence! :-) What can be better?!

In Florence we could also visit some museums we never visited before. It is fantastic about Florence that there are so many things to see and to do, that even if you come quite often every time you discover something new. Every time we go to Florence I feel like it Christmas time! :-) I don't know why it makes me feel so, but I just love this place so much. I do not like that during the summer there are too many tourists and it is extremely hot there (it is one of the hottest towns in Italy). It is also a paradise for someone who loves shopping. And who doesn't?! :-) With two kids it is never easy to make shopping, so I just made quick visits to my favorite shops. It is still SALE time here!

Lucca. When we come to Lucca (and we do it quite often) I feel like I am at home! Though I like very much Florence I would never like to live there. But Lucca is a perfect place where to live. It is small and beautiful. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful landscapes. Around the old town there is "mura" - the wall - perfect place for riding a bicycle, for jogging or for a walk.

The food is delicious as well. If you have a chance to visit Lucca I can suggest you two places where to eat. The first one is Trattoria Da Leo! It is always full, so I would suggest you to reserve a table one day before. Their vegetable soup is my favorite! It is different from traditional Ribollita, but sooo good! If you are meat lover you should try coniglio or faraona! Funghi with polenta are amazing too! Another place is Osteria Baralla! Here you should try zuppa di farro! Sooo good! Sophie just loved it! And you should try trippa, it is a bit heavy, but delicious! For desert we usually take cantucci with Vin Santo (it is a desert vine).
The good thing about Lucca is that the beach is very close too. It is about 20min to go to Viareggio. It is one of our favorite beaches in Italy (though I never visited Sardinia, but people say the best beaches are there).

In Viareggio you should try insalata di mare! We were buying it almost everyday, also as take away to make a picnic on the beach.

From Lucca it is also very easy to go to Pisa. By train it is only 20 minutes.

Well, I always like to come back home from our trips, but I always feel sad to leave Tuscany. We really feel like at home there.