When: 31st July – 4th August 2013 Where: Lucca, Tuscany, Italy Stayed: Relais Del Lago
Before going to the Tuscan region of Italy, I’d built up a pretty vivid picture of what we would find there…mostly courtesy of the classic movie ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’. Needless to say my expectations were shrouded in romanticism and Hollywood stars. Despite my very high expectations, I wasn’t in the slightest bit disappointed. Rolling hills, olive groves, over-sized sun flowers lining the sides of the narrow un-graded roads, cicadas singing you to sleep, bikes from somewhere circa 1970 sitting propped up against old farmhouses, fruit orchards delivering breakfast straight to your table… the list of clichés goes on. I kept expecting to find Diane Lane clad in a head-scarf picking grapes in one of the many vineyards.
Our digs for the 4 days was a charming converted farmhouse called Relais Del Lago. Family run and exhibiting all the characteristics of a typical Tuscan household we quickly realized our trip was going to end about 2 weeks too short. Relais Del Lago sits about 15mins drive outside of the famous Tuscan town of Luca. Despite being quite close to a tourist hot spot, the B&B turned out to be so remote that our faithful Sat Nav (Tommy) couldn’t even find it. First attempt took us straight to the back yard of a very friendly non-English speaking family. Several minutes of charades later and we were back driving through their personal orchards in an attempt to find something that resembled more of a road than driveway.
Relais Del Lago has 8 private rooms and a fine dining al fresco restaurant with views across the stunning property, showcasing a peaceful sunset most nights. Set under the trees with fairy lights, lanterns and candles twinkling late into the night and the friendly sounds of vino glasses clinking, the restaurant was straight out of my movie script. The breakfast set up in amongst the shade of the pergola, vines and surrounded by a rainbow of potted plants and vintage style furniture was equally as mesmerizing. 
The star of the Relais Del Lago show was the pool however. At a relentless 36 degrees day in day out, the pool became a necessary part of our daily routine. So ensued 4 days of poolside kipping, paddling, trying to block out the screams and shenanigans of the French, Belgian and German families, and then venturing out for a feed as the heat got too much – even in the shade.
We learnt pretty quickly that although the Italians are famous for their fresh food and quality produce, in the remote parts of the country side absolutely nothing happens outside of 12-2pm. Of course we learnt this the hard way. Eat on schedule or go hungry!
Equipped with a confused Tommy (took us an hour to go somewhere that was only 10mins away…did wonders for our poolside zen state…), our daily adventures took us all over the (North Eastern) part of Tuscany. Each little town we visited as picturesque, friendly and quaint as the next. Montecarlo, Castiglione Garfagnana, Castelnuovo Garfagnana and Borgo a Mozzano. Tuscany certainly epitomizes the catch phrase ‘it’s not just about the destination…’ Each tight corner showcasing a different part of the glorious country-side. That’s if you can take your eyes off the road – no mean fete with crazy locals apparently keen to take on blind corners as a challenge. No need to slow down for on-coming traffic…
Lucca, a famous medieval walled city was more of a step towards tourist-ville than the tiny villages and towns we’d been visiting in amongst the hills and orchards. Nevertheless, it was well worth a visit. We hired bikes and rode around the wall taking in the different faces of the city. It’s probably worth clarifying that when I say ‘bikes’ in some cultures they could’ve passed as shopping trolleys with seats. Seemingly with a mind of their own the bikes provided an added challenge to navigating the hundreds of other (unqualified) cyclists doing the same thing. 
Lucca is a charming city steeped in some interesting history despite the relative congestion of tourists and inevitable tourist pricing. Car free streets with boutique shops, cute cafes, more gelato than you can poke a stick at and festive piazza’s done the way only the Italian’s know. To end our day in Lucca we had dinner at a trendy but super relaxed and friendly restaurant tucked away in the backstreets – Canuleia Trattoria – definitely off the tourist trail.
Sitting under the trees in a private courtyard with fairy lights dotting the night sky, homemade pasta warming our bellies and carafes of vino being downed like water I couldn’t imagine a more complete Italian experience. Only seeing a young mother breastfeeding with a baby in one hand and a glass of red in the other with a cigarette burning in the ashtray the following day topped it!
Extremely friendly locals who are tolerant of tourists with a worse grasp of the language than us, spectacular Hollywood scenery complete with every Tuscan cliché you can imagine, vine to plate food, spotless blue skies and we were well and truly under the spell of the Tuscan Sun…
Cathy & Justin Abroad 