Tuscany Adventures--Scraps of Lucca, and then Florence!

 I realized that in my Tylenol Flu haze, I forgot so much of Lucca! So here's some snippets of it so that I don't forget. 

• I had the absolute best sandwich for lunch one day--supersoft panini bread with salami, bastardo cheese (whatever that is, it was white and gooey), and an amazingly thick and flavorful truffle spread. YUM. 

 

• I also had an amazing ravioli--ricotta with honey and butter, sprinkled with pistachios. The sweetness of the honey was perfect against the slight acidity of the soft, and the lady made it fresh each day. 

 

• The hotel left Elowen the sweetest Christmas craft to remember her time in Lucca--we all three traced our hands then cut out the shapes, glued them into a tree shape, and pasted on ornaments. 

 

• The hotel also had some amazing experiences I'd love to do when Elowen is older--for instance, you could go to the market with the hotel chef and pick out your favorite meats and veggies for him to customize a three-course meal. But most impressively, since Lucca is a city steeped in musical tradition, you could spend an hour with a local composer. After he gets to know you for that hour, he composes you a short song based on your personality!
• Also, I kept seeing ads in Lucca for what I thought was a meet-the-Grinch event, so we Googled the location and showed up with Elowen. Since I can't read Italian, it was actually a Grinch play! And Elowen loved it--when the music started and the actors came out, she started clapping and yelling "yay" and smiling so big. She's clearly already an appreciator of the arts! We only stayed about 10 minutes, though, because it was 9:30 pm and her vocal appreciation was a little distracting.  

 

• And finally, the way from Lucca to Volterra was a VERY windy road--switchbacks, steep hikes, and quick descents. We learned the hard way that Elowen gets carsick on such a road, and I specifically learned not to try to catch vomit with your hands in a moving car. Travel, so glamorous!

Okay, so on to Florence.  The city is phenomenal (not that I'm making any new observation there), and I'd love to go back soon. We got to our hotel, the St. Regis, in mid-afternoon and were immediately welcomed by the warmest staff. One of the hostesses, Nazarina, came over right away and introduced herself as Santa's helper, then helped Elowen write a letter to Santa and mail it. By the time we got to our gorgeous room, Santa had already stopped by and left Elowen a certification of being on the "nice" list! The butler also stopped by a little while later and gave Elowen a sweet little mouse from Santa. 

 

Before our nap, we grabbed a quick lunch in the hotel; I had a deconstructed burrata and a filet with truffle and red-wine marinated mushrooms, so delicious. The burrata is brought in fresh daily, and you really can tell. The hotel itself, a renovated 15th century palace, is also beautiful, lushly filled with antiques, art, and beautiful fabrics. It's anchored by the beautiful and peaceful Winter Garden, where you can have afternoon tea and lunch or dinner, or relax and listen to a pianist in the evenings. It's supposed to be the best St. Regis in the world, and I was so excited to stay there. 

 

Since that night was Christmas Eve, a lot of things were closed and we just walked around the city, enjoying the lights. We also walked to the famous Duomo, which I'll write more about later, but even in the dark it was stunning. 

For dinner that night, we ate at Buca Mario, a restaurant serving traditional Florentine dishes in a 16th-century dining room. I was too sick to really enjoy the meal, but Taylor had his bistecca again (he confirmed it was delicious) and I had gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce; we also shared a meat and cheese sampler. We sat by the nicest couple who didn't speak much English but were so nice to Elowen and made her day by feeding her some gummies.

 

With her pannetone, an Italian fruit cake, gifted from the hotel

Writing a second letter to Santa...she loved that bear and yelled "bear" every time we walked in the hotel

The next day was Christmas, and of course everything is closed then--but luckily we'd booked a Christmas brunch in the Winter Garden. There was a pianist and a singer, and a little room with professional sitters where Elowen could go play and color when she got bored. (Though she did make it quite a long time at the table, primarily due to her discovery of pear juice--she sucked down two full glasses and was obsessed!) The brunch was an unlimited buffet with everything you could want--roast beef, roast chicken, suckling pig, pasta, soup, cured meats and lots of cheeses, bread, salad, and a smorgasbord of desserts that included creme brulee and black forest cake. Of course, they also had unlimited wine! 

 

I am convinced Jon Voight was at the table behind us, but I couldn't get a good picture and Taylor told me I was being too creepy. But the lady maybe-Voight was with was very nice and chatty, and completed Elowen on how well she sat with us for the meal. 

 

We also went to the Westin across the street to see the views over the city, and it was so beautiful--we were there at the top of the hour and heard the bells chiming over the city. Of course Elowen and I were in our matching ugly Christmas sweaters (though I had to change for the meal, because Italians keep everywhere SO HOT. I was melting indoors!). 

 

And that was it for the first two days in Florence! The next day we'd go to Bologna, and then really start exploring our home base.