Places
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Village Life – Casabasciana
The village I am living in (and where Heather lives) is called Casabasciana. It is a village on top of a mountain, located in the Province of Bagni di Lucca. Today was a work day for me and while Heather was out giving a honeymoon couple a private tour, I was busy doing some marketing work…
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Opera Concert in Lucca
Dinner quickly approached and we made our way to a restaurant where we were met by one of Heathers colleagues Debra, who writes the bagni di lucca and beyond blog, and her husband Jim. After dinner we walked to ‘I Concert degli Angeli Custodi’ (Concert of the Guardian Angels) which featured opera singers Giancarlo Monsalve…
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Wine Tasting at the Anteprima
Heather is taking a sommelier course in Lucca and we have a wine professional development course we are working on, so Heather suggested we go to the ‘Anteprima‘. The Anteprima, an annual event, is a large scale wine exhibition where Tuscan coast vinters debut their new wines (about 400 labels) and it was held at…
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Poisonous nettles in my ravioli?
Today was a work day. Heather in her office me in my office on the second floor. I researched more on social media outlets to get the word out on our Cheese, Bread and Honey tour that happens once a year in June. We both were so ‘involved’ in our work, the end of the…
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Milk from the Mechanical Cow
Heather doesn’t drink much milk. I do. I love all dairy. On the last visit, about a year ago, she told me of the mechanical cow that sits in the middle of Borgo a Mozzano, a local village. I was intrigued and had to go ‘milk’ it…. Below is a photo of it in all…
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Farm to Table Caseificio
With a busy day planned, we then drive to Pontremoli in the Massa-carrara province to scout out a recommended location for a nice lunch. Trattoria Bacciottini, via ricci Armani 13, known for their Stoccafiso (stockfish) and Baccala fritto (fried cod). Having had my fill of cod a few days prior at the festival, I opted…
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Everybody loves Biscotti
Today we drove north to visit and interview potential producers for existig tours and some new tours in development. Panificio Lazzeri We drove to the village of Pontestazzemese to Panificio Lazzeri. This producer originally started making breads but realized his biscotti were in high demand and now mostly produces handmade natural biscotti. Located on…
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Daily meals up on the Mountain
I’ve been asked “What are your daily meals like?” Well, I am fortunate that Heather loves to cook. Not only that but she cooks only with locally sourced product. Daily. In the morning, the meals are planned and we go to the grocery store in the village to buy the ingredients for the day’s meals.…
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The Village on the Mountain
Long travel, but finally arrived. Heather picks me up at the airport and whisks me away. We stop off in Lucca (for lunch) and I pick up my SIM card for my Italian telefonino (which gives me an Italian phone number) and buy some minutes. So easy and inexpensive to purchase minutes, 5 Euros for…
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Sagra di Baccala
What is a Sagra? A sagra is a local (village) festival in Italy, usually involving food, and maybe some music, or sport or competition. This Sagra was in Borgo a Mozzano, Lucca and is celebrating Baccala, also known as salted cod fish. We purchased our food tickets then went to the food line where we redeemed our…