Sunny with Lots of Ocean

January is the longest month - the holidays are over, I'm home from Italy, and spring seems so very far away. The days are short and the weather can be cold and gloomy. This makes January the perfect time for a mid-winter weekend getaway; somewhere warmer, somewhere fun, and somewhere not too far away from my home in Albuquerque. So I recently headed west with a friend to California and the small beach town of La Jolla.

La Jolla views are incomparable.

There is much to love about La Jolla. To start with, there is all that ocean. To a land-locked desert dweller like me, the ocean is pure magic. Add in a mid-January temperature in the low 60s, bright sunshine, oceanfront parks and walking paths, blooming flowers, interesting architecture, and an all-around vibe that is part causal beach town and part upscale living, and you've got the makings of a great  weekend. Oh, and did I mention the ocean? The sound of the waves is soothing; watching the waves break over the rocky coast is hypnotic. This is my kind of therapy!

Blue water and flowers along the rocky coast. 

An artist paints en plain air along the coast in La Jolla.

My hotel for the weekend was the Grande Colonial, which was charming and pretty with a vintage elegance. It's a short walk to the ocean and the path that stretches from the Children's Pool and Seal Beach to Scripp's Park and La Jolla Cove. This is a rocky coastline interrupted with small sandy beaches and waves breaking in dramatic fashion. It's easy to do low-key R&R here. My weekend was spent walking, watching birds soar overhead, laughing at seals that barked on the rocks and dashed playfully in and out of the water, browsing in the local shops, watching people, and playing the "which house would I buy if I had millions of dollars" game. Mine was right on the ocean with a pretty cottage garden and a gazebo with an endless sea view.

It's easy to spend time watching the seals.

Any good vacation has to include great food, right? Luckily, there were plenty of choices for casual meals with good but not fussy food. Some favorites were:

The Cottage, appropriately named for its setting in a former beach-style house, serves breakfast, brunch and lunch to locals and tourists alike - inside or on the beautiful outdoor patio. It's popular and there can be quite a wait (no reservations taken) but it is absolutely worth it! Sunday brunch of crab Benedict with avocado and a roasted tomato hollandaise was so good that we went back again the next day for breakfast. Not to be missed are the berry smoothies and the lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes. Our server was friendly and helpful and we sure appreciated her advice that most dishes were big enough to share (you would know what an understatement this was had you seen the order of French toast delivered to the family at the next table).  

A half order of crab and avocado Benedict at The Cottage. The kitchen was happy to split this.  

Light and lemony ricotta pancakes with blueberries. Pancake perfection.  

Brick and Bell. This may be the cutest coffeehouse on the west coast, a tiny local spot with a nice patio and a pastry case full of temptations. It wins my vote for best raspberry scones ever.  

Brick and Bell restaurant.

Puesto. It's not a trip to La Jolla without fish tacos. The ones here were fresh and tasty with a light batter, a bit of chile-infused cream, fresh lime and blue corn tortillas. A new flavor for me was the side of esquite - grilled corn cut from the cob and flavored with lime, chile and a soft queso. It's big enough to share, but trust me, you won't want to. 

We just don't get fish tacos like these at home in New Mexico.   

The bar at La Valencia hotel. You don't have to stay in the hotel to have a drink in the bar with one of the best views in La Jolla. Sip away and daydream as you look out over the water.   

The bar at La Valencia is gorgeous ...

... but the view is even better! 

A weekend in La Jolla goes by quickly, but the net relaxation effect makes it feel like you've had a month's rest.  

-post by JB

Near dusk in La Jolla.

The Allure of Florence

The last time I stayed in Florence, in April 2016, I was certain I would not return. The crowds of tourists crammed into the compact historic center of the Tuscan capital, were too much for me. Eight months later, I was back. Florence's beauty was too much for me to resist. 

Florence is home to some 380,000 residents. It lures 42 times that many visitors each year! Those 16 million tourists come to see Michelangelo's David, the Ponte Vecchio spanning the River Arno, Brunelleschi's dome on the Duomo, the 45 halls of art in the Uffizi Gallery Museum, and many other works of art, history and culture.

The Duomo in Florence, April 2016.

But everywhere you look in Florence, there is beauty. Much of it can be seen for free - all you have to do is walk and look, look, look. Near the train station is Santa Maria Novella church, a Gothic beauty. Across from the Duomo are the jaw-dropping doors of the Baptistery of St. John. The Duomo itself is a feast for the eyes: colorful, dramatic, huge.

Lampposts in intricate and intriguing ironwork punctuate street corners, and elaborate gates serve as sentries at the entrances of private courtyards. Statues abound, from the "fake" David in front of Palazzo Vecchio (the "real" David is in the Accademia) to the "lineup" of famous Italians outside the Uffizi.

A gate at the entrance of a courtyard in Florence, April 2016.

Everyone, of course, should see David and the other famous sites of the city. But I also like to have time simply to "be" in Florence. I always find something new to marvel at, whether it be from the Renaissance or yesterday. During my recent visit, modern-day street art that said, "Be kind to each other," was followed just half a block away by a religious statue ensconced in glass on a street corner. A few blocks later, a shop window featured a display of gorgeous gold and red pitchers. If you rush to visit only the "must-sees," you miss so much of what Florence has to offer.

A shop window display, Florence, December 2016.

If you're in Florence in the winter, you will find thinner crowds and shorter lines. If you are there when most of those other 16 million tourists arrive, I recommend escaping to Oltrarno - south of the Arno, where there are fewer people but plenty of great restaurants, artists' studios and shops - or to the Boboli Gardens for a stroll among greenery and fountains and sculptures. That way you'll want to return. There's no point in fighting it. One simply cannot stay away from Florence's splendor. 

 -post by JG

A street corner, Florence, December 2016.

An Apartment in Lucca

Judy at the  front door to the apartment on Via Pelleria in Lucca.

I wrote this post while sitting at "my" kitchen table in Lucca.  I love having an apartment here, it's key to living like a local and having an experience that goes beyond tourist and crosses into part-time resident. Don't get me wrong, I will happily stay in a hotel for a shorter visit and I have a favorite hotel here where I feel wonderfully at home and spoiled (look for a hotel review in a future post). But for a longer stay I prefer an apartment with three main considerations in mind: location, price and amenities (including a really functional kitchen, comfortable bed, washing machine, and some outdoor space).  

I find that renting through an agency rather than from an individual owner suits me best - it provides an on-the-ground contact person in case of problems, also agencies represent multiple properties and so can help me find just the right one, plus I like to build an on-going relationship with agents since I spend a fair amount of time here and am a frequent renter. I've worked well with two agencies in Lucca: Apartments Lucca (I have an apartment already booked through them for spring) and Lucca Holiday Homes, where Judy and I stayed in December/January. 

 Entry to apartment on Via Pelleria, just inside the front door, with a pretty private garden beyond the gates. 

Here are some more glimpses of my most recent apartment (December 2016/January 2017).  It's pretty special and, since I was sharing space and costs with Judy, bigger and more elegant than those I rent when I'm here on my own. It's in a beautiful old building, originally a large private home, now made up of several apartments. Ours was on the second floor, up about 36 steps. The apartment had a beautiful bright great room with a galley kitchen, generous dining area, cozy sitting area, and French doors to a small terrace. 

 Can you feel the sun streaming in through the windows, even in cold January?  

The galley kitchen is well-equipped and the cabinets stocked with cookware and dishes.

One of several options for brewing coffee in the apartment. There were also two Mokas and an American-style electric drip coffeemaker.  

An assortment of cups found in the kitchen - caffe americano, cappuccino, or espresso. 

Sitting area with two comfortable sofas.

Master bedroom with one queen and one twin bed.  

Second bedroom with twin beds.  

One of two bathrooms, both with large showers

This apartment was located inside the walls of Lucca, in the northwest part of the old city, a short walk from Piazza San Michele, Piazza San Salvatore, and the many shops on Via San Paolino. The area was quiet and felt more residential than touristy. A perfect home-away-from-home in Lucca. Now, if only I could stay a little longer!                 -post by JB

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Contact Information: 

Apartmentslucca.com        Alba Pracchia  

luccaholidayhomes.it         Debora Del Sonno

Festiggiare - To Celebrate

It was the last day of our trip to Lucca and Judy and I decided to festiggiare - a word that can mean to celebrate or to feast. We did both at one of our favorite restaurants.

Gli Orti (the gardens) di Via Elisa is a beautiful restaurant on, you guessed it, Via Elisa just outside of Porta San Gervasio, one of the medieval gates inside Lucca's walls.  

Porta San Gervasio, one of two remaining medieval entrances to Lucca.

We celebrated two things: a successful trip (the first time Judy and I have actually traveled together) and also the launch of this blog, a project months in the planning. We've had fun writing and have really enjoyed the responses we've gotten to our first posts. 

The entrance to Gli Orti di Via Elisa, still decorated for the Christmas season.

On the menu was a guilty pleasure called Pasta Fritta - little pieces of dough fried in oil, sprinkled with a good coarse salt, served warm and layered with a soft melty cheese and a piece of prosciutto. I first tasted this a couple of years ago in a Sicilian-style restaurant in Lucca and then again on an excursion into the hills outside of Lucca with a group from Lucca Italian School last spring. It's one of those dishes that combines warm, salty and savory in just-the-perfect combination and it's an unforgettable flavor. It's also not something found at home (at least not in New Mexico), so don't pass this up if you find it on a menu in Italy. It's an antipasto, so was our first course and perfect for sharing. Remember, this is a festa so a bit of decadence is not just ok, it's required!

Pasta Fritta warm, salty, and delicious.

Judy is a pizza purist, so for her main course she ordered a pizza Margherita, an Italian classic topped with a touch of tomato sauce, good mozzarella and some basil. She pronounced it to be in her top 10 all-time pizza experiences.

Pizza Margherita. It smelled so good Judy had to taste it before I snapped a photo!  

I went full out carnivore, ordering a steak grilled, sliced and topped with herbs, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Alongside came roasted potatoes with rosemary, perfectly cooked with a crisp outside and a creamy, tender inside.  

Steaks are cooked rare in Italy; this one was tender and flavorful.   

You might notice a lack of veggies. They are not abundant on menus here, other than salads or spinach and a few season-specific vegetables like asparagus. As one Italian I know put it to me, "You can eat vegetables at home. No one goes to a restaurant for vegetables." Ah, Italian wisdom!

Happy and full, we skipped dessert and had just a caffe macchiato to finish the meal. We've made a bit of a study of caffe macchiato this trip, which is sure to end up as a future post.  

-post by JB

Caffè macchiato - espresso with just a touch of milk.

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contact info:   Gli Orti di Via ElisaVia Elisa 17, 55100 Lucca, Italy         ristorantegliorti.it

Outside the Great Walls of Lucca

When I've been in Lucca before, I've only ventured outside the walls of the city to walk to the train station. So on my recent trip, I wanted to see what was beyond the imposing walls constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries - especially after I tasted a dessert from a pasticceria in the Borgo Giannotti neighborhood. (Pastry is a powerful motivator!)

Outside the walls of Lucca, January 2017.

The historic center of Lucca is within the walls, which were built to defend the city and remain intact today. The walls are essentially a 4-kilometer-long (almost 2.5-mile) park for residents and visitors alike. Biking, walking, jogging, sitting and watching other people bike, walk and jog - it all takes place on the walls.

Heading out the northern Porta Santa Maria exit from the historic center, there is an underground passageway to Borgo Giannotti, a typical Italian neighborhood with tiny restaurants, bakeries, a flower shop, butcher and other small businesses lining the main street.

Flowers brighten a winter day in Borgo Giannotti just outside the walls of Lucca, January 2017.

It's an easy and interesting walk along a road that is heavily trafficked by cars - something that does not happen inside the walls of Lucca because cars are only allowed in certain areas and often only for certain reasons such as loading and unloading. 

The destination on the walk Joanne and I took near the end of our December 2016/January 2017 trip to Lucca was Pasticceria Sandra, L'Angolo Dolce. Friends had brought us a cream-and-raspberry torta from there earlier in the week (read all about it in Joanne's earlier post, Pranzo con Amici).

Pasticceria Sandra, L'Angolo Dolce - culinary craftsmanship at its best.

The pasticceria is small. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in creativity and culinary craftsmanship. A glass display case in the center of the shop holds dozens of delectable delights, including cakes, cupcakes, miniature pastries, panini (sandwiches) and more. Each one has been created as a unique piece of edible art. At the back of the shop is a coffee bar. Joanne and I each ordered a mid-morning cornetto con crema and cappuccino. The cornetti (that's the plural of cornetto, which is like a croissant) were perfectly flaky and buttery and filled in the center with a soft cream that was not too rich but sufficiently sweet.

The River Serchio, January 2017.

Fortified by coffee and sugar, we hit the road again, following it through Borgo Giannotti to the River Serchio, which flows toward the Ligurian Sea. Walking/biking paths run alongside the river and on a clear day like we had, there is a nice view of the Tuscan hills in the distance. I love to explore, and this easy walk through Borgo Giannotti was a nice way to spend part of a day. I spied a church on a hill to the north of the river, and now I'm looking forward to exploring it on my next visit!

   -post by JG