An Italian Seaside Dinner

I’ve been back in Italy for a few weeks now and, while I love being in Lucca, sometimes I long for open spaces and the sound of the sea. So, when friends recently suggested an evening trip to the coast for dinner I replied with an excited YES! I didn’t even ask where exactly we were going - sometimes it’s fun just to be surprised.

The evening delivered a host of very pleasant surprises. First, a pretty back roads drive to Viareggio, about 30 minutes from Lucca. Then, Viareggio itself. Well known for its raucous Carnevale celebrations, graceful Liberty-style buildings and grand hotels, Viareggio is also a beach town. It has a long promenade along the water lined with private beach clubs, shops, cafes and restaurants. It’s a fun seaside town and in early September it still has its summer vibe.

After a short walk along the promenade, we headed to restaurant La Pia, inside one of the private beach clubs. Another surprise - this is no casual beachside restaurant. La Pia is elegant with all white decor broken up only by some greenery, the colorful beach umbrellas in the distance, and the evolving magic of a tramonto al mare (sunset at the sea).

Sunset in Viareggio viewed from our table at La Pia

Considering its seaside location, it’s no surprise that La Pia has a menu full of wonderful seafood dishes. How to choose between the seafood pastas, the fresh grilled fish, the fritto misto (mix of fried seafood)? In the end we shared a light and crispy fritto misto as a starter. With such a hearty appetizer, we skipped a pasta course and each opted for the grilled branzino (sea bass) as a main dish. It was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented on a pool of pureed vegetables. Some grilled eggplant and zucchini made a perfect side dish. The fish paired nicely with a glass of Prosecco.

I was determined to skip desert, really I was. But my companions opted to indulge, one in an gelato covered chocolate truffle and the other in Crepes Suzette. Dessert came with a dose of drama as the copper brazier was wheeled table-side to flame the sauce for the crepes. Delicate, not too sweet, and topped with tiny shreds of orange and lemon peel and a little scoop of gelato it was a good ending to the meal (I admit, I did end up sharing the crepes, so much for good intentions).

The food was great and the company wonderful. The sound of the ocean was soothing. But the sunset - it was pure magic to watch the sky turn red and the sun slowly sink into the sea.

Hello Lucca

After several months away, it is a joy to be back in Lucca. I feel a bit like the little bunny in the children’s book Goodnight Moon - only instead of saying goodnight to every little thing, I wander around Lucca saying hello as I greet my favorite sights, sounds, and people.

Piazza San Frediano

Hello pretty square where I can sip a morning cappuccino or an evening cocktail. Hello Torre Guinigi with your tall trees on top. Hello church bells. Hello Saturday flower market in Piazza San Michele.

Hello to the music school with the sounds of practicing students spilling from the windows. Hello stunning architecture. Hello blue Tuscan skies. Hello to Le Mura, the tree-lined wall surrounding the historic center. Hello flower filled balconies. Hello to “La Pupporona”, the graceful nymph who sits atop my very favorite Lucchese fountain.

Hello to the musical Italian language. Hello Maestro Puccini. Hello aperol spritzes on warm summer evenings. Hello gelato! How I’ve missed you all.

Piazza Cittadella - always a favorite spot. That’s Puccini keeping watch over the piazza.

It’s wonderful to say hello to friends I’ve missed while I was away. We have so much catching up to do. And to all my favorite shopkeepers, teachers, and restaurant staff - hello and please excuse my rusty Italian

Some things have surprised me as I’ve slipped back into life in Lucca. I had almost forgotten how lively it is here in a “normal” summer. And while we are not really back to normal yet (masks are still required indoors, the green pass is the new essential, and COVID still poses a threat) there is a definite upbeat change in atmosphere. The streets are busy, tourists have returned, and social groups are meeting once again (outdoors mostly).

While most of the visitors right now are from EU countries, the Americans and Canadians are arriving too, despite frequently changing requirements. One example of those changes - when I arrived on August 28th I needed only to show proof of vaccination status and complete the EU PLF (the on-line passenger tracking form). As of September 1 however, visitors from the US and Canada also need a negative covid test 72 hours before arrival. No quarantine required if fully vaccinated and COVID negative but be prepared to show proof of vaccination and a photo ID to enter most venues.

The return of art exhibits is definitely something to savor. This one is a personal favorite of mine.

Another pleasant find is that while summer 2020 saw the cancellation of almost all events, this summer there are posters up throughout the city advertising concerts, garden shows, art exhibits, and other upcoming events. This past weekend the fall garden show (Murabilia), cancelled last September, took place along the city walls.

Perhaps best of all, the Cartasia (Biennale poster above) art show has returned (after a year’s delay) with installations all through town. I’m looking forward to exploring this always fascinating display of paper art.

One of the many paper art installations around Lucca, part of the Lucca Biennale Cartasia show.

I’m looking forward to visits from several American friends in the next few weeks and to doing some fall travel within Italy. And even though I already miss my family and friends in the US, it is good to be back. Hello Lucca!

Kids and Pasta Making - A Fun Culinary Activity

When you’re a grandmother who lives in Italy, and who visits your grandkids over the summer, you definitely need a plan to spend time doing some special activities together. It’s even better if the activities have an Italian theme. And since everyone in my family loves pasta, making pasta fatto a mano (handmade) together can be the perfect project. Inspired by the fun possibilities, I recently gathered my 3 youngest grandkids, ages 9, 10, and 12, for a morning of pasta making.

Kneading the dough is work and these three were up to the task!

To make this activity even more fun, rather than making one big batch of pasta, each of the kids made their own small batch. It takes a bit longer to do individual portions and it’s a hands on, somewhat messy process - but that makes it even more fun !

Leah did a great job of kneading her dough, and judging when a bit of water was needed to keep the dough from being too dry (a definite hazard of pasta making in arid New Mexico).

We started with good ingredients - half imported 00 flour and half semolina (2 heaping soup spoons of each, making somewhere between a 1/2 and 3/4 cup total). Working on cutting boards, each of the kids made a well in the center of their flour and added one egg, a teaspoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. A bit of water was added when it felt too dry. They used forks to break the egg yolk and begin mixing it in, but then switched to using their hands to incorporate the egg and oil into the flour. A license to get your hands in the dough is always a treat! With the dough formed and kneaded until smooth, it was covered in plastic wrap to rest. Each ball of dough was marked with a name so they would know which ball of dough was the one they’d made! This is an important point when working with kids - they take great pride in following their batch of dough from creation to finished pasta.

After letting the dough rest for 30 minutes, during which time they played a board game and I cleaned the kitchen, it was time to break out the pasta machine and get rolling. Jack, the youngest, set up the machine and went first. He rolled his batch of dough to a smooth, thin sheet starting with the widest roller setting and then using progressively thinner settings.

Jack took pasta making very seriously.

Next, he put it through the rollers to cut it into fettuccine. He was quite proud of his accomplishment - perfect fettuccine!

Team work!

The girls went next, working as a team to roll and cut their pasta dough. They were serious about the work but there was still plenty of giggling involved. The cut pasta was sprinkled with flour and set aside on a tray until lunch time.

Next step was making a sauce to go with the pasta. My granddaughters had a special request - Alfredo Sauce. We used the Marcella Hazan recipe (from her Classic Italian Cookbook). This is a simple sauce made with cream, butter, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. The girls measured all the ingredients and cooked the sauce with minimal help from me. Then the pasta, which cooked in just a few minutes, was tossed in the sauce and the cheese. It was served with some extra cheese to sprinkle on top.

The results were wonderful. The pasta was tender and the Alfredo sauce was rich but not too heavy (in true Italian style the pasta was lightly coated but not swimming in sauce). Paired with a simple plate of ripe tomatoes dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper it made a perfect lunch. The kids learned a new skill, had a tasty meal, and everyone had fun.

I’m thankful that I learned how to make these individual pasta portions several years ago in a cooking class at Lucca Italian School. What a perfect activity to do with kids! It’s something I will look forward to doing with them again on my next visit.

Gelato !

August is half over - in Italy this is the month to take a summer vacation, especially by the sea - and my August writing break is winding down too. So - today’s final “mostly photos” post brings you gelato. Real Italian gelato, lower in fat, more dense, and (IMHO) more flavorful than other types of ice creams, is something I really miss when I am in the US during the summer. It is the classic Italian summer treat.

Authentic artisanal gelato is dense, not fluffy and filled with air. The colors tend to be subdued, very like the natural colors of the fruit. If you see fluffy bright green “stuff” labeled pistachio - run away!

One of my fondest gelato memories is of the summer of 2019 (pre-COVID!) when a group of us in Lucca met each week for a gelato. We must have tried almost all the gelato shops in Lucca - and did formal evaluations of each (flavor, texture, variety of options, etc).

My friend Deb - who organized the gelato tasting evenings - enjoying a typical “3 flavors” gelato cone. Thanks to Deb for sharing this photo.

Was there a consensus on the best ? Absolutely not, though a small group of favorites emerged. The lack of consensus was proof of how many good artisanal gelato shops there are in Lucca!

Fruit flavored, dark chocolate, pistachio - all taste fabulous at one of Lucca’s oldest establishments.

Luckily, I return to Italy next week and there is plenty of time left to enjoy gelato before fall arrives. I’ll be heading to one of the local gelaterie for a small cup of my favorite flavors - coconut, mixed berry, and peach. Until then, I’ll be drooling over these photos.

Some gelato cones are pretty fancy - this one is from Gelateria Amorino in Florence (photo thanks to Anita and Leonard Lujan).

This gelateria - near the church of Santo Stefano - serves some unique flavors. Among them is a creamy gelato made with buffalo milk ! That may sound strange, but trust me on this, it is fantastic !

Under Italian Skies

Another week of August vacation, another photo post. This week, Italian skies.

It is hard to describe what is so special about the sky in Italy. There is just some combination of color, light, and connection to land, sea, or city that work in harmony. No matter the season or whether the skies are bright blue, filled with soft clouds, or dark and stormy, they are always beautiful. And the sky at sunset, that’s simply magic! I feel so fortunate to be living under Italian skies and I can hardly wait to return to Lucca in late August.

A storm brewing in Volterra

A clear summer day’s sky in Lerici

An early spring sky in Sant’Andrea di Compito

Wispy clouds in Bagnone

Dramatic skies over Pisa

The sky in Lucca makes the perfect back drop for sculpture.

This sky along the River Arno in Florence almost looks like a painting.

Sunset in the Val d’Orcia turns the sky a beautiful shade of pink.

Dusk along the wall in Lucca.