Welcome to 2024

Happy New Year !

 When a new year rolls around I always find myself reflecting on Januarys past and toasting to Januarys yet to come. That is especially true this year as I begin my 6th year of having a home in Italy and 8th year of writing Two Parts Italy. Time really does fly!

On January 1st of 2017 Two Parts Italy posted for the first time. I was fairly newly retired and headed to Italy to celebrate the new year with my friend (and then co-author) Judy. We wrote that first post from a lovely vacation apartment in Lucca. Writing remains my best ever (non-paying) job, a true passion project, and gives me a great excuse to keep traveling. Today, I spend most of the year in Lucca - something I didn’t even dare dream of in 2017.

January of 2018 was the start of my first full year of living in Italy.  There was so much involved in that move.  First, selling my home in New Mexico and finding an apartment in Lucca. Next, a visa and navigating the process of obtaining a permesso di soggiorno.  Settling into an apartment was part of the fun, but boy those 38 steep steps proved to be brutal!   Still, there was something magical at having arrived during the holiday season. Lucca was beautiful. Cold, but beautiful.

January 2020 in Rome. There was no a hint of what the year would bring.

January 2020 brought a move to a new, smaller apartment in Lucca, this time on the ground floor. It is where I still live today.  That January was also a time of blissful ignorance as there was no hint that a worldwide pandemic would soon up end our lives. A few days in Rome would be my last travel for quite a while. Covid hit Italy especially hard that year. It was not easy to live with the restrictions or with the worry.  And yet, I found more things to love about Italy during that time.  Above all, the community spirit, along with the Italian belief that it would all be ok, was inspiring. 

Restrictions and mask wearing were still routine in Italy in January of 2021.  But the arrival of vaccines brought both hope and, by spring, a loosening of restrictions.  By summer it was even possible to travel again, but those were complicated travel times.  Remember pre-flight covid testing, vaccine cards, green passes, and a general feeling of angst around crowded airports and flights ? Not to mention the months when Americans could not enter Italy. My permesso meant I could continue to stay in Lucca.

Camoglie, Liguria. June 2022

 In January of 2022 I wrote that my goal for the new year was to begin to travel again.  Not a resolution, but a plan. That year brought trips to the US and several small excursions within Italy. 

Better yet, in spring and summer, I had visits from several fully vaccinated friends. My daughter and 2 oldest grandchildren (also fully vaccinated) came to Italy for two weeks of fun along the Ligurian coast that summer.   We still wore masks in crowds and on trains, but life was returning to normal (or at least to the new normal). Fall brought more friends and an October week at Agriturismo Cretaiole in the Val d’Orcia, one of my very favorite places in Tuscany.

Galleries Lafayette, Paris. December 2022

A trip to Paris in December of 2022 was a wonderful way to wrap up the year.  Travel goals met!

Docked in Cologne on a Viking River Cruise. March, 2023

January of 2023 brought new travel goals.  Big ones! In the spring, I joined friends on a river cruise along the Rhine.  It felt pretty daring, and a bit risky post-covid, to go on a cruise. But I love the Viking river cruises and it had been a very long time since my last one. Balancing risk with benefit became, and remains, a component of both travel and every day life. Full disclosure – it was a wonderful cruise and all reasonable health precautions were taken on board.  And yet, I came home with my first ever bout of Covid.  Luckily up-to-date vaccines meant a relatively mild case and thankfully none of my traveling companions got sick.

To be honest, travel has not returned to pre-covid ease.  Between delays, cancellations, strikes, and missing luggage, travel is more stressful than ever.  And, contrary to popular belief, not all Italian trains run on time, something that became obvious in August when raced to make train connections returning from some time at Lake Como! And yet, for me, the urge to travel outweighs any of the negatives.

 So, here we are in January of 2024. I am seeing in the new year from New Mexico, where my kids and grandkids live. I will return to Lucca in a few weeks but most curiously, I find myself with no firm travel plans for this year.  How could that be?

I have a lot of ideas running through my brain including vague plans for a Brenta Canal day cruise in spring.  It’s been a long time since I visited Rome and I am itching to return. There are many parts of Italy left for me to explore. The south of France sounds appealing and I daydream about the fabulous market in Uzes. I’ve never been to Ireland and half of my family roots are there. I want to see my friend who lives an hour from London - Covid has kept us apart for far too long. What ever shall I choose?

Having a base in Italy makes travel within Europe and the British Isles affordable, a real advantage. I think I better get serious about travel planning for this year. I hope you are also ready to start planning 2024 travels. Where are you hoping to go? I hope these photos might inspire you!

Blue skies to welcome 2024 in New Mexico

Wishing a happy, healthy, and well traveled 2024 to all.  

Buon Natale !

Wishing everyone, everywhere a wonderful holiday full of joy.

Buon Natale! Merry Christmas

Buone Feste! Happy Holidays

Ci vediamo nel nuovo anno! See you in the new year

Christmas Windows in Lucca, Italy

Casa Antica, on Via San Giorgio, is one of the best places in Lucca to find Christmas decorations. It is also great if just browsing.

Walking through Lucca at night in December is all about the lights. Strings of lights glow overhead along the streets. Trees and oversize ornaments fill the piazzas. A stroll through town on a December evening is pure joy.

Day time brings a different kind of joy. The days are all about popping into shops and gazing into shop windows.

The stores are full of decorations ranging from simple to extravagant. Much as I tell myself that I really don’t need more decorations for my small apartment, it seems that I always find something that I just have to have.

All through the city, shop owners create fanciful window displays that capture the attention of children and adults alike.

Candy shops and gift shops are especially well decorated but jewelry shops, pharmacies, butchers, bakers, and even a woodworking shop have fun window displays.

A temporary exhibit under the loggia in Piazza San Michele has wonderful presepe (nativity scenes) on display along with hand-painted traditional nativity figures for sale. Italian presepe are fascinating and include whole villages of craftsmen, workers, and villagers in detailed settings.

Other shops have draped their doorways in lights and greenery. Chiasso Barletti, a pedestrian alley filled with shops, rolls out the red carpet and decorates all along the passageway.

Ditta Galliani, on Via Roma, sells exquisite housewares. Their spectacular widow displays (below) change weekly during the holiday season. Each one showcases a different collection of holiday china, ceramics, glassware, and ornaments. The ever changing arrangements attract a lot of attention as people stop at the window to admire the latest version. Lots of photos are taken here!

This year I am headed to New Mexico to spend the holidays with my family and Albuquerque friends. I am happy to have experienced all of Lucca’s holiday cheer before I jumped on a plane for Christmas in New Mexico, where the traditions are very different from those in Italy but still wonderful. It will be fun to experience Christmas on two continents this year !

Another of Ditta Galliani’s window displays

Arezzo, Italy's Christmas City

Beginning in late November, and continuing through the beginning of January, the Tuscan city of Arezzo becomes the Citta del Natale, the Christmas City. 

During those weeks, Arezzo is home to Italy’s largest Tyrolean style Christmas market. The market showcases the best of Austrian and German holiday crafts and foods, with a unique Italian accent.  

 A visit to the market begins with a stroll up Corso Italia where shops are decorated and exquisite glass ornaments, tree toppers, and holiday tableware are on display. 

Santa Maria della Pieve, Arezzo, at Christmas

Also on Corso Italia is the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve.  It is well worth a stop inside the 6th century church.

Not only is the historic church beautiful, at this time of year the crypt houses a beautiful life size Nativity.

Continuing into the historic center of Arezzo, the small side streets are full of Christmas decorations.

Piazza Grande, the large central piazza at the heart of the city, is where the market begins.

The piazza is ringed by Medieval and Renaissance buildings and the beautiful Vasari Loggia. Together they provide a very Italian background for the market. 

 Small wooden huts fill the piazza.  Each one displays holiday crafts or ornaments. There are lots of little Christmas trolls, wooden nutcrackers and bells, along with colorful hats and gloves.

 The piazza also holds many baitine del gusto (tasting huts).  Huge stacks of sweet or salty pretzels, spit roasted pork, goulash, stuffed potatoes, and Italian panini are for sale. 

Other booths focus on sweets - chocolate, pastry, apple strudel. It’s impossible to go hungry at the Mercato! There are plenty of huts selling beer and hot mulled wine too. 

There is no shortage of cafes in the loggia at the upper edge of the piazza. A stop for a cioccolato caldo con panna montata (hot chocolate with whipped cream) provides a chance to warm up and just the boost needed to keep going until nightfall.

Nighttime brings a whole new dimension to the Piazza Grande.  When dark falls, projected lights splash patterns on the ancient building facades, each with a different pattern. Above the loggia, ornate snowflakes on a blue background cascade down the walls.  The intricate patterns transform the piazza and are stunning.

 Leaving Piazza Grande, the next stop is the Prato, the large park up above town near the Duomo.  More wooden huts with crafts, ornaments, and food fill the market in the park. A display of large fallen stars leads the way to the Prato.   

The Prato also comes alive after dark when the Bosco delle Meraviglie (Forest of Wonders) sparkles with trees wrapped in lights. The Ruota Panoramica, a large ferris wheel, turns high above the booths and the kids flock to the giostra (carousel).  Il Prato is full of Christmas magic.

 With just an afternoon and evening in Arezzo, the markets in Piazza Grande and the Prato filled my time.  A full day, or better yet an overnight, would have brought my group of friends to the Father Christmas House (lots of kids lined up there) and a Lego house made of 2 million Lego bricks.  Next time!

A trip to Arezzo for the Christmas market made for a wonderful start to the holiday season. A big thanks to Giovanni and Loreal at The Tuscan Wanderer for whisking us away to Arezzo for a wonderful day.

Holiday Magic Arrives in Lucca

Via Fillungo, in the evenings after the Tree Lighting ceremony

The winter holidays officially began in Lucca on the evening of November 26th with a community event marking the beginning of Lucca Magico Natale (Lucca Magical Christmas), a season that will last until Epiphany on January 6th. 

Over the preceding week, lights were strung along the streets in the historic center of town.  Next, decorations began to appear in the form of large Christmas trees and oversized Christmas ornaments in many of the piazzas.  However, none of the lights on the trees or ornaments were turned on until the ceremony on the 26th.

 The festivities began in Piazza Napoleone, the largest piazza in Lucca, with the opening of the pista di pattenaggio (ice skating rink).  This is a favorite of local kids, as is the full size sleigh with two sparkly reindeer in the lead.    

 Then came the big event – the lighting of the Albero di Natale, a massive 45 foot tall Christmas tree.  A crowd gathered to ooh and aah as the lights came on.  Not just simple lights, but ones that change color and pattern with swirls of light moving up the tree.  

The event next moved on to Piazza San Michele where a different kind to tree stood. That tree is much more modern, a multidimensional metal sculpture standing 16 feet tall.  The tree is a large version of the tabletop ones designed for Alessi, the very fashionable Italian housewares company, for their Christmas collection “Bark for Christmas”.

Across the piazza stands a large, modern Presepe (nativity), also an Alessi design.

Babbo Natale (Father Christmas) also made an appearance, accompanied by a princess who was definitely not Mrs. Claus!

Could she be Elsa from the Frozen movies? The children with delighted to pose for photos with both of them. 

Perhaps the best part of the ceremony in Piazza San Michele was the projection on the church of moving stars and baubles on a blue background.  It is a beautiful and festive display.

Mother Nature contributed a bit of magic too, providing a full moon rising over the rooftops surrounding the piazza.

The Church of San Michele at Christmastime.

The final stop on the lighting ceremony was in Piazza Anfiteatro (the Amphitheater Piazza) where a huge star with a comet-like tail filled the piazza with sparkle.  

Piazza Anfiteatro in the evenings after the lighting ceremony

Before the lights of the decorations were illuminated, a full moon brightened the piazza

Music was provided at each stop by the very lively Large Street Band, an energetic group of horn players. Babbo Natale and his companion danced to the music, holding hands with a circle of children.

The full moon hung over the Anfiteatro and there really was magic.

Piazza San Frediano, Lucca.

Walking through town after the ceremony, more large decorations were found in Piazza Scalpellini, Piazza San Frediano, and Piazza San Salvatore.   

Lucca is full of lights and sparkles this holiday season. Evening walks are going to be wonderful between now and January 6th!

Piazza Scalpellini, Lucca