Lucca

The weekend of June 14-16, I decided to take a solo trip to Tuscany, an area that I've wanted to visit for quite some time.  After deliberating on which towns I would travel to, I chose Lucca, as well as Siena, which I will write about in a later post.   Nestled in northern Tuscany, Lucca was a gem of a town.  After leaving the train station, I was able to walk to my hotel, Alla Dolce Vita, which ended up being a beautiful, private double bed with my own bathroom and shower.  This was a perfect respite after a day of traveling from Rome.  I would highly recommend this place to anyone staying in Lucca.
That night, I went for aperitivos at a local bar, which included a tall Peroni and some lovely bruschetta and assorted meats and cheeses.  The people-watching was fabulous, as well!

The next morning, I awoke for one of my most anticipated activities in Italy: cooking school! I found Chef Paolo Monti's cooking school online, and I am so glad that I did.  Here is the link to his website:

http://www.cucina-italiana.com/

I signed up for a class on fresh pastas, sauces, and raviolis.  We made a lovely assortment of foods based on what was in season, including the best cherry tomatoes I have ever eaten, as well as squid ink ravioli with salmon filling, and gorgeous rainbow-colored fettuccine.  Chef Paolo taught simple techniques that made cooking easier, and I enjoyed his hilarious one-liners.  He owns the restaurant that the cooking school is located in, just a five-minute ride from Lucca.

Cooking the sauces

The beautiful raviolis

With the chef

All in a day's work

Following cooking school, I was eager to try another activity that Lucca is famous for: biking atop the medieval walls that surround the town, which have a perfectly flat top.  On the north end of the town, I rented a bike for two hours with a meager five-euro rental fee, and coasted around the periphery of the town several times (the town itself is small).  While riding, I was able to see old men enjoying a leisurely game of chess, younger generations enjoying the afternoon with older relatives, as well as a small group on a religious pilgrimage, complete with a donkey.

After working up an appetite, I returned the bike, and headed into town to see what other culinary treasures the town had to offer (having fairly high expectations following a day of cooking school, haha).  I stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and ordered stewed fennel, as well as a tasty chicken cooked in caramelized onions.

Chicken with caramelized onions

Stewed fennel

View from my bike ride

All in all, Lucca has been my favorite place that I have traveled to so far.  The friendly people, great food, ample activities, and cooking school served as a perfect Tuscan weekend.