Okay. Fine. You win. A few weeks ago I wrote an entire article explaining, with the passion of someone defending a close friend’s honor, that Lucca deserves more than a day trip. I used words like “underrated” and “authentic” and I meant...
Every week, someone tells me they’re thinking about renting a car for their Tuscany trip. And every week, I try to talk them out of it — at least for this part of it. Florence, Pisa, and Lucca sit close enough together that a car actively works against you. All...
A few weeks ago, a guest asked me what “allora” meant — because her Italian neighbor had used it on her and she wasn’t sure if she’d been complimented or diagnosed. We spent the next twenty minutes somewhere between Siena and a hilltop we were, in theory,...
Pisa has a reputation problem – and honestly, it frustrates me every time. Most travelers jump off the train, take the mandatory leaning tower photo, grab a gelato, and leave convinced they’ve “done Pisa”. Meanwhile, just a short distance away, Lucca...
There’s a sentence I hear constantly from travelers planning a Tuscany trip: We’re thinking about doing a quick day trip to Lucca. And every time, I think the same thing: that city deserves so much better than a quick stop. Lucca is one of the few places...
