Bagni di Lucca

12/15/20243 min read

With Christmas in the air, I decided to go see a jazz Natale concert on Saturday night. However, what I didn't realize is that Bagni di Lucca is not Lucca where I live. Upon doing some online research and discovering that this is a town 25 minutes away (by train, 3.90 Euro one way) I decided it would be best to stay the night as the concert started at 9:15. They are very big on ":15's" in Italy. It's always 7:15, 9:15 and so on. On the hour and half hour must be an American thing. Anyway, I google some hotels and decide upon a hotel called the Ninfa Hotel. It had great reviews and with a nightly rate of 84.00 Euro a night, I was in. After the quick train ride, I arrive. The weather was dreary and cold, but to be expected, it's winter. I figured I could walk from the train station to the hotel as it is only 1.5 miles. Carrying only a light backpack, I'm off. Oh boy...After crossing over a very old medieval style bridge which crosses over the river Lima I found myself on a two line highway without sidewalks and basically in a beautiful, albeit barren forest. The cars were flying by and I thought for sure it was going to be my last walk. How I end up in these situations is beyond me. 42 terrifying minutes later I arrive.

The room was great! After checking in and dropping my backpack, I went downstairs for a desperately needed glass of wine, I had survived the trek. I sat with the hotel manager and enjoyed a complimentary glass of delicious wine and had a great conversation about the history of Bagni di Lucca. Apparently Bagni di Lucca used to be a big tourist attraction prior to my Lucca (yes after 4 months, I can call it mine!) It has river rafting, hiking and horse trails. Of course, winter is not the time for these activities but, I promise this, I will be going back in the Spring. They also have thermal springs which they are famous for. All in all a rare gem! That's the beauty of Italy, you just don't know that the day is going to bring. After walking around the hotel which is right on the river with incredible views, I decided to have dinner at the hotel prior to going to the concert, which by the way, the girl at the front desk was kind enough to drive me to and pick me up from. Taxi's are hard to come by here, so if you are staying for a bit I would recommend renting a car. In the morning I did not want to push my luck and walk back to the train station so the hotel contacted a taxi service. Paulo was there in 10 minutes and refused to charge me for the trip. He was at his wife's pastry shop helping out so it was convenient for him. Well as luck would have it, he has a service Luccadrivers@gmail.com. I am definitely going to be calling him for trips around Tuscany that cannot be reached by train or trips to the airport.