FRIENDS,
FOOD AND WINE
December
23-24-25
Our
learning curve continues to grow. For
some reason we get to the Pisa train station 2 hours early. We thought we had read the schedule right for
our short trip to Pisa. It is a train
ride of perhaps 35 minutes. I finally figure out how to call on the pay phones,
not very hard but also not in English.
So, when we arrive in Lucca, Bob and Donald are there to meet us. Noreen is with them; it is so good to see
faces we know. We feel embraced by their
friendship and the Holidays. We are
immediately whisked away in their car, through the walls of this old market
town and into their apartment.
Apartment
might not be the correct word. For us poor Roman apartment dwellers this looks
like the Ducal Palace. It is brilliantly
furnished and decorated in what we assume to be contemporary, historically
respectful, Italian style. Oriental rugs
on floors of tile, chandeliers, wooden ceilings, comfortable chairs and sofas,
heat that works, art on the walls, drapes on the windows, mirrors, bathrooms
and a shower that has powerful hot water, in other words it is a sensational
flat. The sleeping wing has three
bedrooms with plenty of room and three well-appointed bathrooms. In addition to a magnificent great room there
is a library and a roomy kitchen with a real dishwasher. We knew this existed in Italy, but in our
wild apartment hunting days in Rome we never saw anything like this splendid
old apartment. Not only lovely but
spacious too. Our hosts have only
improved it with their own style and substance.
While we have had a great time with our apartment in Rome, this place is
a lot more about what we had in mind.
We have
been looking forward to our visit with Bob and Donald and Stan and Noreen for
quite sometime. When we decided to go to
Rome and the Academy back in early July, we knew that Bob and Donald had made
their plans for Lucca. They have been
coming to this part of Tuscany for 8 years and have lived in the country and
the town and finally were offered their current place just last year. It is inside the walls that encircle the old
town and a block from the Guinigi Tower, a medieval tower with trees growing on
top that is famous in this part of Italy.
One of the best things to do in Lucca is the passaggiata on the wall,
about a 3-mile walk around the entire city of Lucca. Because it is just before Christmas,
we chose to walk around town and explore the sights. No motorinos are permitted on the streets
inside the wall and almost no cars brave the major streets with the shops. The stores are brightly lit and displays are
unique and handsome. Italy is a country
of shopkeepers and this rich little town has its share of the glitz and
glitter. Particularly attractive are the
food stores called Alimentari which sell cold meats, cheese, special treats
like Faux Grais, wine and special dried pasta.
Their displays are creations of art.
One of the first things we buy in an outdoor food stall is some sort of
donut like treat called Frati, in fact it is a sugar donut, deep-fried with an
incredible lemony taste. Just like
donuts they are very dangerous and for once I am careful. I know food is a main event for this few
days.
Our
dinner spot is a small restaurant called Canuleia. Because we are going to the Lucca Opera House
for Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Bob and Donald have arranged to have the
restaurant open early especially for us at 7 PM. There is no question that this is the earliest
that I have eaten since our arrival in Italy.
The food is fantastic, beautifully presented and the final course is a
poached white fish of some sort that was sublime. Of course, wine perfectly accompanied each
course. Bob and Donald know the owners and the evening is festive and there is
no doubt we could be in this place all night.
We
struggle out of our seats and march over to the Lucca Opera House, a real
miniature of what you imagine a big elegant auditorium should look like with
private stalls on the back and sides and an orchestra floor in the middle. There couldn’t have been more then 300 seats
in the entire hall. Still it is packed
with the Luccesi equivalent of the social scene anywhere from New York to
Milan. Lots of fur, loads of diamonds,
very well dressed, well-to-do people on hand for a quality performance of a
spirited oratorio with a well trained choir and some excellent solo singers. The concert started at 9PM plus 15 and ended
at about 11. We were tired and by the
time we made it into the sack it was close to 1 AM. Sleep was not a problem.
Christmas
Eve dawned with bright sunny skies. It
was a shopping morning for our planned Christmas dinner at the Palazzo Roberto
and San Donato tomorrow night. Store
after store greeted us with a “buon natale” and a very hardy welcome to Bob and
Donald who seem to know everyone in town.
It is fun to go around with them.
We all liked their coffee and pastry place with its better then average
baked treats, much better than anything we’ve tasted in Rome. At other stores we buy special breads, fresh
veggies, just made ravioli, special focaccia and lots of other things. Too much you say but just a beginning to our
day.
We will
make Pranzo our major meal on this Christmas Eve. We take a short drive into the hills to
Ristorante La Moro at Ponte A Moriano near Lucca. We almost never have the set
long menu any place but the group encourages us to try it. It is almost beyond description with course
after course hitting our palettes along with the right wine and all in its own
good time. The final course is Cinghiale
(wild boar) that was mixed rather like a stew.
It was so good I ate it like it was my first course, not my 6th. We finished with vanilla gelato and chocolate
sauce, and of course Grappa at the end.
Not only is it too much to eat it is just the best meal we have had in
Italy. No one in the group eats anything
more for the rest of the day. Lunch
(Pranzo) takes about 3 plus hours. ( A longer version of the menu on request if
my veins and arteries do not clog up first.)
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