Author: Stephen Rafferty
Lucca springs a surprise
One of the things I enjoy about visiting Lucca is that despite multiple trips over the last 20 years there is always something new to discover. The eye-catching structure demands attention, and I have often driven under it, but I didn’t really think to dig deeper into the origins of the L’acquedotto del Nottolini – […]
Metro madness in Roma!
Should you be unfortunate enough to be pickpocketed in Rome DON’T do what I did! A leisurely day spent sunning ourselves on the beach at Ostia – Rome’s seaside destination of choice – ended in dramatic fashion when I fell victim to a gang of three borseggiatori prowling the Eternal City’s Metro system in search […]
Angels trulli watching over us
As we sat down for lunch at a restaurant overlooking Martina Franca’s beautiful Basilica di San Martino, we collectively thought – did that really just happen? And together we went over how events had played out and which invigorated our belief in human nature after three strangers stepped forward to offer the most generous help […]
Archie takes a bow
There’s an Italian tradition that when a baby is born the proud parents would be presented with a blue or pink fiocco della nascita or coccarda. Fiocco della nascita roughly translates as a birth bow or ribbon and coccarda mean a cockade or rosette, and this colourful proclamation proudly announces the arrival of a newborn. […]
Italian bars – best bar none
The bar culture in Italy differs so much from Scotland that it’s a bit like comparing an Aperol Spritz with Buckfast.* In Italy, many bars open early in the morning and are popular breakfast spots for locals on their way to work, for parents fresh from dropping the kids off at school, and local residents […]
Luck o’ the Irish finding fab fattoria near Lucca
Local knowledge – just can’t beat it. And it’s what brought me and my brother-in-law Gordon out from Lucca’s ancient walls one rainy midweek evening and into the hills just outside the Tuscan town, to the vineyards of Fattoria al Dotto near Carignano. It’s only about 5km from Lucca and a 25-30 euro taxi ride […]
City of secrets
Buon annivesario figlio e nuora
Sitting enjoying a glass of wine outside Ciclo Divino in Lucca’s centro storico the other night I watched a large family group gathered at the bar opposite. Mums, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents who fussed over young children, and a toddler gamely attempting his first kicks at a ball. Behind them, younger members of the group, […]
