The Best of Bagni da Lucca

Welcome to Bagni di Lucca, a commune in Tuscany in the Province of Lucca, with a population of approximately 7000. It has been known for its thermal springs since the Etruscan and Roman eras. 

Bagni di Lucca was the closest town to eat, check our emails, (internet cafe) buy postcards, stamps and use the laundromat. The Funsome Fivesome found the wonderful family run Ristorante Del Sonno, established in 1860, and besides the wonderful food, we enjoyed the welcoming hospitality of Alario, who spoke English. The quattro formaggi pizza was outstanding and so were the extra large Moretti beers! 

 Alario told us where the fresh mushrooms were picked that day, and how wonderful they would taste on our fungi pizza! We still ordered our favorite quattro formaggi pizza and usually ordered more than one! For dessert we would walk next door to the Bar Gelateria and order our gelato scoops (usually two) in a bowl. Our addiction could be easily recognized by the glazed look in our eyes!

Across the street from Del Sonno was restorante Circolo Del Forestieri. In the front parking lot was a fountain that I found very interesting because of two dog statues. I wish that I would have asked about the significance of the dogs, but instead I just missed my dog all during dinner! The restorante has a patio over looking the river, but the evening was very cool and we ate inside.

Our other favorite place to hang out was Jacquline's Internet. The charming English-speaking owner offers a small nunber of Inernet-connected PCs as well as a wi-fi link for those who want to connect their own computers. You could even sit outside at the next door cafe and drink cappuccino while surfing the net. Prices at Jacquline's were resonable, but the hours of operation were not always consistent due to the system being down, or maybe just because business was slow or something else was on Jacquline's agenda for the day.

In addition to internet connections, Jaqueline's has a wide selection of second-hand English books for sale. If you need to know about the local area, Jaqueline is more than willing to share invaluable information not found in guide books!

A watched dryer does not dry clothes any faster! Although we had a washer and dryer in our villa, we soon found it more time efficient to visit the laundry in Bagni da Lucca. 

With help from other tourists, we were able to figure out how to operate the industrial size washers and dryers. Between the washing and drying cycles we spent our time reading, trying to learn how to play Sudoku, eating gelato, and trying to figure out how many Euros were being spent just to have clean clothes.