11147 Stu & Sylv from Yorkshire, UK & Bagni Di Lucca, Toscana

A very warm welcome to you both. I have visited Bagni Di Lucca and it's lovely. I was there during the summer and there wasn't a British tourist in sight.

You are not far from Lucca of course and that is a must. The city is small and encompassed by a very old wide wall where you can walk or cycle along. Wonderful views of the Tuscan countryside on one side and the very beautiful old city on the other. Magic

Ryanair flies to Pisa from Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Liverpool. My geographic knowledge of England is zilch but I hope one of these airports is close to you.

Hello neighbours and welcome to the forum. Bagni di Lucca is such a wonderful place and, as you are on the river, we will not be far away from you. There are plenty of hidden gems in the area, Lucca, as Sally mentioned is wonderful, but there are also beatiful towns to explore such as Ghivizzano or Barga or the whole of the Garfagnana. And don't forget to go for lunch to the Antica Trattoria dell' Eremita at Colomini, near Gallicano.
Best wishes

I also adored Montecatini Terme with it's Liberty houses and large public green park in the centre. There is a very large market there too. I think it's on a Friday morning.

Hi Stu and Sylvia!
We're in Leeds so not too far away from you and our house is in Emilia Romagna just over the Tuscan border - Parco del Gigante. We wil be there for Chrstmass and New Year as well.
You can fly Jet2 to Pisa from Leeds and Bradford airport but it stops in winter. We usually fly Stansted to Parma 'cos it's nearer our house but would be too far for you. Enjoy the forum!

Eyup Stu n Sylv.
Us uprooted tykes r reyt glad to see thee 'ere. Ave a reyt luvly Christmas- am off oo'm to barnsley for mine

[quote=Stu;105165]................ We usually drive and have settled on the run passed Reims, Lyon up through the Monta Bianco tunnel, down to Genoa to Viareggio, then up into the hills. If anyone has any cheaper/faster/quicker suggestions, I'd be most grateful.............[/quote]Lots of previous threads on driving to Italy

My favourite is
Calais - Lyon, into Belgium, on to Luxembourg, down past Metz and Nancy [all motorway, and free so far], over mountains to Mulhouse [about 1hr or so on non-dual carriageway, but great scenery]. Then back on motorways to Basel, Lucienne and Gotthard tunnel into Italy [go over the pass if you have time - great views - adds 30 minutes]. Finally skirt Milan, Genoa and on to your place.

Cost - only 'toll' to pay [until you hit Italy autostradas] is £20 for an annual Swiss motorway carnet.

You could save time doing Hull to Rotterdam - its a night crossing and saves the drive to Dover. Calais and Rotterdam are similar distances from Italy.

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Hello Stu & Sylvia.
We have a small 2 bed house in Commune Tresana,Lunigiana, N.Tuscany. had it for nearly 2 years. Like yourself we drive. We have driven back the route you mention but prefere Reims, Strasbourg, Basel, Milan, Parma, Le Spezia.
Not so many road tolls, 30euro to cross Swzld but still cheaper and quicker.
We do stop overnight Fr/Sw border.

HI Stu and Sylvia,

We too also purchased a house in Bagni di Lucca and will be there for Christmas and also going to drive down for Easter so all the responses you have had are VERY useful! Be great to meet up to share some festive cheer perhaps?

Best regards
Chris and Cindy

Thanks for all the great replies all.

I'll have a look on Autoroute at the other suggestions for the drive.

We have friends living near Stansted, so flying is no bother and so quick, but taking anything other than an overnight bag means the car's by far the best option at the present time, whilst we're concentrating on getting the interior to our satisfaction.

[quote=Stu;105165]I just thought I'd say a little hello, though we've been lurking on here for a year or so.

We live south of York and are also lucky enough to have taken on a 2 bed apartment with a lovely big garden in Bagni Di Lucca, on the river Lima from Sylvia's family.

We've been carrying out quite a few changes to the property since we got it in October 2007 and the time we can visit, relax and enjoy it is getting quite near.

We will be going out again for the festive period (cappo d'anno) 08/09 and again for a few weeks at Easter time. We usually drive and have settled on the run passed Reims, Lyon up through the Monte Bianco tunnel, down to Genoa to Viareggio, then up into the hills. If anyone has any cheaper/faster/quicker suggestions, I'd be most grateful.

We're also taking Italian classes at night school (also over a year in), but Sylvia is much more competent than me, due to years and years of family holidays to Tuscany.

Finally, Sylvia and I are both huge car/motorsport/bike racing fans and we're very much looking forwards to visiting the 'Supercar' museums around Modena, the bike factories, like Ducati, Moto Guzzi and of course some of Italy's most famous racetracks in the future. We'd also like to know of any hidden gems in the Tuscany region, if anyone has any recommendations?[/quote]

Hi and welcome to you both.

If you like motorbikes, Vespa etc and Pizza, then I strongly recommend a trip to this place up in the hills near Fosdinovo [URL="http://www.ilselvatico.com/"]PIZZERIA FOCACCERIA IL SELVATICO - Museo moto antiche - Fosdinovo Massa Carrara[/URL]

It is a huge Pizzeria run by the daughter (Marie Estella) of the couple who run the little Circolo/bar in our village. Not only is the food great, but her husband's father has set up a really interesting private bike museum together with a collection of other eccentricities. Eat well and feast your imagination too!

Ghianda
[URL="http://www.olivopiegato.com"]Tuscany Bed and Breakfast - L'Olivo Piegato, The Crooked Olive[/URL]