Keeping Busy on Cold Winter Days in Tuscany
Watching kids enjoy the giostra (carousel) on nice days is a good pastime.
It’s important to make the most of the cold January days in Lucca, even the rainy ones.
While the heavy periods of rain have definitely kept me indoors at times, lighter rains and clear periods see me heading out for walks, window shopping, photography, meeting up with friends, watching the giostra (carousel) go round and round, and looking for general inspiration.
The monthly antiques market was a great diversion in between rain showers on a cold and cloudy day earlier this month. Many of the vendors are the same from month to month, but a scavenger hunt to search for new and unusual finds is always fun.
Cooking is a good rainy-day activity and, after finding some really nice guanciale in the market, I’ve been working on perfecting my pasta carbonara skills. But sometimes eating out is a good rainy-day activity too.
Pasta is cold weather comfort food and Macelleria Pucci is a butcher shop / restaurant that makes a great southern Italian spaghetti with polpettini (little meatballs). Lunch there with friends was a treat as it is unusual to find this dish in northern Italy. I requires lots of rainy afternoon walks to balance out those pasta calories!
Catching up with friends after being away from Italy over the holidays has been great too. Lucca has lots of cafes, perfect for meeting over a cup of coffee, pot of tea, or glass of wine. The indoor cafes are warm and cozy and have led to some great chats about world issues with locals at the next tables. It is always interesting to get the Italian perspective on US and World events. And it is great for practicing my Italian.
A stop at the Saturday flower market, on one of the few sunny days this past weekend, brought a touch of spring and some bright color into my apartment, a necessity on these winter days.
The Saturday flower market in Piazza San Michele is great in any season
One of my favorite winter cold weather activities is planning spring travel and I’ve been busy doing just that. Spring in Emilia- Romagna and Umbria is a welcome thought on these cold days. And the planning is almost as much fun as the travel will be.
My book club selection for the month is The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli. It has transported me to Florence in the late 1400s and Paris in the 1930s. A great escape on a cold or cloudy day.
And for real escapism, day dreaming about spring blossoms is hard to beat. Photos can make the gray skies fade away and bring a reminder that spring is just around the corner. I think that readers in the frigid parts of the US and Canada might appreciate these reminders as much as I do. Stay warm everyone!
