Locanda Sant Agostino Bed and Breakfast; Lucca, Italy

So here we are in Lucca, a small town in the Tuscany region of Itay, and we are so stoked!  Leaving France and entering Italy is an experience in and of itself because, to me, they just have such a different vibe that it is crazy.  You just step on a train for just a few hours, and then, you enter a whole new world.  Yes.

Usually when we travel, we don't stay in B&Bs that often, so I was a bit hesitant to book any for our european travels.  BUT, I am so so glad we did!  We found the coolest little bed and breakfast in Lucca, Locanda Sant'Agostino.  We loved it.  You won't be disappointed in this little gem and the hosts were super friendly, welcoming, and helpful!

No lie, the BIG key got us into our room!  I'm so glad smaller keys were invented!

Front of the building

Interior courtyard of B&B

Interior courtyard of B&B

Shared common space for the 3 or 4 rooms (with a stocked kitchen)!

Secret door!

So, to access our room we do the following:  we have to come through the front of the building and through the interior courtyard, then up a couple flights of stairs, then you arrive at this door above, which on the inside almost looks like a secret door that is hidden into the walls.  You unlock this door and it opens up onto a narrow outdoor walkway to get to a small set of french doors.  The french doors off this hidden balcony actually get us into our suite!  It sounds like a lot of work, but it really wasn't.  It was actually such a fun adventure every single time we left and came back to the room.

Entry into our room.

Our little balcony.

A view of the courtyard and other homes.  What you don't see is all the laundry hanging outside of windows!

Another view of the courtyard.

Pigeons love all the nooks in the stone!

The room was beautiful and spacious, we adored every minute of staying there!  

First time we tried a bidet, or at least tried to,  ha!

And, finally, to top off our wonderful stay, the host provided breakfast every morning.  If it was a nice day we would have breakfast on the terrace!  Such a beautiful and welcoming display of food ... fresh juices and fruit and cold meats and cheeses and breads and boiled eggs and fresh cappuccinos.  Very balanced and light, yummy.  We also would talk with our hosts in the mornings and learn more about their life in Lucca, as well as meet the other travelers staying too.  An amazing start to each day!

The beautiful terrace!  We'd also come back for breaks here and have fresh cappuccinos!

Breakfast!

I want a breakfast like this every morning!

Our last night in Nice.

Today nothing is impossible.

The house wine, nice.

Niçoise salad

So good.

Yummy.

This is the night that I stepped outside the restaurant for a moment with wine in hand, just to enjoy the night air.  And this french man with a wonderful accent, a Richard Gere older type on a bicycle, stops in his tracks and turns around.  He starts sweet talking me and really just putting the moves on me.  He even asked if he could show me Nice at night, continuing to tell me how beautiful I am, etc.  I was cracking up on the inside.  I bluntly told him, thanks for the offer but I was happily married.  He looked to the sky, head tilted way back, hands to the side with palms up and says, "Why????"  He kept belting out some other lovely things and that my husband should love me very much every day.  It was a classic movie scene.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, I guess I still have it!  Hahaha

    

Nice at night! Beautiful.

Ice cream about everyday for Steven!

The sculptures in the square light up with different colors, but they gradually changed into other colors. It was quite beautiful and, personally, I've never seen anything like it.  It gave the town a cool ambiance.

Goodbye Nice!

A few photos and Apertifs and Digestifs!

Some little fun something!

Beautiful!

 This little shop was so awesome.  The loveliest little couple owned it and were kind enough to explain and teach us the ways of digestifs and apertifs and so on.  We bought several versions, all which were lovely.  Here's what Wikipedia says about both:

 Apéritifs

An apéritif (also spelled aperitif) is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion. Common choices for an apéritif are vermouth, champagne, fino, amontillado (or other styles of sherry) and any still, dry, light white wine.  "Apéritif" may also refer to a snack that precedes a meal. This includes an amuse-bouche, such as crackers, cheese, pâté or olives.  "Apéritif" is a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.”

 Digestifs

A digestif is an alcoholic beverage served after a meal, in theory to aid digestion. When served after a coffee course, it may be called pousse-café.  Digestifs are usually taken straight. Common kinds of digestif include brandy, eaux de vie (fruit brandies), a pomace brandy (like grappa), various bitter or sweet liqueurs (like amari, herbal liqueur, Chartreuse, or limoncello), and other distilled liquors (ouzo, tequila, whisky or akvavit).  Bitter digestifs typically contain carminative herbs, which are thought to aid digestion.  Some fortified wines are served as digestifs — for example, sherry, vermouth, port, and madeira.

Bus stops!

Just hanging along the coast in Nice.

I mean, if you are in the south of France and just chilling on the coast, then just chill.  We did not actually go down onto the beach or the water ... I think because you had to pay, etc?  Also, the sand is not sand, more like big pebbles and rocks.  How can that be comfortable?  But the weather was pretty perfect, that's for sure. 

Some lady was nice enough to ask if we wanted a picture.  Yes, don't mind if we do.

Beautiful coastline.

The rocky beach.

Loved the palm trees!

Cool sculpture.

Colors!

Sitting at the cafe watching the world pass by us.

Oh, just sitting in the sun for a few hours. Yep.

Sun bathing on the coast.

This was after Steven had taken about a hundred pictures. Enough already ;-)

Our beer sculpture!

Nice is so nice for relaxing.