When people go to Italy, you can pretty much 99% of the time guess where – Rome. I haven’t personally been to Rome, but I know a lot of people who have, and from what I have heard, it’s very expensive, crowded, and filled with tourists.
I am very lucky to have an awesome auntie, who has a second house in Italy, in the beautiful region of Tuscany. Ceserana, is a small village in the heart of the province of Lucca. It’s not easy to get to, you have to hire a car, and then the journey takes about two hours to get there from Pisa airport, therefore tourists are few and far between.
I love going with my auntie, it is normally just us two, so it’s nice spending some time together. We always have two stops on the way, first stop is at my aunties favourite cafe, Bini’s where we always buy a ‘coffee and cake’ which in my case is normally a hot chocolate and pastry (and Italy has the best thick hot chocolates you will ever try) and then we stop off at the supermarket, to stock up. After carefully selecting the best focaccia bread, salamis, grapes, cheese, and biscuits, we head to my auntie’s italian retreat.

 
 
 
Its hard to describe without it sounding artificial, but honestly it couldn’t get anymore traditional, and italian. As we park up and say Buongiorno to Nonna Gatti – who is always outside sweeping her patio, we then head down the little cobbled pathway, between the beautiful old houses and past the little girl playing with the cats on the street.
The house is split between two sections, and Domara owns the other half. She’s a lovely lady who is often travelling herself, although Italy is her home.
Stepping into the house it always has a comforting feeling. There is just a positive, fresh vibe about the place. My auntie strongly believes in Feng Shui – so maybe thats the answer. Either way, when I go to la villa, I always feel relaxed. Which is something I often struggle to do.
As we walk up the spiral staircase, I always head straight for the balcony, my favourite part of the house. It goes along the length of the house, and looks out over Ceserana, and further across the valley. It’s a view I can never get enough of, and no picture can ever explain the feeling when you stand there and breathe in the fresh air.

Another thing I love about this place, is the community here. Everyone knows everybody, and they are always so happy to see you, and so happy to help. Guilianna, who my auntie regularly sees whilst she is here, lives just down the road. She is just wonderful, she’s always so full of energy and passion. She talks about the stories from when she was younger, during the war when the Germans invaded, and although sometimes its hard to keep up, the passion she puts in is just so inspiring. She has a beautiful big garden, which she somehow manages to look after on her own, and she grows her own fruit and vegetables. The best bit though, is when you get invited to Guiliannas for tea, then you know you’re in for a treat. She does these amazing 3 (sometimes 4!) course meals, where most of the ingredients come straight from her garden.
To her it is very normal, she never understands why I cant help but take pictures of everything, and she criticises everything she makes. I can tell she secretly loves entertaining though, and is proud of what she does/has.
Even the walk home from Guilianna’s is enjoyable. Seeing all the peaceful fireflies floating around, lighting up the valley, and hearing the crickets in the grass. It’s something you have to experience, to understand how magical it feels.
We usually go to the market in the morning, picking up Guilianna on the way, and then head back at about 1.00pm, as most of the shops shut between 1.00pm – 4pm due to it being too hot to be out and about. So during the afternoon hours we sunbathe on the balcony, enjoying the view and reading a book.

When I went to La Villa in September 2015 it was the grape harvest, where all the locals were out helping collect all the grapes from the vines in the valley. The streets were filled with a strong smell of grapes, and as we went for a walk down the road to watch, the locals were all singing away and enjoying the day, catching up with others whilst they worked.
Below are some more photos of my time in La Villa.
 

Have you been to Italy? where is your favourite place?