A Vespa Ride for the Books

Who knew that a daytrip on vespas in the hills around Bagni di Lucca would lead to one of my best memories of the trip

In my recent trip to Italy, a first for my husband and children, I wanted to make sure I planned something for them that would be a little more thrilling than our daily walking tours and tower climbs. So with (if I'm being honest) more than a little apprehension, I made reservations to do a self guided day trip on vespas. What resulted was pretty epic.

Pretty Bagni di Lucca

Waking up in Lucca, we gathered our belongings and set out on foot to arrive at Vespa Rent Lucca, about a 15-20 minute walk from the center of town. We arrived at a cute and well maintained store front and were greeted by Davide and the other staff. They were beyond friendly, enthusiastic and helpful! And when faced with an adorable Tiffany blue vespa, I thought, "I can do this!" Before long we were on our way to Bagni di Lucca, about a 45 minute drive into the hills.

Let me tell you what I've since learned...the Italians don't ride vespas that far. Motorcycles, yes. Vespas, no. I guess I offer that as a word of warning. I mean, if we had known that, we may have missed this epic adventure, but at the same time, riding vespas isn't for the faint of heart. As Davide overly expressed before we left, it is dangerous, and if you are not riding with confidence it could end up badly. As it was, we got caught up in a rain dump that made the ride home a butt-clencher. So you are all forewarned.

But back to the epic. As we rode into Bagni di Lucca the scent was AMAZING. This was in mid-June and I've since come to learn that what I was smelling were all the Tiglio trees (called Linden trees in the United States), and it was divine. We arrived to sleepy little Bagni di Lucca and parked outside of the Bar Italia so we could take a nice walk along, and across, the river and back. After which we grabbed a lemonata and discussed the next stop.

I had been given a suggestion by a local to drive up into the hills and have lunch at Bar Santina (about another 20 minute ride). Now, outside of having the directions to get there, I really didn't know much more. Let's just say that it was up in the hills with very little traffic and (probably) very sparse population. We arrive to about three buildings set up cliffside and four older Italians sitting in their resin chairs up against the buildings curiously watching our arrival. After some chaos with us figuring out where we could park, I turn to this curious bunch and let them know we were looking for lunch (all this was in Italian, there were no English speakers here). A woman rises from the chair, sorta gives us an up and down glance and waves for us to follow her inside. From the looks I was getting from my husband and children you would have thought I was leading them to their demise.

We were led out to the terrace which had a beautiful view of the valleys and hills. And we were (and remained) the ONLY people there having lunch. The woman asked me if we all ate meat and when I confirmed we did she said, "Ok, you'll eat what I cook you." I was so excited for what was to come.

Incidentally, about this time it also started to rain so although we were operating vespas, I did decide I needed a glass of wine because my anxiety was beginning to rise.

We survived our Lucca region vespa trip

After about 10 minutes the cook returns with a huge platter of meat tortelloni and my kids eyes lit up. From that moment on, I don't know who was happier...my family or the cook who was beaming from hearing the groans of food pleasure emanating from my kids. Following the tortelloni she brought platters of thinly sliced roast beef and a platter of green beans.

Much like my post about my grandmother's potatoes, when she set down those beans it was like I was transported to the past. Absent seeing those, I'm not sure I would have ever recalled those beans on my own. But the minute I tasted them, once again I was sitting at my grandmother's table eating them. I have since learned they are called taccole al pomodoro. For me, it was such a moment for both new and old memories, it cemented it as a core memory.

Rounding out the meal was some homemade tiramisu. Now by this time in our trip we probably had had no less than 7 other tiramisus, but the moment we all tasted this...it was a mic drop for the meal. We could all barely walk outside we were so full and happy with this unique experience. And by the way, all this from wine to dessert was only 20 euro per person.

As we departed it began to rain and for a bit there, it was extremely stressful. Be sure to have a reliable weather app. We used our iPhone weather app and it was never right. We arrived back to the vespa shop in one piece, a little tired, but with some memories that we would never otherwise had. If you are able to find your way to Bar Santana (perhaps by car) you will be in for a very unique, and yummy, experience.