Five weeks from today, mom and I will be in a last-minute frenzy of packing for another adventure. That’s right, we’re heading back to Italy! This time, we’ll spend the month Lucca, a town in western Tuscany about 30 minutes from Pisa and 40 minutes from the Mediterranean coast.

We weren’t planning on doing another European trip. After the disappointment of our Vienna trip mom pretty much decided that she was done with long-distance, international travel. And I was fine with that; there are so many wonderful places to explore within 6 hours of our new South Carolina home.

But one night at dinner, she looked across the table at me with big, puppy dog eyes, and said, “I really wish we could go back to Italy one more time.”

Consider it done.

We are headed back to Italy for another month, this time March into April to see the transition from late winter into spring.

While we loved the little town of Tavernalle Val di Pesa where we stayed last time, we wanted to explore a new area.

After researching (yup, that’s my mantra) and discussing many options, we decided on the Tuscan city of Lucca. It is one of those places that cruise ship tours will stop for a few hours to explore, but its real claim to fame is that it is considered one of the most beautiful towns in that part of Tuscany, and a place where long-term visitors and expats flock to get a taste of the “real Italy.”

We’ve rented a restored farmhouse on a hill to the north of Lucca which we will use as our “home base” and intend to do lots of day trips to discover the hill towns and villages along the Ligurian Sea.

As far as planning goes, we have scheduled a short trip back to Florence, and have booked a day tour with our old friend Myriam who will introduce us to Pienza and Montalcino, as well as the Val d’Orcia (one of the most-photographed areas of Tuscany).

We’ve also contacted our friend Chef Cecelia at the Osteria La Gramola in Tavernalle about taking another cooking class from her. I’ve kept in touch with her since our visit in October 2018 and I think she is sincerely tickled that we use her recipes to prepare dinner at least twice a month.

But other than that, we are keeping our schedule very flexible to allow for the spontaneity that we enjoy.

There is still much to do to get ready for this next adventure. The good news is we have a pretty good idea what to expect this time around (logistics like driving, grocery shopping, etc.) so we can focus our brain power on discovering new places and experiences.

Thirty-one days to go!