For most people coming to Lucca, this will be just an other bar. For us though, it is nearly part of our home. Actually our son Antonio once asked me if the bar was our home too.

It is the bar closest to our place, where we have our morning cappucino, and the latest calcio (soccer) news, where we get take out when we don't feel like cooking, and advice on restaurants when we don't want take out, spremuta (squeezed orange) when it's hot and macchiato when we need our coffee fix.

Andrea, who speaks very good English, runs the place helped by the always efficient Morena, Milan Ac tifoso Simone and a few others during the summer season.

The place is packed at 8:00 am, before high-school students start class at 8:10, then empties up, then fills up again around 9:00 as people on their way to work stop for a quick coffee and a dolce (pastry). The next big rush is lunchtime, and ice-creams are always in demand during the afternoon.

posted by michel, 2005-04-23