Viareggio holiday villa: lucca

We have just returned from two idyllic weeks at Cipressetti.The house itself is old but perfectly kept and very charming,it was also absolutely spotlessly clean! Georgio and Luigia who own and manage the property live next door and although they speak little English are keen to make sure your stay is as perfect as possible and are on hand should you have any problems, not that we did. The grounds and the pool are large and beautiful and as we had our golden retriever with us it was paradise for him to have so much space to explore and great for us as we knew he was perfectly safe as the whole estate is enclosed. In fact, when you are behind the gates you have your own little piece of paradise! The sun shone for the whole two weeks and all 5 of us had a very relaxing time (my husband, myself, daughters 12 and 15 and Donut the dog!) We're not great ones for doing much on our summer holidays but did see Pisa and were impressed by the leaning tower, Lucca too was very charming. We all also really enjoyed the seaside resort of Viareggio and had some lovely meals and evenings strolling on the promenade. The local restaurant was also good and made for a few interesting evenings as the menu was in Italian and nobody really spoke English,we managed though and the food was delicious! As British expats we have been lucky enough to do our fair share of travelling and have visited many countries and stayed in many nice places.This was our first visit to Italy and won't be our last as we loved everything about it.No obviously touristy places (yes, even Pisa wasn't as touristy as we had expected it to be) great people, lovely food and fab weather.The village is walkable,which we did every morning for cappucino and croissants from the busy coffee bar and fresh bread from the small supermarket.You need a car though. Cipressetti suited our needs perfectly and we would definitely return, which is unusual for us as we always like to try new experiences and places. If I had to criticise anything it would be that the villa didn't have a microwave or a kettle and that the upstairs toilet had a cracked seat. Not life changing things but things that could be sorted at little cost and then really Cipressetti would be perfect. If you're looking for wild nights and lots of touristy things to do, its the wrong place to go but for a civilised, peaceful and relaxing holiday it absolutely hits the spot. Looking out at the rain here as I write this, I wish I was still there!!!!