The location and description of this property appealed to us immediately, but we were concerned about renting a car and driving the narrow mountain roads. Fortunately, our host Lella offered us the option of having her do all the driving for us! That was the perfect arrangement for our group of four ladies, exploring Tuscany without our husbands. Her response time was very fast, when we were emailing back and forth, and her English was excellent. We rented the large apartment and the adjoining smaller unit, which were very clean and comfortable with everything in good working order. The rustic stone farmhouse and surrounding countryside was charming, and so was Lella! She welcomed us into her kitchen for breakfast each morning with homemade breads, yogurt, cereals and jams from their fruit trees. This was an option we were very happy to have, as it gave us time to visit with Lella about the area, and Tuscan life in general. We also opted to have her make dinner for us on our arrival day, which she brought to our apartment that evening. We spent a couple days exploring Lucca, riding bikes on the wall, sitting in various piazzas sipping wine and sampling delicious food, and attending an evening Puccini concert at church of San Giovanni. One day, we did a road trip with Lella to Barga, past the Carrara marble quarries, through several mountain villages and on to a coastal resort town. Gorgeous scenery, with the best tour guide around. I highly recommend doing a cooking class with Lella also.......it was a highlight for us, as it was our final day at Abbacca-la. Also on our last day we hiked up to the church ruins which was challenging, but well worth the views.
Lella’s customer service went above and beyond our expectations. She created a personal connection with us, treated us like we were her longtime friends, laughed with us, anticipated our needs. We all came home to Iowa with olive oil from their trees......bringing a little living part of Abbacca-la with us to savor, along with our memories. I would highly recommend this place!