Subject: Tuscan Coast, Not For Italians Only

Americans, and many others, commonly think of Tuscany in terms of the ancient walled hill towns, fertile vineyards of Chianti, Florence, Siena and Pisa..among many other things. Hey, I do too. And food also. But who thinks of the Tuscan coast? The long sandy beaches within a stone's throw of the aforementioned?

Who? You?
I didn't think so.

Even I don't think of the Tuscan Coast...most of the time. But I have been there, on a few occasions, to Forte dei Marmi, Pianesanta, Viareggio and the long stretch of beach that curls down from Liguria. There I would be in my Gucci Sun Glasses at a palapa style bar in a beach club: sitting with an attitude nursing a Campari & Soda at sunset.

The area is spotted with beach cubs, restaurants and homes where mostly Italians seek the summer breeze in July and August. Hidden Tuscany is actually it's beach front, not some desolate place in the South. To that end, here's an article written in a prose I could never muster, by Franco Bruni of the New York Times (who sounds a whole lot more Italian than I - It must be true!).

Bucking the Tide on the Tuscan Shore, By FRANK BRUNI.
In a region of art-filled cities, a stretch of Italian coast so overlooked that many don't realize it exists. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/travel/07Tuscany.html?emc=eta1

Here are the places we have on the coast of Tuscany:
Casina Rosa, Forte dei Marmi. Sleeps 4+2
Villa Luana, Marina di Pietrasanta. Sleeps 10
Villa Lalle, Forte dei Marmi. Sleeps 10
Villa Motrone, Motrone Versilia. Sleeps 11
Casa Michele, Stiave (above Viareggio). Sleeps 6.

And a recipe as well, always a recipe! We love to eat. Pesce Sale