Just when we were about to depart from Italy we had to decide where we would spend our last day in Tuscany. At the time we were staying at a villa near Lucca called Villa Rosa, because the walls were painted with a lovely pink color reminding me of those sunsets we would admire in the distance from our windows in Tuscany.



There was much indecision upon where we would go during our last day. My father, a little older than the others wanted to spend the day at the villa, since during our dad trips we hadn't had a chance to fully enjoy the luxurious interiors and many services available with the rental. Me and my brother were undecided whether we wanted to stay at the villa or go for a horse riding stroll in the countryside around Lucca.

My mother wanted to go shopping in Lucca and stay in the city while we could do whatever we wanted. My uncle was interested in taking as much advantage of the swimming pool as possible, and his 4 kids seemed to agree with the idea. However, my aunt wanted to follow my mother along her shopping spree. However all of us wanted to spend the last day together, as we all live in different parts of England and did not know when it would be the next time for us together.

Yes we were a large group! Finally we decided to split the last day in two. The morning would be dedicated to personal activities, while after lunch we would have met up at the villa and enjoyed our beautiful accommodation around the pool and at dinner with a Tuscan catered dinner.

I rode my horse from early morning and strolled around with my two sisters and my brother. The nice dew of the morning would wet the horses' paws, while the light 5 o'clock mist would slowly lift itself from the fields and let the sun rays dry the grass leaves. My sister brought my attention on all the little animals that would get out of their lairs woken up by our passage. The variety of animals in Tuscany really is amazing. Foxes, larks, red squirrels, chestnut birds, woodpeckers, deers, hedgehogs, and many others I do not even know. Our return was greeted by a nice lunch at the villa. The dried tomatoes pasta, Florentine steak.

My mother and aunt seemed to have emptied all the high-end shops in Lucca, my dad had spent the morning dozing by the pool and was sleeping on the sunbed, his brother and kids were enjoying the perfect water and we joined them happily.

The cooks, English speaking and with whom we had developped a nice relationship, surprised us with high a class dinner that left everyone impressed and thankful. After dinner the last swim in the flood lit pool under the stars was the perfect way to end a rich vacation such as this one in this wonderful luxurious Villa Rosa.