Yue’s Yappings

Three years ago, Charlie and I visited our Italian relatives Barbara and Vittorio in Lucca, which is in Tuscany between Pisa and Florence. Barbara and Vittorio own a number of houses and villas and rent them out during the summer. We were lucky enough to stay in Villa Pieve during our visit.

We had a great time in Tuscany. One of the memorable events was our search for the long-lost Prada outlet. Most famous Italian fashions designers, such as Armani, Gucci, Hogan, Fendi, Valentino, etc, have outlet stores south of Florence. Charlie of course had no interest in shopping, but I was able to convince him by saying that we would visit Florence once we were done with shopping. To my amazement he agreed.

Outlet stores in Tuscany are different than in America - instead of having the stores located in one place they are scattered across the country side. Unfortunately, that makes them very difficult to find. Among all the outlets, Prada was the one that I really wanted to visit. But it also turned out to be the most difficult to find.

We drove forever that day trying to find it - stopping at gas stations and convenient stores to get directions. I don’t speak Italian, but everyone seemed to understand when I said “Prada” - they must be used to lost fashionistas like myself. But sadly we failed to find it and ended up too exhausted to see Florence. And then due to all the driving, Charlie ended up with a stiff neck which immobilized him for 2 days.

We’re planning on going back to Italy next summer - and this time I am prepared. For a start, I actually have the address this time:

Prada store
Località Levanella
52025 Montevarchi (AR)
Tel : +39 055 91 901

And instead of driving, I’ll take the train to the Montevarchi station and then get a cab (about 15 minutes). And this time we’ll make it to Florence!