A Taste of Tuscany

Our room in the Tuscan countryside for three nights was on a farm that produced wine, honey, saffron, and olive oil. We were welcomed by our hostess Tiziania with a glass or farm produced Vernaccia (the local white wine). Definitely more full bodied and ripe than a pinot grigio but still has a dry finish. A lovely way to watch the sunset. The Tuscan landscape is so absolutely picturesque, hilly but marvelously open so that it seems everywhere you go has a grand vista, dotted with Italian cypresses and stone villas in every direction.

Dinner at the agriturismo was epic. This was a five course, real deal Italian meal – we were at the table for three hours! Fresh prosciutto and salami, pasta with beef and pork ragu, roast beef with mushrooms…fantastic! The different farm raised honeys with pecorino cheeses were a real highlight.

We made our way to Siena in the morning, only had to circle around three times or so before we figured out how to get into a parking area. Alex is a champ at driving in Italy by now. Siena is such a beautiful city to walk around, it seems that every building is built to harmonize with the rest - earthy stonework and aged, rustic tile roofs. Every view down an alleyway seems worth a photo. I often get a picture set in my head when we are planning to travel and the destination is never quite the same as I’ve pictured it. Not with Tuscany, it is exactly as I imagined.

We spent far too much on our lunch in the city for the pleasure of overlooking the Piazza del Campo from our table, complete with pizza and the biggest piece of bruscetta imaginable!  We were also lucky enough to visit the Siena Cathedral when the mosaic floors were on display (all but six weeks a year they are covered to prevent damage). The entire floor is a series of intricate inlaid marble scenes, some fifty sections total. Along with the striped columns, the frescoed vaults and sculptures in every corner, it’s simply too much to absorb all at once but it is truly breathtaking and humbling.