The last two months have been crazy for Nick at work, with being off shore for 3 weeks and then coming back to Paris and working pretty much 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. We decided a vacation was in order! When flights to our first choice, Corsica, were ridiculously high, we went for the next obvious option...Italy. Yes, we've been there a lot. And no, it never gets old. With dirt cheap flights to Pisa, even just a few weeks in advance, we decided to rent a car and explore the Tuscany region.
I can summarize our 4 days pretty simply: delicious food, beautiful drives, and relaxation. We visited several different areas and cities/villages in the area, and found each one charming in its own right.
Chianti, known for its wine, which sadly, I couldn't enjoy this trip, was full of green, lush rolling hills filled with vineyards, of course. We stopped in little Panzano for lunch with a view and to experience our first of many village wanderings this trip.
The southern part of Tuscany {south and east of Siena} contains some of the more "typical" Tuscan scenes you may be used to seeing. Yes, I'm talking Under the Tuscan Sun style: more open spaces with rolling hills in the background. Despite the clouds that day, the views were stunning, and we quite enjoyed this leisurely drive. The village of Montepulciano didn't disappoint either, and was probably one of our favorites of the whole trip!
We stayed in a villa just outside of Sienna, which was perfect for relaxing and enjoying the views. The private lookout over the city was a great way to end each day.
Siena was a pretty cool town. We went in exactly zero churches and museums, despite the famous ones located here, and we are 100% okay with our choice!
Our last stop was to the west of Siena. San Gimignano is probably the most famous Tuscan city, full of charm, towers, and touristy shops. While we enjoyed our night there {after all the tourists cleared out for the day}, nearby Volterra was more authentic version of San Gimignano, complete with an ancient Roman amphitheater from 30 BC!
And of course, the food. Italy never fails to disappoint on the food scene, bu this region in particular seemed to have top notch food wherever we went, even hole-in-the-wall places. A favorite, especially for Nick, was the local pici, which is wide, thick spaghetti. He may or may not have eaten it for two meals a day some days! :) And gelato, is there anything better? I don't think so!
The weather was warm while we were there, even if the sun was hiding behind clouds many of the days. A perfect time to visit, avoiding most of the crowds and being able to take in some of the beautiful spring flowers of the area. We will definitely be back; there's a lot of similarities with Provence, another of our favorite areas. More photos here.
The southern part of Tuscany {south and east of Siena} contains some of the more "typical" Tuscan scenes you may be used to seeing. Yes, I'm talking Under the Tuscan Sun style: more open spaces with rolling hills in the background. Despite the clouds that day, the views were stunning, and we quite enjoyed this leisurely drive. The village of Montepulciano didn't disappoint either, and was probably one of our favorites of the whole trip!
We stayed in a villa just outside of Sienna, which was perfect for relaxing and enjoying the views. The private lookout over the city was a great way to end each day.
Siena was a pretty cool town. We went in exactly zero churches and museums, despite the famous ones located here, and we are 100% okay with our choice!
Our last stop was to the west of Siena. San Gimignano is probably the most famous Tuscan city, full of charm, towers, and touristy shops. While we enjoyed our night there {after all the tourists cleared out for the day}, nearby Volterra was more authentic version of San Gimignano, complete with an ancient Roman amphitheater from 30 BC!
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| San Gimignano |
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| Volterra |
And of course, the food. Italy never fails to disappoint on the food scene, bu this region in particular seemed to have top notch food wherever we went, even hole-in-the-wall places. A favorite, especially for Nick, was the local pici, which is wide, thick spaghetti. He may or may not have eaten it for two meals a day some days! :) And gelato, is there anything better? I don't think so!
The weather was warm while we were there, even if the sun was hiding behind clouds many of the days. A perfect time to visit, avoiding most of the crowds and being able to take in some of the beautiful spring flowers of the area. We will definitely be back; there's a lot of similarities with Provence, another of our favorite areas. More photos here.
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