A week in Tuscany

We have finally arrived in Tuscany! After months of staying in campgrounds, bed and breakfasts and pensions, we have moved up in the world. For one week we stayed in an apartment in a medieval villa called "Le Torri," located about 20 km south of Florence. We read about "Le Torri" in a Globe and Mail article in March 2009 and were awestruck by the pictures and videos on their website. We booked it in May 2009 and began a long wait. "Le Torri" is everything we hoped it would be and more. Gabriele and his family are perfect hosts who go out of their way to enhance your vacation experience. On the evening of our arrival, they treated everyone to a welcome buffet and on Wednesday evening, they held a traditional Tuscan meal. Delicious! The villa consists of nine apartments in total and the week we were there, all but one of them was filled with Canadians. It was refreshing for us to be amongst our countrymen (and women) again. We are very grateful to fellow guests, Mark and Elaine from Victoria. Not only did we enjoy their company, but they took us along on a couple of day trips to surrounding towns.
Siena - Without a doubt, Siena has the most beautiful and elaborate cathedral that we have seen in the course of our travels. It dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries and has a unique white, green and red marble facade. You could spend hours wandering around and still not see everything. We also spent some time in "Il Campo." This is the large city square that also happens to be the location of the famous horse race called "Il Palio." There are many other sights to see in Siena, but since we were only there for the day, we spent the rest of our time wandering the streets with Mark and Elaine, having coffee and window shopping.
Montespertoli - A huge draw in Tuscany is the landscape. The olive groves, the vineyards, the rolling hills. We set out one morning to walk to the neighbouring town of Montespertoli. We could see it from our villa, on the top of a neighbouring hillside. (Yes Mark, it is only ten minutes in the car.) Down, down, down then up, up, up. An hour and a half later, our calves and hamstrings burning, we reached our destination. The trip back was equally brutal. Upon our return to "Le Torri" we suited up and headed straight for the pool. Although the water was a cool 20 degrees Celcius, the sun was shining and we were hot and sweaty. It took Lynda a half an hour, but once she was in the water, she stayed in longer than Craig. Let's just say that it was very "refreshing." San Gimignano and Volterra - The weather in Italy this May has been abnormally temperamental, according to the locals. We left "Le Torri" with Mark and Elaine at noon in sunny and clear conditions. By the time, we arrived in San Gimignano, it was cold, raining and windy. By the time we walked to the top of town, there was also thunder and lightning. The only consolation was that the weather kept most of the tourists away. We decided to stop for some lunch and when we were done, the storm had passed and we were able to wander around and experience the town. On to Volterra. It seemed fitting that we would arrive there on a dark and gloomy day. For those of you who aren't familiar with teen fiction, Volterra has become famous thanks to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. It is perched precariously on a hilltop. After travelling up a long, windy road, you park at the bottom of the hill and hike up the steps to one of the town's four gates. We didn't have a lot of time since we arrived at the end of the day, but it looked like an interesting place. There is an archealogical park, an Etruscan museum, a Roman theatre and many nooks and crannies to explore.

Florence - What can you see in Florence in one day? This was Lynda's second trip there. She was in Florence with her mom thirteen years ago and on this trip, she wanted to visit the previously skipped, Uffizi Gallery. Gabriele reserved tickets for us ahead of time so that when we arrived, we were able to walk right in. Equipped with audio guides, we set off to see the vast art collection of the Medici family. We saw works by Botticelli, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio, to name a few. It was a bit overwhelming. After four hours we decided to call it a day and headed outside to get some fresh air. There was a lot to see in the Piazza della Signoria, between the tourists and the dramatic sculptures. We continued our walk along the Arno river and across the Ponte Vecchio. We wanted to wander through the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace, but unfortunately, you can't see one without the other. So we settled for some gelato and continued our walk to the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. Finally, a place to sit down. Time flew by and before long, we were on the bus and heading back to "Le Torri."
What a great week! Some sightseeing, some relaxation, some fabulous food and some great company. What more could we ask for? We regret that we were unable to share this experience with Lynda's mom as originally planned. We are now on our way to Montepulciano where we will spend a week at "Appartamenti al Poggiolo." We are looking forward to experiencing more of Tuscany.

View More Photos