Tuscany, September 2009

"The joy of Italy often consists of doing ordinary things in extraordinary settings." – Erica Jong

Chris and I visited Italy in 2007 (Rome, Florence, Greve and Bologna), and we knew it was a place to which we wanted to return. We left for Italy on September 12 and returned to the U.S. on October 1, 2009. We spent 3 nights in Florence, 14 nights in Greve in Chianti (about 20 miles south of Florence, and 1 night in Frankfurt, Germany (unexpectedly!). We had been planning the details of this trip for almost a year and did all the planning and arrangements ourselves!

Our 3-night lodging in Florence was at the Hotel David in the Oltrarno area of Florence. It is located over the Arno River a little ways from Florence City Center. For those who utilize Trip Advisor for travel information, Hotel David is ranked #2 for hotels in Florence. We got an online rate of 135 Euros ($199) per night. We had a very large room with a small balcony. Included was a very good continental breakfast each morning, free 10-minute call home daily, free internet and computer usage, mini fridge in the room, and a manager’s wine get-together each evening. We loved it there. There are several city buses that stop at this location, so we purchased a 3-day bus pass for 12 Euros ($18). The pass provides unlimited rides on the buses.

Hotel David front entrance. One of the few hotels in Florence that offers free parking.

Some of the major highlights of our time in Florence were:

Visiting the Ponte Vecchio crossing the Arno River. We found the Love Locks where there is a tradition of couples placing locks on the bridge to display their love. "Legend tells if you attach a padlock to Ponte Vecchio, and then you throw the key in the Arno River, your love is going to be eternal." Authorities have discouraged this practice as they say the keys are polluting the river. I thought it was something very romantic to see!

One of our favorite places to visit in Florence is the Central Market.

Don't try to select your own produce. Let the vendors do it! Also in the grocery stores, they expect you to put on little plastic gloves when selecting your fruits and vegetables. They have a neat procedure at the grocery stores. You place a euro into a slot on the shopping cart in order to get one from the rack. When you return the cart, your euro pops out. Wish they did something similar in the U.S. It would cut down on those nasty shopping cart dings!

The Ponte Vecchio with all the jewelry shops.

From the Florence Train Station, we took a 20-minute bus ride to the small hill town of Fieosole. There are some incredible views of Florence from this area. We had lunch at Vinandro. I had the most amazing meal and just wish I could have it for lunch today! It was tagliatelle with pecorino cheese and tortufo (black truffles). It was 9 Euros ($13).

We had gelato each day! I cannot say that we had a favorite. They were all GREAT!!

We had planned on having dinner at a restaurant we visited in 2007, but it was closed. We walked around the San Lorenzo Market area and found Trattoria da Guido (Via Faenza 34r, Florence). We ended up having a very nice dinner there and liked it so much, we went back for lunch another day. The one thing that stood out to me was that there were several locals having dinner there too…that is always a good sign.

Bruschetta appetizer at Guido's.

Our dinner meals at da Guido’s. Chris had the penne with tartufo (black truffles), and I had the tagliatelle with cinghiale (wild boar) ragu sauce (bottom). Each was 8 Euros ($12). Sooo good!!

We also went to the Piazza di Michelangelo. It was a 10-minute bus ride from our hotel and provided fantastic views of the Arno River and Duomo.

We did some shopping. I had a recommendation for a leather shop (Frizzoni) that was known for having truly made in Italy items. I bought 2 handbags and a pair of leather gloves. I had heard that many of the items sold at the San Lorenzo Market are not made in Italy.

When our stay in Florence came to an end, we went off to the car rental office to get our car and head to Greve in Chianti. We rented in advance through a broker (autoeurope). We got a fully inclusive rental for 14 days for $435, which we prepaid at the time of booking. That was great as now we are not waiting for that bill to come in!!



On our trip to Greve, we stopped at the Florence American Cemetery Memorial (about 7 miles south of Florence). It was a very special place to visit. It contains headstones of over 4,000 US Military dead (from the 1940’s) arrayed in symmetrical curved rows. There is no charge for the visit.

After our visit to the Florence American Cemetery Memorial, we reached our destination, Terre di Melazzano Vineyard in Greve in Chianti. Our lodging is an agritourismo located in the hills of Greve. An agritourisimo is an Italian B&B, which usually is an apartment in a farmhouse. To qualify as an agritourisimo by the government, the farm or vineyard must earn the majority of their income from the farm or vineyard. Terre di Melazzano has 5 apartments. The apartment we reserved was called Patrizia. We had a full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, and 1 bathroom. There is also a built in pool that we used almost every day during our stay. The cost was 90 Euros ($133) a night. The vineyard views outside our windows were magnificent. We enjoyed staying here as we were able to cook our own meals when we wanted.

The farmhouse at Terre di Melazzano. Our apartment was on the top level on the right side.

One of the local residents (il gatto) of the Terre di Melazzano Vineyard.

The pool and its view of the vineyard and hills.

Chris whipped up some mortadella sandwiches for a poolside lunch!

The kitchen, which had a great view of the vineyard.


Chris enjoying a glass of vino on our private patio!

There was a storm one afternoon, and we were able to see a double rainbow from our patio. That was a first for me!

We spent time visiting many of the towns and villages in the Tuscany/Chianti region.

The Devil’s Bridge in Borgo a Mazzano, north of Lucca.
It is a pedestrian-only bridge built in the 11th century.

The pedestrian view of the Devil's Bridge.

We noticed in the hill town of Volterra, even the pets take siesta!

A street view in Volterra.

I could live here in Volterra...afterall it is #28!

Do you think this will fit in my carry-on?

I love the windows in Italy.

Chris waiting for his lunch to arrive at La Castellana in Monteforialle.



A Monteforialle street view during afternoon siesta.

On the way to Lamole, we stopped at the Vignamaggio Vineyard to make a small purchase. Notice the lavender sandals…all shades of purple are the fashion in Italy this year! Glad I thought to bring them with me!

A market in Lucca.

We had a quick lunch on the patio at Trattoria Da Leo’s in Lucca. This is the kitchen staff taking a break after the lunch rush!

Lunch menu at Trattoria Da Leo in Lucca.

Lunch at Leo's - Tortellini en brodo (broth)

The waiter just came by and scribbled the bill on the table covering!

We walked the 2.5 mile ramparts (wall) that surround Lucca. The wall is over 2,000 years old and about 60 feet wide.

Exterior view of the Lucca Ramparts (Wall).

For those of you who know me, you know that shopping is one of my favorite hobbies. This was in a leather shop in an old castle in Castellina in Chianti. So many purses and so little space in my luggage!

Chris enjoying the view from a parking lot in Castellina.

Local forms of transportation!

Market Day is Saturday in Greve. This is a vendor selling porchetta sandwiches. Yes…the whole pig was there!!

The Greve version of a Dollar Store…1 Euro!

Sunday Art Market in Greve

Dinners at home!

Chris even barbequed some chicken and potatoes for dinner one evening!

For any Anthony Bourdain fans, this is Dario the Butcher in Panzano from the Tuscany episode of "No Reservations". We stopped in on Sunday during the Panzano Market Day, but Dario’s was packed.


So we went back to Dario’s on Monday, to purchase two New York strip steaks rolled in wild fennel pollen that Chris barbequed for our dinner that night.


Grape press at the Fattoria di Montecchio Vineyard in San Donato in Poggio.

Fattoria di Montecchio Vineyard putting Chris to work picking grapes.

Sangiovese grapes waiting to be picked were everywhere you looked!

These are views seen all over the Chianti region at this time of the year. Grape harvest was just beginning when we arrived!

Views in Chianti from Highway SR222.

This is the beginning of grape harvest activities at the Terre di Melazzano vineyard.

Here are a few items we brought back with us.
No wonder our luggage was over the weight limit!

Although we covered a lot, this was a very relaxing vacation, and I highly recommend it! We spent several afternoons, lounging by the pool and then having siesta. But alas, our time had come to an end. We returned the rental car at the Florence airport. Our flight to Frankfurt was delayed, so we missed our connecting flight back to the U.S. We ended up with an unexpected night in Frankfurt and getting home a day later. That is to be expected when traveling, and I was glad that I packed an extra set of clothes and necessities in our carry-on bag. The upside of this, was that we got a very brief visit to Germany and also a $500 travel voucher from the airline to use for our next trip!

A few things we learned:

• In the smaller towns, siesta is a wide practice. Everything, except restaurants, close down for the afternoon. Even the gas stations close down for siesta. Also on Sundays, many shops and grocery stores are also closed for the day.


• Don’t always rely on “must try” recommendations for restaurants. We found that many of the ones recommended, were not the best for us. The restaurants we enjoyed the most were those that we found on our own.


• For anyone traveling to Florence during the months of May – November, there is an excellent tour subsidized by the Florence Chamber of Commerce. It is an all day (Thursdays only) tour of Chianti for only 15 Euros ($22), which you pay on the bus. They have two wine tasting stops that include lunch at no extra cost. There is no pressure to buy anything. We saw areas that we would never have seen on our own, and it was nice to have someone do the driving! Here is the website with more information: http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/events/100-promozioni-speciali/365-visite-guidate-nel-chianti.html


• Try to take a course in Italian before you go. We were lucky to find an 8-week course that was taught by a fellow CSCer’s mother (grazie Signora Fells). It really helped us out a lot especially understanding the road signs and how to pay a toll on the Autostrade!!


• We got the best exchange rate from the ATM’s in Italy. Remember to take your card and Euros from the ATM as soon as they come out. If you wait too long, it will keep them!


• Bring bug spray (if traveling to Italy during the non-winter months) and a fly swatter! The mosquitoes loved me!!


• Bring along a few washcloths (we have not seen them in any of the lodgings we stayed).


• Bring fewer clothes!


• Bring non-1-800 numbers for airlines. When I needed to call the airline about our delay, my AT&T cell phone would not allow me to call 1-800 numbers while out of the U.S.


• Bring your patience, good attitude, keep an open mind, and smile!
  
  Arrivederci,
  Chris & dEb