Italy: Tuscany

We planned on spending Amanda's birthday week in San Francisco and Napa Valley this year, but then we discovered a mistake fare and decided to forgo our original travel plans for Italy.  In Italy, we visited Venice, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Milan.

Part 1 - Planning & Introduction
Part 2 - Venice
Part 3 - Rome
Part 4 - Florence
Part 5 - Tuscany
Part 6 - Cinque Terre
Part 7 - Milan

il dolce far niente
[the sweetness of doing nothing]

After exploring three cities in three days, we were ready to experience the sweetness of doing nothing in the countryside. The green hills, winding roads, vineyards, and medieval hill towns were breathtaking. 

To Get There

We rented a car in Florence and drove to Tuscany. It is wise to carry an international driving permit here which can be obtained for $15 from a local AAA office. Matt loved driving this little Fiat around the countryside, to the coast, and to Milan.

Where We Stayed

After doing some research on the different hill towns and farmhouses, we made reservations for two nights at Agriturismo Niccolai near San Gimignano. We were the only guests at the time and had the place to ourselves. One of the perks of visiting during off-season. 

We stayed in the Canaiolo room (92€ a night). It was comfortable, offered lovely views of Monteoliveto Abbey, and included a delicious breakfast. 

The views outside the doorstep were incredible.

What a gift to experience the first signs of spring in this beautiful place. It was quite romantic.

We spent a lot of time in conversation. The discussion of when and at what age we should bring our (future) children along on international trips came up at some point too. Needless to say, for now, we are thankful not to have to worry about that for a while.

Breakfast was served in the old barn [on the patio in the summer months]. It was quite a feast for the two of us. We could definitely get used to eating quality meat + cheese on a regular basis for breakfast. The baked goods were delicious as well.

What We Did: San Gimignano

The towers drew us to San Gimignano in the first place. That, and a world renown gelateria. At one time there were 72 towers that stood in this town. Now, only 14 remain.  We found this hill town to be quiet and quaint since it was off-season (November through March). However, we have read that it is quite popular during peak-season (mid-June through August) and shoulder-season (April through mid-June and September through October).

Our version of the sweetness of doing nothing is still doing something. We wandered up and down the alleys, enjoyed gelato, and climbed Torre Grossa for the views. At night, we were the only ones walking the streets. But by day, locals were going about their business, buying and selling items at the weekly market in the piazza. 

We climbed the tower within the Civic Museum (10€) to enjoy the views of San Gimignano and the surrounding hills.

Where We Ate: San Gimignano

One disadvantage to visiting during low-season is many of the stores and most of the restaurants are closed. About a week before leaving for Italy, we had tried to set up dinner reservations and learned that most of the restaurants here were not opening until mid-March. Unfortunate, since we love trying different restaurants.

Trattoria Chiribiri was the obvious choice for dinner the first night as it was one of very few places open. Their gnocchi was delicious, and the prices were quite reasonable too (35€ for wine, an antipasto, two primo, and two tiramisu).

Gelateria Dondoli was our second favorite gelateria on the entire trip. The raspberry rosemary and blackberry lavender gelati were delicious (Amanda). Matt can not remember what he had, but likely it was chocolate.

What We Did: A Drive to Volterra

Then, we decided to hop in the Fiat and visit another hill town, Volterra.

Matt enjoyed taking in the views and was glad to pull over so we could capture a picture of San Gimignano in the distance.

A short while later, we reached Volterra. 

And we walked around, enjoying one another's company and the buildings and streets we came upon.

There was a nice walking path outside of the city walls, so we strolled hand-in-hand, stopping once in a while to capture the views and relax on the benches.

Where We Ate: Dinner in Sienna

The second night we decided to try a different restaurant instead of going to Trattoria Chiribiri again. Why not drive to another hill town? So we drove to Sienna.

After climbing the hill and following a few signs, we found Piazza del Campo. By this time, we were hungry, so we just picked a random restaurant on the Piazza.

We ordered pizza. It was okay, but nothing to write home about and probably our least favorite meal of the trip. Sometimes you win some, you lose some. 

After dinner, we wandered through the Piazza del Duomo, walked back down the hill to locate the Fiat and drove those winding country roads to the agriturismo. Even at night, the countryside was peaceful with starry skies and the occasional light from distant hill towns.

Tuscany captured us.