Italy: Tuscany
One of the places in Italy that I wanted to visit is “Tuscany.” It’s a region of Italy that includes Florence, and is famous for wine and its magnificent view with cypress trees.
The biggest city besides Florence is Siena, and those two cities are thought to be rivals to being the capital/main city of Tuscany. The other cities (more like villages) are very small and difficult to reach without your own car. So I decided to go on a led tour to explore Tuscany. It was packed with rich & elderly people from NZ, Australia, and the United States. I felt ridiculously out of place.
The first stop was city of Siena, where you can see lots of tourist-oriented shops in small and very stereotypically Tuscany-y streets.
Notable attractions are Siena Catedral, Piazza del Campo, and Basilica of San Domenico.
They’re lined with small shops that sell local goods, souvenirs, and local foods.
One thing that was really big here was the truffles. I LOOVE truffles, and there were truffle spreads, pasta, sauces, and everything to do with it for a really good prices! So I picked up a few things to give as gifts and enjoyed the samples that they had laid out for customers to try.
The next stop was Montalcino with a really good photo op! A lot of these cities are built atop hills so you can see down the hill and far out to even other cities in Tuscany. I was blessed with amazing weather while I was there and didn’t have to worry about the rain.
Montalcino is famous for its wine called Brunello di Montalcino made using the grapes produced only in the Tuscany area.
Our tour group stopped at a brewery called Cantina Abbadia Ardenga, where we were given bread and ham with three types of wine and a shot of Grappa.
Our next stop was Pienza, where I saw Piazza Pio and mainly went shopping in the little shops for local balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and more truffles stuff!
Our last stop was in Montepulciano. Similar to the two cities before, this town is tiny and filled with cute alleys and shops. At the edge of the town, you can see an amazing view of the surrounding Tuscany areas, too.
Totally aware of the amount of money I was spending in Italy, I took it even further and bought a pair of handmade Italian leather shoes. Only sixty of these pairs were made, according to the shop assistant. I’m not sure I believe it, but they’re super cute and comfy so I’m not complaining.
Then our tour group made the drive back, while seeing breathtaking views of the sunset. I wish I could have stopped for photos! My sunset photos have the glare from the bus window ):
