Bella Vita - Das gute Leben part 5

Fortunately Sydney was able to sneak away from work midday on a Thursday, that would give us 3 nights to explore the Tuscan region before getting her back to the J.O.B. Sunday evening! Now for those of you that have been, of course the region is too HUGE to cover in 3 days....but once we hit the ground running we saw lots!! We chose to take an afternoon train to Florence via Milan and our daughter arranged for 2 rooms at B&B La Centrale. I can't remember how many hours it took overall, maybe 5? but I do remember watching the sunset as we approached Florence. We had 1st class Euro Rail passes and found 3 seats slightly separated in one car in Milan, but about a 1/2 hour out of the station we discovered we should have made reservations dangit! The conductor was very nice and understanding and allowed 2 of the 3 to remain seated while my wife drew the short straw and had to move 2 cars back, ha! We really didn't care, we found the drink car!






It was dark when we walked the streets looking for the B&B. My wife and I have never been here and my first impression was that it looked like any other crowded urban environment to me. Once we checked into the B&B we were off to find food and wine! Piazza del Duomo where are you?! My stomach was rumbling and there were many great looking restaurants on the side streets...but we kept walking. Wow!!... when you enter the piazza it takes your breath away! What an amazing place, can't help but wrench your neck looking up at these incredible feats of architecture. We found a table for 3 right on the plaza next to the Catherdal of Santa Maria del Fiore and the awesome Cupola del Brunelleschi, not a better table around, so we thought! They weren't crazy busy and our waiter was quick to take our drink order...then the clock begins to run...15 minutes for drinks to arrive and an hour after that no signs of waiters or food...long story short we paid for our drinks and moved on. The view was great, the wine was very good and we never leave restaurants...but we had to this time. The good news is that we found a fantastic restaurant Osteria Dell'Olio just a block off the piazza and had one of the best dining experiences of the trip! The waiter, food and wine made up for a lesser view! Our experience is that the best food and service is rarely found at an attraction.














Our B&B was very clean and comfortable and we slept like babies. I woke to the smell of apples baking, nice! I walked to the kitchen gathering area and other guests were enjoying a great early breakfast. The nice owner handed me a coffee for the room and I got my gear loaded up. The ladies and I returned for breakfast and had a great time talking with 2 British ladies retracing their steps from their last trip in the late 60's, cool. After filling up on homemade apple strudel and other great stuff we headed for the car rental company which was only a couple blocks away. I still wasn't sure what I thought of Florence after just one short night, it was a blur...fyi we returned on Sunday and we fell in love with the city..stay tuned!







Avis had a little bit of a line, but we were in the new Kia SUV soon enough. This vehicle is smaller than we drive at home, but we were large compared to most of the cars out there. 2 days before flying out we went to AAA to have International Drivers licenses issued, car rental place didn't ask to see them, but better safe than sorry if pulled over! Driving through the countryside was no big deal, but driving through cities and small towns the signs are a little confusing sometimes, we took it slow. Once over the Arno River we headed south on SR222 towards our destination outside of Gaiole in Chanti, we were staying in a castle! Check in was at 1300 if I remember correctly, so that allowed plenty of early sightseeing. We had no set itinerary so let the wandering begin! First pit stop was at the Castello di Verazzano winery, once the estate of 15th century navigator and explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, thanks for finding the bay of New York Giovanni! It was actually a tad bit early in the morning for wine tasting, but the castle and winery were nice to walk around. The owners were home so most of the castles estate were off limits.







Continuing down the road we passed through the tiny town of Greve. Donna quickly looked through a guide book and said turn around it looks interesting! Our guide book took us up the hill from Greve to the quintessential medieval village of Montefioralle. Castello di Montefioralle dates back to the early 900's! It amazed me how well preserved this village was and my thoughts wandered to how much skill and labor it took to construct this hilltop paradise. We were hungry and found a great table on the lovely terrace of Taverna del Guerrino. Overlooking the rolling vineyards we enjoyed our first glass of local 2010 La Fonte Chianti Classico, very nice. I was invited into the rustic kitchen to watch the ladies prepare a nice thick steak Florentina over wood in an open fireplace, perfect. The owner/waiter was very kind. We enjoyed a lighter pasta with pesto, ragu, wonderful fresh bread and caprese salad, but I was a bit jealous of the table sharing that amazing steak! Our first meal in Chianti would set the bar high!












Ok, where to now guide book? Badia a Passignano? a bit off a bumpy dirt road...ok sounds good! I'm no mathematician, but it's cool that Galileo taught mathematics at the abbey a few years ago! Leaving a trail of dust behind the Kia we approached the secluded village under clear blue skies. Of course it sits prominently on a hill top surrounded by acres and acres of uniform rows of grape vines. We always found parking around these villages to be available and in close proximity. We discovered that well known Chianti Classico producer Antinori owns the vineyards around the village and I believe they even house the wine in the cellars of the abbey. Antinori has an osteria located in the village, but we opted to find a smaller establishment to have a glass of wine, I believe it was called Divino! It sits on the hillside next to the abbey with amazing views of the vineyard in front of us and the towering castle behind, perfect! Owner Andrea carried glasses of red to our high top table on the patio then he returned with a plate of meat, cheese and bread, nice. I do like that nearly every establishment automatically provides a snack! Andrea and I did have a little communication gap, but he was awesome and was able to explain what wine we were enjoying, it was his own! Our daughter bought a wonderful bottle to take back to Lugano to enjoy with her friends.










It was probably around 16-1700 hours so we decided to head for our accommodations at Castillo di Tornano outside of Gaiole. The drive was very pleasant with rolling hills full with grapes and long driveways lined in cypress trees, the sights were better than I had imagined! Once we found the entrance to the castle, which had we blinked we would have missed!, the Kia bounced its way up the long dirt road. I found out later that there are serious restrictions on what improvements can be made to these ancient treasures, one being that the roads remain as they were, I liked that! Prior to the trip I searched castle after castle that would offer us a great base camp for our short visit, but it had to have "that look", hard to describe "that look" we wanted, but Tornano had it for us! I think if we had driven straight to the castle from Florence it would have taken a little over an hour. We couldn't see the castle until we came out of the trees at the top of the hill, oh yes "that look"! Check in was a breeze, English spoken here! Tornano dates back to the 11th century and looks great for its age! The 11 room castle even has a small moat that serves as a swimming pool nowadays. Entering the castle you really feel the medieval history all around you. After climbing the large staircase lit by the sun we found our 2 room suite at the end of a hall, it was amazing and incredibly spacious.











When we checked in we made dinner plans at Tornano's restaurant, their menu looked very nice. Giving ourselves an hour or so we walked around the property then gladly unpacked for our 2 night stay. All cleaned up and wearing my least wrinkled shirt off to an amazing dinner we went. We enjoyed of course a bottle of Tornano's own Chianti Classico Riserve and feasted on wild boar ragu, roasted Guinea hen and topped it off with my now favorite dessert Panna Cotta! What a great day!!









To be continued...Ciao!

As always, your reports and pictures are fabulous. I am really enjoying them.

Scott

Thanks Scott! Appreciate you following along, especially over here on the "quiet forum"! I'm going through pics for part 6 right now! Thankfully Eric has made posting pics a lot easier now! Cheers!

Food porn, I love it! You have such a lovely family. Thanks for letting us come along on your journey!