Three Days Under the Tuscan Sun

After three days of hustle & bustle in Rome, we thought it would be nice to escape to the peaceful hills of Tuscany for the second half of our fall break.  We loved staying in a villa out in the countryside the last time we visited Tuscany 8 years ago, but weren't sure we would be able to find something similar given that it was just the four of us.  I am so happy that I stumbled upon the site of Al Gelso Bianco as it was just what we were looking for.  We had a 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, dining room, living room and covered porch in an old renovated farmhouse.  Situated just 35 km from both Siena and Florence in a beautiful valley of the Chianti region, this beautiful country resort was the perfect home base for our 3 days in Tuscany.  And the owners and staff could not have been more hospitable.

On our way from Rome we stopped in Montalcino for lunch and a wine tasting at one of our very favorite wineries - Poggio Antico.  The food and wine were perfection - just as we remembered from our previous visit - and the setting is just stunning.

We arrived at Al Gelso Bianco (named for the 200 year old white mulberry tree at the center of the property) in the late afternoon and got settled in just in time to catch the glorious sunset over the olive grove.  We spent that evening and the following morning just enjoying and exploring the resort and surroundings.  We hiked through the vineyards and olive groves - we were there just after the grape harvest had finished and were able to watch the winemakers at work, the girls played with the 3 cats and dog that lived on the property, and we played football (soccer, but Kenzie insists on calling it football now) on the green next to the beautiful swimming pool.

That afternoon we drove to Siena and introduced the girls to one of our favorite Tuscan towns.  We ate lunch at an outdoor cafe in Piazza del Campo and then toured the Duomo.

The girls really wanted to go on the rooftop tour of the Duomo and I am so glad that we did as it was really neat to go under the eaves of the roof and provided amazing views of both the inside of the cathedral and the town of Siena.

On Friday we had one of our most fun experiences of the trip - a family cooking class at Al Gelso Bianco.  We learned how to make pasta from scratch and made spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter, tagliatelle with fresh pesto and gnocchi gnudi with fresh tomato sauce. Additionally we made the most delicious roasted vegetables and apple cake.  Delicioso!  It was such a fun experience for all of us and the food was wonderful.  While we waited for the food to cook we got to do a wine tasting of the Fattoria Valachhi wines which are grown and produced on the grounds of Al Gelso Bianco.

That afternoon we drove to San Gimignano - which was just 10 minutes from where we were staying. This was the first time that any of us had visited this medieval hill town and it was another hit.  Known as the town of Fine Towers, it has about a dozen tower houses which have been preserved and between these and its hilltop setting and encircling walls it provides quite an impressive skyline view.  We were all impressed by the sights, but even more so by the gelato.  The last gelato of our trip, was also voted the best gelato in Italy, and we all agreed that it might have been the best gelato we have ever had!

That evening we all enjoyed our last Tuscan sunset from our porch and Randall and I split a bottle of Chianti after the girls went to bed.  The perfect end to an amazing week in Italy.  I am sure that we will return again soon.  We just can't get enough of this wonderful country - beautiful sights, delicious food & wine and such friendly inviting people.