Florence - the last hurrah

For our last day in Florence the ladies visited the galleries. Some went to the Uffizi and the others went to admire Michelangelo's statue of David. Each gallery has magnificent works of art by famous masters. The balance of the day was free time to explore the markets, enjoy the piazza's, shop in the fine stores, rub the nose of the bronze pig for good luck or visit the Duomo. A few ladies ventured across the Ponte Vecchio to check out the shops or to visit the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. The Pitti was the grand home of the Medici family. Judging by the smiling faces a good day was had by all.

Florence

Florence is a beautiful Renaissance city with narrow cobble stone streets, grand palaces and the magnificent Dumo: Santa Maria del Fiore. Built in the 14th century this was to be the largest church in all of Italy. The facade was made from three types of marble from the Tuscany region, white or Carerra marble, green and pink. The Dumo, Giotto's bell tower and the Baptistery are certainly a sight to behold and each year draw many visitors from all over the world.
Florence also has the famous San Lornezo leather market, the ladies first stop. The stalls are filled with leather goods; coats, shoes, gloves and purses. They also have wonderful cashmere scarves and pashminas. Needless to stay there were many purchases made in the market.
This afternoon we enjoyed a walking tour of the historical city. Our guide Lucia was very knowledgeable and informative.
Dinner was at the Frescobaldi Wine Bar for another amazing meal. All of our dining experiences in Tuscany have been sumptuously delicious. After dinner we took a leisurely walk back to our hotel. The buildings are just as beautiful in the evening as they are in the day. We came upon a gathering of people in front of the Uffizi Gallery and to our delight there was a young man entertaining the crowd with wonderful songs. He playedthe guitar and serenaded us many popular tunes from the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver and many more. When we returned to the hotel some of the ladies gathered on the rooftop patio to admire the ancient buildings and towers of the historical city and a night cap of Lemoncello.
A wonderful ending to a perfect day!

Pienza & Montalcino

Our first stop this morning was an organic farm where they made many products: wine, honey, olive oil, sheep and goats cheese. This area is well known for the production of pecorino cheeses made from sheeps milk. The owners explained the process of making these fine cheeses and treated us to a wonderful wine and cheese tasting, From here we went on to the charming hilltop town of Pienza. This town was built in only 3 years by Pope Pius the 2nd, The view of the Ortia Valley is magnificent. Our next stop was the walled medieval city of Montalcino. Unfortunately the weather was cool and a bit rainy. The clouds moved in over the town so we were unable to admire the view which I am sure is spectacular. The Montalcino area is known for it's production of Brunello wines, made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. The making of this wine is very controlled and they wine makers must adhere to many specifications. They are excellent wines and very expensive. We stopped at one of the top winery's for a sampling of these exceptional wines.

Today we drove through the beautiful Tuscan countryside from Radda to Castelina to meet Laura, our cooking instructor. She took us shopping in her local town to purchase the food we would prepare in our class. We visited her favourite butcher and vegetable market. Then we drove to her spectacular farm / wine estate. It is absolutely stunning. The gals donned their aprons and assisted Laura in preparing our fabulous lunch. They made appetizers - bruschetta, crustini with pecarino cheese and another with an olive mixture. Next was beef stew coked slowly in the oven with garlic, basil and wine (lots of wine). They made fresh tomato sauce for the pasta and a heavier sauce for the second pasta. Did I mention we are eating way too much food on this trip. They also made a spinach dish with raisins and pine nuts. For dessert we had a creaming ricotta cheese mixed with a local liquor. After preparing the amazing dishes we enjoyed the meal out on the patio, under the Tuscan sun. Tomorrow we are off to Pienza to taste Pecarino cheese (made from sheeps mild) and to Montalcino to taste Brunello (fine Tuscan wine) It's going to be another yummmy day.

Chianti wine tasting

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This morning our day began with an visit of the Castello di Verrazzano winery. They took us on a tour of the cellars, wine making facilities and best of all a wine tasting.

Their Chianti Classico and Chianti Reserve were supreme. The view from this location was beautiful. The building is situated high on a hill top overlooking the Tuscan hills, with rows and rows of vines and olive trees as far as the eye can see. This area of Tuscany is certainly impressive.

Chianti Region

This was an action packed afternoon which began with lunch at Mac Dario's butcher shop in Panzano. He is a famous personality with his his own cooking show on Italian TV. Upon arrival we were greeted with a glass of wine and music from Frankie Valley which got the girls singing and dancing. Next we were treated to an amazing lunch, tbone steak burgers. MMMM good. This was the best burger and fries I've ever tasted.








Our next stop was an local artist's pottery studio for a guided tour . The pieces are exquisite and sold in some of the most expensive shops in Italy and shipped all over the world.
Then off to Castello di Brolio, the second largest winery in the Chianti region.
We were supposed to have a tour of the castle and winery but our charming bus driver took a detour through the dirt roads and ended up at the back entrance of the castle,.The scenery was incredible.Unfortunately we were late for our appointment so they would not let us in. We had to skip the castle tour and move on to a tour of the wine cellars and wine tasting. I've never seen so many barrels of wine and it was mostly Chianti. The wine tasting was delicious. This evening's dinner was at La Botte di Baccoa Restaurant, a charming little restaurant in the town of Radda and walking distance from out hotel. Every mouthful was unbelievably delectable. We certainly have been treated to some excellent wines, food and service. Italy is a fabulous place to visit.

Cortona - Under the Tuscan Sun

This morning we started our day in the town of Cortona, made famous by Frances May's book and later a movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". Our first stop was to view her villa "Bramasole", a beautiful home on the outskirts of town. The ladies were delighted to pose for photos in front of the villa. The town is perched high on a hill top, only accessible by foot. The narrow street leading to the main square has many interesting shops. The ladies were quite happy to check them out. A few purchases were made. No, let me rephrase that, quite a few purchases were made. The ancient streets wind their way up and down the hills and lead to spectacular views of the valley below. In the main square we were treated to a wedding. A wonderful morning was enjoyed by all.

Arezzo

This afternoon we visited Arezzo, a busy University town our first stop was an Osteria for a delicious lunch of pizza and large salads.
The old city is charming and the main street is lined with beautiful shops and to the delight of the ladies, there was an open air market in the main square. A great afternoon of shopping and browsing was had by all. The large cathedral was very beautiful, with many frescoes and spectacular stained glass windows. Tomorrow we are spending the day in the Chianti region, famous for it's fine wines and spectacular scenery. Our first stop will be a wine cellar for a tour and wine tasting. This should be a fund day!