Life offers you a thousand chances . . . all you have to do is take one.
-author Frances Mayes, Under a Tuscan Sun
In the Tuscan countryside there are family owned farms that have turned into bed and breakfasts or small hotels. Guests are treated to farm fresh food. The agriturismos vary from rustic to quite luxurious. The ride to our agriturismo wine resort was simply splendid. We passed miles and miles of gorgeous Italian countryside. It surprised me at the number of abandoned farmhouses and the fields of brown dried sunflowers past their prime. I couldn’t help but think of one of my all-time favorite movies, Under a Tuscan Sun. As if it couldn’t get any better, Patricia put on an Andrea Bocelli CD. Luckily I had my sunglasses on when he sang “Con Te Partiro”, so no one could see the tears streaming down my face. Another moment on the trip where I pinched myself and ask ‘Kath, is this for real’ and I answered ‘Yup, this is for reals’.
The wine resort was just like Italian Heaven. Seriously. Liz and I literally had an apartment that looked out onto the outdoor pool and beyond the rolling hills of Tuscany. The resort has its own vineyard and olive grove. The colors and air of Tuscany at sunrise and sunset are beyond words. Even with all the pictures I took, none came close to capturing what I experienced in person. Before our first dinner one of the owners of the resort provided an in-depth wine tasting. We sampled several of their private labels.
The wine resort was just like Italian Heaven. Seriously. Liz and I literally had an apartment that looked out onto the outdoor pool and beyond the rolling hills of Tuscany. The resort has its own vineyard and olive grove. The colors and air of Tuscany at sunrise and sunset are beyond words. Even with all the pictures I took, none came close to capturing what I experienced in person. Before our first dinner one of the owners of the resort provided an in-depth wine tasting. We sampled several of their private labels.
I woke up to a glorious beautiful Umbrian morning. Stefano drove us to the funicular parking lot. Patricia took us on a walking tour of Orvieto a sweet hilltop village situated on volcanic rock. First stop was a tour of the Duomo. The most unique of all the Duomos and Basilicas we’ve seen on our trip –very striking structure with black horizontal stripes wrapping all the way around. Afterwards, Patricia gave a brief tour of the village and pointed out the Saturday Market and her favorite coffee shop Caffè Montanucci. The rest of the day we were on our own. Camera in hand I had a delightful day of wandering the narrow alleyways taking hundreds of pictures. It seemed like every corner presented another perfect picture. By far my favorite thing to do when traveling is to spend a few hours getting lost in a new place. There were not many people around if you just walked one or two street off the main crowded streets. I stopped at a quiet outdoor restaurant for a pizza and Fanta. On the other side of town I found a small artist's’ market and bought some handmade jewelry for my little sister and myself. The outdoor food market was colorful and lively. I liked that it was only local Italians and not the throngs of tourists. Taking Patricia’s advice I stopped at Caffè Montanucci for a coffee break before meeting the group at the funicular to return to the resort. As usual, Patricia was right on the money about Caffè Montanucci. I ordered a pastry and drink and found a table in the outdoor patio out back. I couldn’t help but think how much our little sister Susie would LOVE this place.
Creepiest Tourist Picture Ever
As I’ve said before, when you travel you never know what you’ll stumble upon and in this case it was a movie set. Turns out it was an Italian film crew filming the story of Amanda Knox, the American student (from Seattle) accused of killing her English roommate.
As I’ve said before, when you travel you never know what you’ll stumble upon and in this case it was a movie set. Turns out it was an Italian film crew filming the story of Amanda Knox, the American student (from Seattle) accused of killing her English roommate.
I had a 5:00 P.M. massage back at the resort which was one of the best I’ve had. OMG…Simply fabulous. I felt so relaxed and wonderful. An interesting observation about Rick Steves tours, restaurants and group meals. When we are in a restaurant everyone will know us because we are the happiest, most boisterous, craziest, and funniest group. Tonight’s dinner was no different. There was much laughing, drinking, sharing stories, eating and talking. Several bottles of Limoncello circulated between the tables. I love the strong smell of lemons. I think lemons will always remind me of Italy. A few days earlier I bought a big map of Italy and asked Stefano to outline the roads we travelled. It was pretty cool to see how far we had gone. It was one of the most memorable evenings of our trip. Before we left the restaurant I made two announcements –group picture by the pool and once back home I would make a Facebook page for our group. Walter suggested naming it Yum Yum Yum which was one of Patricia’s favorite sayings. So, Yum Yum Yum it is!