Eating Our Way Through Tuscany

 It's our last day on our Italy tour, and we are expected to be down in the lobby, ready to leave, at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow, so it's going to be a very quick recap of the day.  

We started out by bus, on the road for an hour and a half, to a family farm, nestled in the Tuscan countryside.  

Here we were given the opportunity to taste a variety of cheeses, each made on site using milk from their own cows and goats, and rennet derived from a wild artichoke plant that grows nearly everywhere on site. 

As you can see, there were certainly a number of varieties, each unique in its flavor and consistency, and I enjoyed tasting every single one of them.  After we finished our culinary treat, we then headed out for a brief tour of the farm.  Our guide, Christa, proudly mentioned that this farm has Happy Cows, and it's not too surprising considering this breathtaking environment in which they live. 

Now, I can't say how Christa knows these cows are happy, or what makes them happier than other cows. But one thing of interest that she noted was, that when it comes time to milking, the cows are called by name, and each instinctively knows which station is assigned to that particular cow.  I'll admit that I don't know much about cows, but this behavior certainly does seem unique to me! 

There were also quite a number of goats, which are used for the goat cheese.  We didn't discuss how those agile creatures are actually milked.  It just looks like they have a lot of fun hopping around. 

And then there were lots of free range chickens.  No connection to cheese, but I'm sure they come in handy somewhere!

It was really such a delight touring this typical Tuscany farm and enjoying the works of their labor. 

From here, we loaded back on the bus and headed to the lovely village of San Gimignano.  Words simply cannot express the beauty of this walled town on a hill.

The views over the countryside are simply amazing. 

We entered through the front gate.

and made our way up the hill to the square. 

Around the corner, stood the church.

And, of course, Marty took a selfie. Would you expect anything less?

As you can see, the views are, once again, picture post card quality. 

We were given only two hours to explore, but I felt like today made up for the visit in 2007 where we were rushed out in even less time.   On the way home, we stopped for a photo of the village from a vantage point on the hill.

How outstanding is that?  Photo credit to Marcie from our group who captured the image beautifully. 

Dinner was a Tuscany group farewell event, and we were driven by bus up an extremely windy road that led us to a lovely restaurant nestled in the woods, near Montecatini Alto. The view from the venue was memorable. 

Dinner included a number of courses, and I honestly can't tell you what some of them are.  But, I can mention here that the french fries were in lieu of fried peppers.  I was thrilled that Joanna, our tour guide, took my allergy to peppers seriously, but I found it amusing that french fries were the substitute.

Lentil soup.  It was delicious!

Ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta with a meat sauce.

Some sort of steak 

ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert.

And a Limoncello as an aperitif.

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed our last few hours sharing a wonderful meal with our new found friends. 

Our tour guide, Joanna, was happy to pose for a photo with us

And, here's our infamous Rome group, with two additions in front. 

They'll be leaving with us on the 3:45 AM bus! Aren't we all so lucky? 

Our time in Tuscany has come to a close and it's time to get some shut eye before facing our travels home. 

Thanks for following along on this memorable trip.  I do hope you enjoyed reading our adventures as much as we enjoyed living them! 

Until next time.....

A Mediterranean Excursion

 Today was certainly a treat as we took a bus to La Spezia, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea, then boarded a ferry to explore the coastal areas of Cinque terre.

The experience was amazing.  The boat ride was quite smooth and to be quite honest, it was like viewing a series of postcards as we made our way along the Mediterranean Coast. 

From leaving the port

to passing by villages on the way

it seemed as if there was a unique vista each step of the way.

At this point, we headed around the tip of the peninsula and began making our way north.

We disembarked in Venazza, where we had less than two hours to explore the village

and find something delectable to eat, which was not the least bit difficult to achieve!  We decided to try the local specialty of Pesto Focaccia.  It was amazing!  

Then, we boarded a second ferry and traveled a short distance 

before disembarking in Monterosso.  

Once again, we had two hours to explore the town.   Our travels found us popping into a beautiful church nestled among the narrow streets, 

and we settled in a small alcove to enjoy a spritz (this time Lemon) and a caprese salad. (no worries....I shared.)

And the best part of the visit was the awesome gelato! 

All refreshed, we headed to our meeting place to begin the trek to the train station. 

As you can see, the weather was pristine, and there were plenty of sunbathers enjoying those rays and warm temperatures!

We boarded the high speed train which led us back to La Spezia.  But we needed to walk close to a mile to get to the bus, and I do have to admit that I found it quite stressful on the knee trying to keep up with the fast pace of our tour guide, Christina.  When we finally made it to the bus, I collapsed in a seat, and breathed a sigh of relief. 

On the way back to Montecatini Terme, Joanna pointed out the marble quarries on the hill.  What you think looks like snow is actually white marble.  How cool is that? 

The drive back seemed so very long after the full day that we had experienced, but we finally made it back to our hotel where we had a few minutes to relax before heading back out again. We decided to join three of our newfound friends, all of whom were eager to visit Montecatini Alto via the Funicolar. 

So, we made the trek to the top where we once again enjoyed great company, outside in the beautiful piazza. 

And the ride down certainly did not disappoint!

Thanks for following along! 

Until next time...