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.....
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