A Taste of Tuscany

The main phrase of our time spent in Tuscany was "Look at that cute little _______ (fill in the blank)." Everywhere you look, you feel like you are looking at a postcard. Tuscany is meant to be seen by car. You can go at your own pace and stop whenever you see something intriguing. There are so many small towns to explore it is hard to know where to start. I wanted to go literally EVERYWHERE, but I would suggest not doing that. I would pick a few key towns for a sampling of the different sides of Tuscany.

Now, if you are a fan of "Under the Tuscan Sun," you would go to Cortona. And, if you want to see a ton of "New Moon" and "Twlight" crazies, you might want to put Volterra on your list. If you are a none of those (like me), you would consider other options. Our itinerary was very loose. We had a few main stops in mind, but we took off driving and our itinerary ended up as follows.

1. Greve in Chianti: We really didn't see much of this town except for the beautiful land that housed our Agriturismo. Agriturismos are working farms that supplement their income by renting rooms to travelers. Our apartment was part of a 13th century farmhouse run by an adorable young Italian couple, Sylvia and Nameless. Nameless wasn't really the husband's name, but he never said it when we first met and after a while it was too late to ask. Sylvia and Nameless were the cutest Italian hipsters. They were a wealth of knowledge about local food and non-touristy sites. We were their first guests of the season and they welcomed us with open arms. We bought local food from a nearby grocery store and drank the wine produced on their land. It was incredible and I would highly recommend this for lodging in Tuscany.

2.  Florence: Full of Renaissance art and architecture, this city is a must see. Just make sure you go on a day The Oil Shoppe is open. If you are sick of gypsies, go to less mainstream places like the Marino Marini museum or Boboli Gardens.

3. Castellina in Chianti: If you are wanting to see the Chianti region, this town is a great stop to see a perfectly preserved Medieval town.

4. Siena: The Piazza del Campo, home of the famous and historic Palio horse race, is reason enough to visit Sienna. Siena's historic center is beautiful with brick lanes, terracotta rooftops and Gothic architecture. We stuffed ourselves at a restaurant just off the Piazza, recommended by Nameless, of course. He said it was the only restaurant he would eat at in Siena. It was one of our favorite meals. Pricey, due to a language barrier miscommunication, but worth it.

5. Buonconvento: This tiny Medieval town is a quick stop on the way from Siena to Pienza. And, the drive there is utterly fabulous.

6. Pienza: This idealistic Renaissance town has a high terrace walk that is worth the trip. The town was beautiful, but I have far more pictures of the surrounding peaceful countryside. We could have sat on the terrace with a bottle of wine for hours. Why didn't we?

7. Montepulciano: Perhaps some of the most gorgeous views in Tuscany are seen from the walls of this Medieval hill town. This village is well-known for its famous red wine, Vino Nobile and there are many wine tasting opportunities here. When we were here, the streets and square were very quiet. We felt like we had the town all to ourselves....but not in a creepy way. This was a good thing when we found ourselves driving down a very narrow pedestrian street that ended in stairs. Thankfully, we were able to get out of that mess with no local witnesses.

Best drives through Tuscany:

1. The S-222 through the Chianti region connecting Florence and Siena: rolling grassy hills and vineyards
2. The SR2 from Siena to Buonconvento: Chianti landscape with tuscan houses/castles and cypress trees
3. The S-146 between Montalcino and Montepulciano: Classic Tuscany

Jeremy, meet Florence.

I was so excited to finally take Jeremy to Florence. I studied art in Florence in 2004 and I fell in love with the city. I had also fallen in love with Jeremy shortly before I left for Florence, so it was so sad to be apart during one of the greatest times of my life. Now, 8 years later, Megan's tour of Florence was highly anticipated. I was going to show him my favorite sandwich shop, where I went to school, where I lived, the laundry mat where Mel got her purse stolen. You know, the important things. I was ready to show it off, but Florence was just not cooperating.

First off, everything was closed for the day. Most tragically was my favorite sandwich place, The Oil Shoppe. I had been dreaming of their mustard and roasted peppers for years. Years!! And, I had talked it up a million times to get Jeremy properly excited. This was incredibly disappointing and I didn't know if we could fully recover. The beautiful Medici Chapel and the gigantic central market were also closed up for the day. It wasn't looking good.

closed and closed

We did find my school. But, my pride was hurt when I had to consult our iphone to find it. I thought my sense of direction would still be there. Also, I couldn't remember where the painting or ceramic studio was. Geeze.

Lorenzo de' Medici Art Institute of Florence

But, thankfully we were greeted with our name in graffiti.

And, we came across a parade which is always a plus. Especially when there are people in Renaissance period costumes. Jeremy's favorite. It was also a free day to get into Sante Croce and the Boboli Gardens. So, all in all, I would still call it a good day...because we were in Florence. Which is awesome.

Napping in the park like Italians

Florence, it was great to see you again.

Riviera Road Trip: Part 2

The Italian Riviera does not get old. Fishing villages galore awaited us as we continued past Cinque Terre into the Poet's Gulf. The gulf got it's name because it attracted and inspired some of the world's most celebrated poets and artists. The area starts in Portovenere and continues to Lerici, San Terenzo, Fiascherino and Tellaro. The windy drive between the towns is breathtaking. There was a lot of, "Oh my goodness look at that!! No, not you! Keep your eyes on the road!!" Needless to say, Jeremy loved that.

I had researched so many small fishing villages along the coast for our drive and we didn't exactly know where we were going to stop. But, one spot that was a must-see for me was Portovenere. We did have by far the worst meal on our trip here. We were served microwaved pizza on paper plates while Queen music videos were playing in the background. Thankfully, it was all uphill from there. In the words of our beloved Italian hero, Freddie Mercury, "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Byron's Grotto

Church of San Pietro built on the site of the ancient temple of Venus

Just down the road was Lerici, the largest of the towns in the Poet's gulf.

Overlooking Lerici

Kayak water polo?

Jeremy celebrating after urinating in public on a cliff above the ocean....classy.

Lerici Castle

No caption necessary.

And, I hope you made it past those incredible Dinosaurs because here is my absolute favorite place of the Poet's Gulf, our entire trip, and possibly my entire life. Tellaro. We almost didn't stop here because we had our first extremely stressful driving moment on our way into town. Let's just say we scraped our rental car on some stairs and had to go the wrong way on a one way road to get out of a little mishap. But, in the end we made it, we are still married and it was totally worth it. This town was untouched with the most beautiful harbor I have ever seen. And, we were literally the only people down there. Check. This. Out.

Nothing can do it justice, but I am going to try my darndest. Here is a little video.