As most of you know, I am a huge huge fan of Italy and not just because of the amazing food and wine, but also because of the gorgeous views and friendly Italian culture. I love it all. So it was fairly easy for me to decide to go once again to Italy. I visited a new city- Chianti- which is one of the most beautiful places I have been to, hands down. It resides in Tuscany, so during the summer it is very green with the famous cypress trees, grape trees, and olive trees. So almost everywhere you look there are gorgeous vineyards.
Summary of my paradise vacation in Chianti:
I arrived in Pisa airport and Rocco picked me up to head to our highly recommended hostel (thanks Gena &Dana) in San Baranto. We arrived at our "hostel" which was on the top of the mountain overlooking the hills of Chianti (including Vinci and Lamprecchio). This was no typical hostel you think of- we had our own two story apartment with a kitchen and fireplace, there was a big swimming pool overlooking the picturesque Chianti, and the owner (Guido) made us feel like we were part of the family. It was more like staying at a private villa in beautiful Tuscany. They also prepared an authentic Italian 3-course meal with wine from a local vineyard every night if you wanted to have dinner (just keeps getting better). We definitely took advantage of this and ate here two nights as well as soaking up the sun by the pool everyday.
Guido took us to a private wine tour at Casa di Luggiano which was incredible- the wine, yummy snacks (bruschetta, bread with their grown olive oil, and cheese), vineyard, new friends, and sunset made for a perfect evening. We drove the next day to Lamprecchio and Vinci which were the closest towns to us and visited the Leonardo di Vinci museum and house where Leonardo grew up, ate some gelato, and explored the small towns before heading back for dinner. Dinner was great at La Marchelino, we had delicious pecorino cheese with honey as a starter, a salad, florentina meat, and of course a nice red Tuscan wine.
Guido was so accommodating and we became quite close to him in these two days that he offered us another free night at the villa (of course we said yes). We stayed one last night, had breakfast and then drove to Greve de Chianti to visit one of Rocco's friends Michele and his roommates. They own a farm with 100 goats and make their own cheese and dairy products. They were so welcoming and made us home cooked meals with their delicious grown food.
This trip was so great, even if I did come back with 24 mosquito bites, Italy always leaves a big smile on my face.
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| The villa |
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| The villa |
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| The pool |
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| The pool |
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| The pool |
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The pool
The Villa
Casa di Luggiano
Casa di Luggiano
Casa di Luggiano
Casa di Luggiano
 Casa di Luggiano 
Casa di Luggiano
Casa di Luggiano
Dinner
Our house for the weekend!
    
Vinci
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