TUSCANY in ITALY, a Wonderful Place to Vacation !!!
Written: Feb 27 '03 (Updated May 07 '03)
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Pros: Lovely rolling hills of olive groves, vineyards and hilltop towns.
Cons: some towns can be quite crowded with bus tours.
The Bottom Line: For a fantastic mix of culture, relaxation, exploration, and great food and drink Tuscany is the place to see!
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Tuscany |
Just one and a half years ago my wife and I celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Italy. After spending a week in Rome we rented a car and spent a week in the Tuscany area. It was wonderful!!
WHAT'S DIFFERENT ?
The first place I compared it to, being from NY, was the rolling hills of the Hudson Vally. I have written reviews of this area because of its beauty and what it has to offer. One striking difference between Tuscany and the Hudson Valley was where the towns are. In NY most towns are built in the valleys or foot of the hills. That is where the rivers and streams are.
In Tuscany it is just the opposite. The towns are on top of the hills. That was for protection from ever existing marauders and rivals of the last millennium. Between all these mountaintop towns are endless vineyards and olive groves. The area is stunningly beautiful.
GETTING AROUND
The roads and signs were easy to navigate, even by this non Italian speaking guy. Though some knowledge of the Italian language would have been a bit helpful, we found that English and hand gestures were suffice to communicate in all the area, both in small towns and the larger cities.
Getting gas for the car, finding restrooms, and getting directions were no problem for us at all. I did get an international license for this trip. I was never asked to produce it and used my US drivers license for rental info. Though many of the towns are connected by rail and many tours available, we enjoyed the idea of being on our own and moving at our own pace.
CHECKING OUT THE TOWN
Our first stop driving up to the Tuscany area from Rome was in Montepulciano. We parked our car just outside the medieval gates of the walled hilltop town nearly 2,000 feet above sea level. There are fantastic views of the Southern Tuscany area from this altitude.
The first thing I noticed after walking into the town was the smell of the sauces being cooked in all the small cafes, inns, and restaurants along the stone streets.
This town like so many of the smaller ones has a charm that sooths the soul as you walk up and down the winding streets.
The people are friendly going about their business. Little stores are all along the walkways. Some local traffic is allowed but the streets were fairly quiet and empty. We didn't notice any buses with tourists here. After spending a relaxing late morning and early afternoon stroll up to the top of town and seeing the Duomo, we had a simple meal of pasta, salad, and red wine.
One very helpful hint given to us before we left was, "Don't bother asking for bottles of wine and checking out labels, just order the house wine". That was great advice for us. We would receive a carafe of wine at all these places and it was awesome stuff. The wines, the sauces, and the dressing on the salads were amazing! Italians do know how to make the best food in the world. Being part Italian, on my moms side, I grew up on Italian cooking. I always loved it, but, Italy again, "Brought it up a notch".
After checking out a few more shops we moved out to another town. That was the wonderful part of having a car and being on our own . We could just hang out longer or move on whenever we liked.
SIENA
We traveled on to Siena that day. We spent the late afternoon and evening there. This town is crowded with tourists during the day. Traffic and getting around Siena was the most difficult of all the places we stayed. It was also the only place I had a bit of trouble finding parking. By the time we left the crowds were much smaller and parking was to be had in areas much closer to the main sites. I will note now that when we eventually arrived in
Florence days later we immediately returned the car to a rental place. As for Florence it may as well be said that, "There is no parking". Yes, there is some parking but it is quite limited.
I did review Florence and Pisa. I hope to review some of the other towns we visited in months to come. These would include Siena, and San Gimignano, that are open to review on Epinions now.
After leaving Siena and it's huge Piazza Delcampo, imposing Duomo, lovely and second tallest bell tower in Italy of Pallazo Pubblico, and all its other artworks and treasures, we moved on to what would be our home base for a couple of days, Radda in Chianti.
WHERE WE STAYED
While planning our trip from home on the internet, and using Frommer's and Foder's books, we found a place by the name of Ralias Vignale. This place was a gem. It is an old Inn that was built before the 1700's. It is all stone and is on a hilltop with glorious views of the vineyards below. It has a heated swimming pool that is also overlooking the valleys. I can't explain to you how gorgeous the setting is. Breakfast every morning under the pergola overlooking the scene below was heaven.
The public areas of this place were classy and comfortable. A stone fireplace was always with a fire and tended. The Inn is also a trattoria and people come from miles around for its fine dining. It was never crowded though.
Our room was just across the two lane road from the main inn. We liked that. It too had a wondrous view from its shuttered windows. A cool breeze kept us comfortable. We did not need air conditioning during the nights of mid summer. Our room had antique furniture, fresh flowers, and old European charm.
RADDA IN CHIANTI
From the Vignale we would walk through the Town of Radda in Chianti. It again, like the other small towns in Tuscany, is extremely charming, relaxing, and fun to walk and adventure in. We had the best pizza of our lives in this town.
At this time I was nursing a bad knee. I had total knee replacement just months later. During this time I was using a cane. My wife presented me with a beautiful wood cane she purchased in town. Fortunately it is now retired.
One thing we did learn was that the major towns had tour buses during the day. Places would be very crowded and then empty out for the evening. After experiencing this in Siena we decided to relax during the day and then visit some places late in the day.
ON THE ROAD
One of these places was San Gimignano. It is also known as The Manhattan of Tuscany. This is because of it's thirteen towers that dominate the skyline. It seems that back in the 12th and 13th century the noble families built these towers as a testament of their wealth. I supposed the argument of "Does size matter?" was going on even then. Back in the Renaissance days there were about 75 towers in this town! Now that can rival Manhattan!!
We traveled the roads from Radda to San Gimignano with great care. These were some of the most winding and hilly roads we ever traveled. The views were unbelievable. I had trouble trying to look at the scenery and drive at the same time. It was a real adventure. My wife and I had a great time driving and taking in the vistas. Our timing of arrival to the skyline town was perfect. We were able to get some very interesting and striking pictures with a late day sun casting wonderful light and shadows on the towers.
The outdise of the town has huge imposing walls that were built for protection. Once inside you get the feeling of a small town again. This is actually a pretty large town with many piazzas, churches, palaces, and frescos and other artwork to see. It's all walkable though. Much of the architecture is as it was in the 1200's.
As we arrived many people were just leaving. We enjoyed shopping the streets, checking out people in the piazza, and having a wonderful rooftop dinner.
The ride back to Radda, in the pitch black night, was not as much fun as getting there.
We did some side trips driving through Tuscany from Radda. There is so much to see and of course a stop at a vineyard is always in order. The vineyards are noted throughout the area. Be sure to stop at them. We did! You can purchase wine to take with you or have it shipped home.
Another small town we visited and had a wonderful meal at was Greve in Chianti. I remember my wife and I looking at all the plates of food being brought and served to other diners. Other people were doing the same. The settings on the dishes were beautiful. This wasn't a people watching area, it was a food watching one.
This small market town with its
Piazza Matteotti was a nice place to relax. The gelato here, as in so many other towns, was delicious. Be sure to take a picture or two of the freezers displaying this delicious treat. The colours are striking.
VERRAZZANO
In the middle of town is a statue of Giovanni da Verrazzano. He's the guy who built the bridge in NY that spans New York Harbor. Ok, he didn't build the bridge, he is the Italian explorer who discovered New York Harbor. He was born in Greve. The bridge named in his honor is the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. It is quite a stately and beautiful bridge.
FROM SMALL TOWNS TO BIG CITIES
We continued our Tuscany adventure by driving to Florence. Florence is an amazing city of art treasures and fantastic buildings. Yes, Michelangelo's David hangs around here too.
Once again, I can't say enough about the food. We had stayed in Florence a few days. It is truly a wonderful city of art. My wife who is an artist and art teacher helped bring life to what I saw. From Florence we took a ride by rail to Pisa. This was as far north, in Tuscany, that we traveled.
We visited Pisa much the same time of day that we visited some other towns. We took a train from Florence and arrived in late afternoon when most people from tours were heading back onto their buses and moving on.
I was amazed when I saw the Leaning Tower. It was beautiful in the late sun. I was also very impressed with the Duomo and Baptistry. I didn't realize that these three structures were in the middle of a huge piazza, standing alone. This made for interesting pictures with the changing shadows and setting sun. Yes, we did have another wonderful meal in an outside restaurant looking at the Tower as the sun went down and the exterior lights flooded outside of this world famous landmark.
A WONDERFUL VACATION
We enjoyed traveling by car and train through this area. We also were able to take a side trip in central Italy to Assisi and Orvieta. I hope to review those towns soon. My wife and I would like to one day return to this beautiful area of Italy with all it has to offer. It made for a wonderful wedding anniversary celebration.
Other reviews by popsrocks
Other reviews in Italy by popsrocks
Italy
Florence
A side trip to Pisa
Tuscany
Venice
The Danielli, a five star Hotel in Venice
Rome
The Colosseum
The Pantheon
Spanish Steps
Cavellieri Hilton, a five star resort in Rome
Two other great cities!
London
New York City
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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