Rosalin, my friend since kindergarten, who lives in Germany planned a long weekend away in Tuscany. It happened to fall on my thirty second birthday, I couldn't say no.
We flew into Pisa and rented a car. We rented a small villa through Airbnb in the Chianti region. I really wanted to taste Brunello di Montalcino wines in Montalcino, southern part of Tuscany. But we wanted to keep our journeys on the shorter side since we were heading back north on our last day to spend the day in Florence. We based ourselves in Chianti, but you can't go wrong when choosing places to stay / wine taste in the region.
My previous trip to Tuscany was years ago with Marco and his parents. It was summer time and full of sunflowers in bloom, Diane Lane "Under the Tuscan Sun" style. We stayed for a longer period of time, so I saw many of the small villages and larger towns.
This trip, despite being January (winter birthdays are not so great) I was so excited to have a weekend away with the girls and explore Tuscany during the tourist off season.
We arrived to what is still one of my favorite Airbnb rentals to date and cracked open some reds to enjoy on the terrace. Rosalin, our expert entertainer, prepared a charcuterie and cheese board. I flipped through the welcome binder that our host provided to pick a spot for dinner. Of course I chose the "George Clooney ate here." Done. Rosalin, Alex, and Karlijn were happy to indulge me.
Rosalin arranged a van and driver to chauffeur us around on our wine tasting day. Our driver arranged our tastings at some less commercial wineries. We enjoyed lunch and small bites at the tastings as well. The amazing pastas and cheeses carried us through a marathon day of tastings. We visited San Gimignano and other small villages that day as well.
Photos below, our villa (attached to the owners flat) The views!
Our second tasting was at Accademia del Buon Gusto, with owner / artist / wine expert Stefano Salvadori. A larger than life character we will never forget. His little shop, tasting room, and school are in the town Panzano in Chianti. (Also in Panzano is the world famous butcher and restaurant, Antica Macelleria Cecchini, made more famous by Anthony Bourdain.)
Sunny morning, cloudy headed in the villa. We had a slow breakfast, gathered our things, and headed off to Florence. We hit all the major sites, enjoyed cocktails al fresco, and I bought myself some new Ray Bans. We ended our trip with one last amazing meal - fresh pasta and excellent (Neapolitan style!) pizza. Thanks to my lovely husband for holding down the fort in England so I could enjoy a weekend away.
