April 7-11
Whirlwind of a trip through the Tuscan countryside
Went to Florence, Pienza, Orvieto, San Gimignano, and Siena.
It was amazingly beautiful. If you think that the Tuscan countryside couldn't possibly be as beautiful as it looks in the movies, prepare to be disappointed. You just can't even imagine how breathtaking it is! The rolling landscape and small villas and olive farms/vineyards make it a beautiful sight to see!
I'm worn out, lots of traveling - bus rides, public transit, etc. But it was so worth it. The Medieval architecture is so fascinating! I recommend Tuscany tours to anyone that likes quaint, manageable-sized towns. The cathedrals are so beautiful! I had HOMEMADE pasta al tartufo (pasta with truffle sauce). Talk about incredible. I tried the world champion winners of gelato! I also saw Robert Downey Jr. in Florence, which probably made my trip! I bought some beautiful wine colored leather gloves in Florence as well.
My favorite town was San Gimignano (the pasta and gelato were from there!) I saw so many beautiful crafts everywhere - leather goods, ceramic, olive wood carpentry, vino, olive oil, to name a few. We also went to a wine tasting which was really really neat. I wanted to order wine for mom and dad but it was tooo expensive! I had sage rubbed, bacon wrapped pork in Orvieto - best pork I've had in my life! I also had some incredible pork in Florence that came with "barbeque sauce" - but it was actually really good. Had a nice, smoky flavor. My fave dessert I've had yet was chocolate soufflé at the same place.
All in all it was an amazing trip and SO worth the $$. We were set up in pretty nice hotels and only had to share a room with one person (michelle was a great roomie!) They paid our access to all the sites we visited as well.
I will be posting pics on Facebook really soon!
Maddie
