Travel: Our Trip to Tuscany

Living on the French Riviera, we are only a 30 minute drive to Italy.  We make the trip to Ventimiglia the first Italian town on the French-Italian border on the Mediterranean coast, a few times a year and enjoy the great food market and the incredible street market.  However, venture a little farther on the excellent inter-European highway system and you will find yourself entering the romantic world called Tuscany.  It is a three hour drive to arrive into Montecatini.  We like stopping at this small village for a number of reasons:  it feels like old world Italy, it's a spa town (with special waters), sprinkled with delightful little restaurants and less than an hour from Florence.  We happen to favor one little restaurant in particular: Trattoria Le Prunecce.  We came upon this little gem several years ago while we were on one of our "spontaneous" road trips through Tuscany.  The restaurant was rated highly in a guidebook and decided to find it.  Momma Mia...what a road to get up there!  But it was so worth it.  The family run restaurant offered a simple menu and few specials of the day.  As we dined, we rolled our eyes in delight...it was soooo good!  Fast forward, several years later and we are travelling with our friends and decide to venture up the steep winding road once more.  It was still as good as we remembered.  The restaurant was peaceful, with a few local diners enjoying a Sunday dinner with their families and we had a great table to take it all in.  The atmosphere was warm and inviting.  We were so happy that once again we could treat ourselves to such a wonderful meal, even happier to share it friends and grateful that the family run restaurant was still there.

Off to Florence we go!  Florence is a big city - spread out with the old town at it's core.  It is amazing...small winding streets that open to piazzas with breathtaking churches and palazzos.  Outside the Palazzo Vecchio there is a replica statue of "David".  The original is in the Academia just a few streets away.  The Duomo Church and the Baptistry leave you wondering how man can create such magnificent monuments.  Cobblestone streets, some wide, some narrow, are line with shops selling leather goods and silk ties and scarves.  There is a central open air market and vendors set up "shop"; they Italian leather briefcases, handbags, luggage, wallets, jackets, gloves, belts, fine silk neckties and scarves, and the softest of woolen sweaters, wraps and coats!  Restaurants are everywhere, sweet shops and gelaterias beckon you to enter.

Restaurant Paoli, Florence

Just beyond the city limits of Florence is Tuscany.  Wide open spaces, vineyards, olive groves and cypress trees.  Grand villas centered on acres of fertile land yielding some of the best wines in the world.  Small rustic villages dot the countryside.  Shaded winding roads meander through the hills and the air smells delightful.  Little shops selling olive oils and heavenly scented olive soap are side by side to tiny trattorias and bakeries.  The romantic imagery of Tuscany is real...  One of my favorite walled villages to visit is Monteriggioni.  It is small but bursting at it's walls with charm.  the most incredible meals are prepared and then served to you as you dine in the tiny village square under huge umbrellas.  

We will never forget the black truffle ravioli in a white truffle sauce...and it was only 12Euros.  Incredible!  After lunch, walk through the little shops that dot the village and sample some of the best wines at the local shop or buy a pair of Italian made sandals or shoes; fine delicate items beautifully displayed inside the shops just leave you wanting to buy it all - to bring every bit of this wonderful piece of Italy home - to hold it, to treasure it forever.  Find a shady seat and take in "la dolce vita"...while enjoying a gelato.

There is so much to take in while visiting Tuscany;cities like Florence and Sienna, villages like Fiesole with its Roman ruins, the charm of Monteriggioni and the absolutely charming San Gimignano with its many towers.  You don't need a special occasion to visit Tuscany....she is always ready to warm your soul under the Tuscan sun.  Ciao!