The Rolling Hills of Tuscany

Honestly I didn't really know what to expect of Tuscany. It was the one part of the trip that I really had done zero research. Since we were with Darsh's sis and family they did most of the planning....thanks guys!

We drove from Rome to the Chianti region of Tuscany....thanks Todd! It was a pretty windy, long ride (especially with 3 kids)....thankfully nobody got carsick! But the ride was beautiful. Rolling hills, vineyards, and castles everywhere. It was what you would expect Tuscany to be (even if you were me and didn't know what to expect).

We first stayed in Gaiole (in the Chianti region) at Castello di Spaltenna. Driving up to the hotel we learned that there was a wedding there that night. Within seconds I realized why....it was a castle....and it was stunning with the most breathtaking views....seriously what a lucky girl to be getting married there!! I was pretty psyched to be staying at a castle. We checked in, unpacked, and within minutes were drinking some fabulous red wine that Martin and Mark (friends of Darsh's sis/brother-in-law) picked out. Martin and Mark have 2 kids that play well with our nieces/nephews which worked out perfectly for us as we all had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, Il Pievano....which was a beautiful courtyard setting but overpriced, just "ok" food.

Tuscany is a great place to relax, eat, drink wine, visit neighboring towns, read a book, run (although I think I'm the only person in Tuscany that ran) and do nothing. We went to a medieval fair at Castello de Meleto, visited the Prada outlet (unfortunately neither one of us got anything although our nieces got pretty lucky!), ate a yummy meal at La Bottega, and visited Siena which was our favorite town in Tuscany. It's a really beautiful medieval city that is completely walled in. You actually need to park outside of a gate (Porta Romana) and then walk in. We just missed its annual horse race (Il Palio) by a couple days. It would have been great to see....but we just couldn't make it happen....next time! Siena's Duomo is one of the coolest we've seen....it's really unique with alternating black/white inlaid marble. You could spend hours in the windy cobblestone streets and alleys of Siena. Unfortunately for us we got there during siesta so things weren't as lively as I'm sure they are at night but it was still a really cute town.

The last couple nights in Tuscany we stayed at La Fontenelle which we randomly found one day in search of a restaurant. The hotel was on top of a mountain and had even more amazing views so we decided to switch to get a change of scenery. It was completely peaceful and Darsh/I took advantage of being stuck on the mountain (there wasn't a ton to do around there) and finally got some rest time!