Under the Tuscan Sun!

As we said farewell to lovely Florence, everyone was thankful for our beautiful weather.  Yes, we have been lucky to be "under the Tuscan sun".  Everyone enjoyed their time in the capital of Tuscany.  The cooking class was a success and all learned some new dishes to add to their family dinners once they return home. Most just had gelato for dinner that evening after enjoying such a special lunch made by their own hands.  There was time for shopping in this fashion capital and more than a few found some very special treasures.  

Our first stop as headed into the amazing Tuscan countryside was to visit the American Military Cemetery located just outside of Florence.  Here we met Angel, the Superintendent at the cemetery and he took time to share with all of us the history and mission of the American Battle Monuments Association.  Almost 5000 marble crosses and stars of David stand as testament to the brave men and women who fought so valiantly during WWII to bring an end to Fascism in this area.  It is always a very emotional visit for my tour members and this visit was made even more so because we were able to meet a "next of kin" visitor who had come from Minnesota to visit the graves of two of his cousins, one of the 6 set of brothers buried in this location.  Hearing their story and knowing that he was the first of his family to ever make this journey was very moving. 

After time to honor these fallen, we moved deeper into Tuscany and what is called the Chianti area.  Of course, most are familiar with Chianti wines.  This area is filled with lush vineyards and olive groves.  We were able to see the vines full of grapes ready for harvest.  The winding roads have amazing vistas around every turn.  Our destination was the Castello di Verrazzano wine estate.  They have been producing wine since the 10th century.  Giovanni di Verrazzano was an explorer who explored along the eastern shore of America and sailed into the bay of New York in 1524.  He was just one of the many Italian explorers who contributed to the exploration of the new world.  Today, his family home is open to all to explore and enjoy a "wine and food experience".  After a wonderful guided tour of the estate and its ageing cellars with Maria, we sat down in a lovely dining room for a magnificent lunch of homemade Tuscan favorites accompanied by the Verrazzano estate wines.  What an experience for all!  There is really no way to just describe the natural beauty of Tuscany in words.  Then if you add a delicious meal of the region's favorite foods and wines, you have just stepped into a little slice of heaven on earth.  We all did just that and sat for hours enjoying a multi-course extravaganza of yummy delights.  By the time the Grappa and cafe appeared, the table was filled with empty glasses of all kinds.  It was hard to say goodbye to Castello di Verrazzno for sure. 

Then we drove through more of the lovely hills of Chianti on our way to one of Tuscany's most famous hill towns, San Gimignano.  What makes this town so special is that there are 13 medieval towers still standing tall, giving San Gimignano the name "la citta' di belle torri".  In the 1300's there were actually 75 towers!  The Historic Centre of San Gimignano is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We just happen to stay right in the middle of it at our lovely Hotel Leon Bianco, located on Piazza Cisterna.  After checking in we met to take a little orientation walk around town.  We climbed one of the sentry towers of the old Fortezza for amazing views.  Piazza Cisterna is picture perfect and it was a good spot to end our day.  I will return soon with more adventures under the Tuscan sun.  Ciao,  Suzan