Under the Tuscan Sun

Okay, okay I know it has been almost a month since my last post and I have done some crazy things during this time, so HERE is my blog about when my Aunt Jenna came to visit. It was great to finally have some visit me, even though it was the week of my midterms. Jenna arrived on a Saturday night and we went out for some beers. I'll just leave it at: we had a nice evening.

atop the walls of Lucca

On Wednesday the 14th Jenna and I spent the day in Lucca. I was told by my grandparents that I HAD to go to Lucca. I am very happy that I did because not only was it a beautifully sunny day, Lucca is just a very quaint and beautiful city. The old city is surrounded by walls which are lovely to stroll along and overlook the grass and city below. We left for Lucca around 9 am and we stayed until 3 since I had a midterm at 6 that night. While we were there, we mostly just wandered the city, window shopping, talking and basking in the sun. We had lunch at Trattoria da Leo and I just ordered grilled chicken breast and a side of baked pumpkin. The pumpkin was delicious, it reminded me of the amazing pumpkin risotto I had in Venice but also of roasted butternut squash. Lucca was a quick trip but it was very refreshing, but sadly my white body was not used to the sun and my face was definitely a few shades of pink when I returned. The joy of being a ghost.

Thursday the 15th---

On Thursday we left for San Gimignano, the first stop on our wine tasting filled weekend. I think San Gimignano was my favorite city that we visited throughout the weekend. Not only was it a beautiful day, the city had a vibe that was different, calming and relaxing. The city sits on top of a hill that over looks Tuscany. The views were postcard perfect. Rolling hills, vineyards, and villa type homes spread out across the landscape. We went to a Enoteca (wine bar) for lunch and tried 5 wines while enjoying a sample platter of different meats and a cheese platter with this amazing mustard di fruitta (it isn't mustard but more of a spread that was very sweet and light).

San Gimignano

We also had bruschetta & lardo. Lardo, is delicious, sounds gross because its fat, but it is a very thin slice and tastes amazing (salty and buttery almost). Oh, and where we sat was on the edge of the town so while enjoying the amazing food and drinks we had a picture perfect view of Tuscany. No, I can't complain about my life, especially when sitting there. I also got a bronze fleur-de-lis ring from a shop in the city. (thank you Jenna for the birthday gift)
After San Gimignano, we headed through the Chianti region, small, winding roads but still GORGEOUS. Tuscany, just oozes with beauty. Every where we went was gorgeous and had amazing views. I understood that people found this region to be gorgeous but until you actually visit, you cannot fully appreciate it for all that it is, breathtaking. We stopped at a winery and had a free tasting but it was getting late and we needed to head to Siena before it got dark outside, increasing our chances of getting lost or driving off the small roads. As much as I love the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, this drive was not as exciting or enjoyable after a while, especially after lots of meat and cheese and wine consumption. We made it safely to Siena where we stayed for the weekend. We enjoyed a nice dinner then headed to bed, we were exploring more cities the next day and needed sleep!

View from where we had lunch

Friday, the 16th---

I know I said that I fell in love with Tuscany, but it officially stole my heart after today. The hills, small medival towns and sunshine literally are just as stunning in person as they are on postcards. I could hold up a postcard, take it down and still see the same image. We left Siena around 10 am and hit our first city which was Cortona. Cortona is situated high up on a hill, making for some amazing views of the valley below. For those of you familiar with the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, this is the city she 'lives' in. It was a very steep, uneven but very worth while walk to the top of the town where the Fortress of Girifalco is, which overlooks the entire vast, valley below. Cortona was a cool city and it was nice to visit something very different from Florence.

View from Cortona

From Cortona, we went to Montepulciano, a city on a mountain (large hill) surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards and yes, extremely famous for their wine. We did a wine tasting here (obviously) and the place we went to was awesome. It has a great atmosphere and the outdoor space was lovely. We tried 6 wines and ended up buying one (Vino Noble is what it was called and it is a red). We sat here for about two hours, drank and talked. After we went into a few more shops, trying wines and one shop where we tried different types of Pecorino cheese.

Montepulciano

Oh my, I can do it no justice, but the cheese was the best I have ever had. Well almost the best, because after this stop we went to our next city, Pienza which is actually famous for their pecorino cheese. The city was small but still have gorgeous views AND turns out this was also where scenes from the Gladiator were filmed. Around Pienza are wheat fields, which inspired the location of Maximus' house and the scenes when he is walking home to find his family dead and when he meets them again in Heaven.

Pienza

Yeah, I just about died when I found out one of my favorite movies was filmed here. We went into two stores while in Pienza, one where we tried some amazing salami and sausage and another were we tried some amazing cheeses. After Pienza, we went to our last stop which was a little city called San Quirico. We just walked around here and enjoyed the golden sunshine and digested our food from a long day of eating and drinking. Definitely a day well spent.

San Quirico

Saturday the 17th--

Town Hall and Bell Tower

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Saturday was our last day and we spent it in Siena. I think I like Siena more than Florence, one because it is less hectic and crammed and two for aesthetic reasons. The city is much more uniform and not nearly as "dirty feeling". Siena is famous for their horse races they have twice during the year, both during the summer. The horse races take place in their large main square and it is a competition between each of the 17 neighborhoods within the walls of the city. I bought a flag of the Lupa neighborhood, go she-wolves! We climbed the tower which is in the main square and it was a little nerve racking because I compared it to my soon to happen bungee jumping experience in Switzerland. After the tower, we stopped and had the greatest meal ever. We stopped in this small butcher & cheese shop that we had walked past a few times before and decided that this was something we HAD to experience. It was a total man cave, tons of meats hanging from the ceiling and cheese. We had a large sample platter of things like wild boar sausage, other various sausage and salamis and cheese.

best.lunch.ever.

It was an amazing experience and the large man with a mustache that worked there totally liked Jenna and I. Jenna and I bought the white wine we had with our lunch. After lunch we went to the Duomo on Siena and the church was gorgeous. The colors of the city are black and white, in stripes usually, thus the church has black and white stripes all over it. At around 3 we headed back to Florence. I was sad because I really just wanted to keep repeating the weekend over and over again. Sample platters and wine. 24/7. I would die a very fully and happy person. This weekend was probably one of my favorites. I tried so many new things such as lardo, liver (in a paste form mixed with olives), wild board meat and lots of cheese. I love cheese. I love wine. However, let this be a lesson, consume both in moderation or else you will feel like you are going to explode. But another lesson, consume both and you will be a very happy person.

Enjoy life. Enjoy the view. Carpe Diem.

ciao!