“You may have the world if I may have Italy”

— GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901) – ITALIAN OPERA COMPOSER

“The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables.”

— MARY SHELLEY (1797-1851) – ENGLISH NOVELIST

“Italy offers one the most priceless of one’s possessions – One’s own soul”

— BARBARA GRIZZUTI HARRISON (1934-2002) – AMERICAN JOURNALIST AND MEMOIRIST

Tuscany trip was originally planned for April 2002, everything was booked, down to the bus!! Something called COVID happened, and we had to cancel everything. So this trip was finally planned again 4 years later. My friends, Virginia and Traci, originally a big birthday trip – 60 and 50 respectively, now became a ‘re-do’.

Couple of Shots from the train from Rome to Ravenna (East Coast)

Ravenna is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It’s known for the colorful mosaics adorning many of its central buildings, like the octagonal Basilica di San Vitale, the 6th-century Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and the cross-shaped Mausoleo di Galla Placidia. North of the center, the Mausoleo di Teodorico built in the 6th century for King Theodoric the Great, is a Gothic, circular stone tomb with a monolithic dome.

Arriving into the main train station it looked like a very beautiful day very easy walk into these historic city center lots of kids getting off from school finding their way home. Historical city centre has the typical Italian architecture I see that it’s very very clean lots of people walking around lots of shopping lots of restaurants. I make way to my airbnb which actually is a boutique bed and breakfast.

I walked over to Dante’s tomb it’s where he is buried and visited some nice cathedrals. I also noticed for being there over a weekend I didn’t really see anybody begging or just sleeping on the streets or anything like that. The whole city was quite clean of course I stayed in and around the historic area and then the station area but again it was very very nice.

There are quite a few immigrants there looked like from all over the world which was nice to see as well but everybody spoke Italian that was the the biggest thing I noticed; not a lot of English spoken. All the the restaurants and everywhere the music was also Italian music and I heard a very little English, the whole area was very local. If you’re looking for a quieter experience in Italy, I do recommend the East Coast; there are other options that I didn’t have time to do. Venice is not too far away but it is possible to maybe stay in Venice and then do some of these areas as day trips.

I also heard that San Marino is an independent country within Italy and is supposed to be really really nice again, I didn’t have enough time to go there. All in all a wonderful Italian experience without the touristy hoopla.

A visit to a beach resort town. Too early for anyone to be around, but wow pretty homes and resorts on the beach side…

But the historic area is very nice. Wednesdays and Saturdays they have a big outdoor market in the mornings… I happen to go there on a Wednesday.

As with most town…. Beautiful piazzas.

In the 2nd century bc it was a Roman town (Faventia) on the Via Aemilia, but excavations show Faenza to have had a much earlier origin. It was later subject to many barbarian attacks, became an independent commune at the beginning of the 12th century, and withstood an eight-month siege by Frederick II in 1240–41.

From britainnica.com

What a gorgeous little town. Quick walk 15 minute walk into the city center.

The walk to the city center has lots of little boutique shops and cafes, as expected amazing architecture!

And then you enter the Grand Piazza beautiful, just beautiful, so clean, It happens to be a nice day again everyone is very friendly.

Time to look for a place to eat lunch… a lot of the places were closed I’m not sure why but, after walking for 15 minutes, I finally found something that was open.

I walk in it’s more like a deli, but then I asked if I can sit down and have lunch and he takes me around the corner to the second restaurant.

I order the risotto and a glass of wine. At this point I decide oh let me look at the Michelin star rated list and you can search nearby and happen to be that the restaurant I’m sitting here is Michelin star rated.

Risotto was very good but not as good as yesterday’s from Modena at the vinegar tour. Meal, Wine, Tiramisu = $22 bucks, and everything was great! Can’t get that anywhere in US. LOL

After lunch I do some more walking not much else to see beyond the square again lots of little shops which apparently they are all closed from about 12:30 to 5:00. So I just get some more walking in and then I head back to the train station, there is a nice little cafe there and I have a prosecco there which was my first prosecco for the trip.

I highly recommend a quick stop in Faenza…It’s not touristy but it’s very nice.

Modena is a city in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. It’s known for its balsamic vinegar and opera heritage, plus Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars. The Enzo Ferrari Museum has exhibits on the life and work of the car designer, in his childhood home, plus iconic models in a futuristic building. In the 18th-century Museum Palace is the Estense Gallery, with works by Tintoretto and Correggio, plus a bust by Bernini.

From Wikipedia

Booked a balsamic vinegar lunch tour for Modena and the guide picked us up at the train station and took us to a countryside home where we find out that the home has been in the family since 1737 and they’ve been making balsamic vinegar since 1900s and apparently the process is quite extensive and fascinating and the tasting was extremely different than the vinegar we get in the States. The stuff we get in the states is very thin and very cheap.
For a small tiny bottle of 4 oz it was $40 for the 12-year aged version and $60 for the 25 aged version. All the food that we got in the in the tasting was paired with one of the one of the vinegars and oh my God they gave us so much food by the end we were in a massive food coma. We had three types of red wine and we ended it with a limoncello and a walnut wine that almost tasted like a port dessert wine, It was just insane how much food there was on this tour!

After the food tour the weather was quite rainy and quite cold so I didn’t get to enjoy the historic city center as much as much as I would have loved to, but I did go walk around and check it out. It was just way too cold to be walking around in there so I took some pictures of the architecture and decided to head back to Ravenna.

Bologna “Home to the oldest university in continuous operation, the University of Bologna, established in AD 1088, the city has a large student population” (From: wikipedia)

The city was quite busy when I arrived at the train station (as usual). I walk 15 minutes through the town to get to the main square.

I’m supposed to meet there for my walking tour. To get to the main square, there are lots of little shops. They were all closed at the time, but since it is Saturday, I can tell that things will open up and get lively.

There is an open-air market with lots of little stalls and people selling things from shoes for 3-year-olds to dishes and all kinds of stuff.

I walk through there, and I get to the square. The square is just absolutely amazing. I have a little bit of time before my tour, so I start walking into the little alleys. I find that there are these little shops, “Bottega,” they call them, with local products. A lot of them sell pasta and cheese. There’s a fruit and vegetable stand and a fish stand, so there’s a lot going on in that area.

The square was quite lively once I returned to my area, where I would have the tour.

The tour guide meets us and gives us the 12th-century history of the square, how it was built, and how the whole town was built by merchants and their money. It was not quite as rich as Florence, but it was one of the wealthiest city-states in Italy at the time: great architecture everywhere, baroque architecture, and Renaissance architecture all in the same square. She shows us the four main areas in the square as we walk through, and then we walk to the university area. We then walked into the Bottega area, where I first saw the shops. It’s a beautiful little town, well it’s not tiny, because it’s one of the bigger cities in Italy. They are known for their “mortadella”, a type of sausage invented there! They are also known for their tortellini, which was also invented there.

I had an adventure with the trains going back. I decided to go back a little early, which I’m glad I did because the train I ended up on was running an hour late, meaning I would have missed my connection in Faenza to get to Ravenna. So, I had to figure out how to get back to Ravenna. I jumped off at Casa Bolognese and got the train to Ravenna that way, and I made it back to Ravenna by 6:30. Overall, it was a great day. It did start pouring right at the end of my trip when I was waiting for the train, and even in Ravenna, it was pretty cold and windy when I got back.

I thawed out at the B&B, waited 30 minutes, and went back out for dinner. The rain had stopped, and the wind stopped as well. It’s still a little chilly, but it was a great day in Bologna. On my last day in Ravenna had a lovely meal at a local trattoria, a specialty tortellini with a glass of wine

Taking advantage of the rich Tuscan soil and its favorable climate, Etruscans first established a settlement high on a limestone ridge around the third century B.C. as evidenced by the tombs that have been excavated in the region ine which numerous remains of the Etruscans’ typical black pottery have been found. Today this settlement is known as Montepulciano, Tuscany.

A fortress dates back to the 8th century, but for many centuries documentation is sparse and fragmented. When the Romans took over the region they used the area as a winter encampment. Soon defense walls, watch-towers and castles were built, followed by well cultivated estates surrounded by olive groves and vineyards.

From GIROSOLE – Discover Walking Tours of Italy

So I did have a wine tour booked for for the Montepulciano region none of our three big tours were taking us covered that region of wine so I thought I’d do a day trip by myself on Monday. Unfortunately two days before the vendor texted me and said they have to cancel because they don’t have enough people. Instead I looked at the train situation to see if I can go there myself and it looks like there was a train from sienna to Montepulciano and it was about a little over an hour. Perfect!

I head there I get to the Montepulciano train station come to find out that the actual historic town is up on a very tall hill and that’s not where the train station stops so there’s a taxi stand or the train station is completely dead I was lucky it was during the day so I call the taxi and the guy comes in about 15 minutes. We chat a little bit he was playing American music which is interesting he did mention that the taxi ride, the 12 minutes, is going to be 30 euros I was really shocked because everything so far that I’ve paid has been nowhere near that amount.

He also tells me that the trains actually run up there but the more and more the vineyards started making wine they didn’t want it.
Seemed like they didn’t want the trains to be in their area because the old train was just a tiny train and now these trains are massive.

Anyways we pull into the gate of the historic center mind you the views getting up there were just gorgeous. It’s a little cold so the first thing I do is pop in for lunch in a little cafe and have a nice meal and no one really had any heaters on and the building was stone / brick and it was freezing in there.

There is another older American couple eating there as well and they were just loving their food and they were also commenting on how freezing it is. (I digress)

So I see that there’s a grand piazza way up at the top so time to walk all the way to the Grand Piazza.

Walking through all the little alleys and streets with all the shops and restaurants; very beautiful town and the views along the way in the tiny alleys in between the buildings are just gorgeous. I get up to the top and it’s not very busy; I walk around take some pictures.

I see a little tiny trolley that is like a hop on hop off type thing for this little tiny town and the trolley only sits like eight people. I hop on there, it takes you all the way around Montepulciano and it pauses at all the major stops. What a great way to see the city and take some pictures because it is very very hilly and my legs were hurting a little bit because of the up and down.

The kind of wine that they make in this region is called noble wines. it’s kind of a blend between a Sangiovese grape and the local region grapes so I pop into a family-owned winery tasting shop overlooking the hillside.

I mainly went in there for the views and then I decided to do the cheese and wine pairing tasting and it was pretty incredible; the wine was almost like a cab at least the older ones with a lot of oak to them.

l managed to do a little bit of shopping; I found a nice leather jacket for reasonable price and I bought some champagne at local champagne shop; I thought it would be nice to have with Virginia Roger and Traci the next day.

I totally recommend this little town, it’s a little difficult to get up there, and I wish I had more time to actually do some wineries so a day tour would have been really nice but I think we’ll put that on the next trip!

Historic Centre of Siena

Siena is the embodiment of a medieval city. Its inhabitants pursued their rivalry with Florence right into the area of urban planning. Throughout the centuries, they preserved their city’s Gothic appearance, acquired between the 12th and 15th centuries. During this period the work of Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini was to influence the course of Italian and, more broadly, European art. The whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape. From https://whc.unesco.org

So, I come into Siena train station just after 1:30 on the train. I meet a couple of ladies from England, and we kind of hit it off. We start talking about where they’re from and where I’m from.

The one lady was from Cornwall, I told her I’ve actually been there and the other lady was from Kent and I told her I’ve actually been there as well and we just chit-chatted and then she asked if we wanted to share a taxi as they’re going to the historic center. Fine by me! Yes the movie Taken did come to mind, but these ladies were not that type, they were older probably a little bit older than me as well so I didn’t really feel threatened.

Anyway, the taxi from the train station to the historic City center took only 12 minutes and cost just 10 euros, which is the normal price for the touristy city of Siena. And that is by carload, not person. Even more strange, I thought.

The roads are all windy and it’s not really walkable to the City Center from train station. We get dropped off right outside of the main Piazza de Campo, and I see through the apertures in between the buildings that there are a lot of people gathered in the Piazza. I still had my bag, so I thought I’d go straight to my apartment that is right off of Piazza Independencia and go up there to meet my host and her son. The son takes a bag upstairs. Of course, it’s on the second floor cause they’re always on the second or third floor or 5^th floor with no elevator, but I was lucky the young son took my bag up.

They showed me around the apartment, how to use the Wi-Fi, and all of that. It’s a nice place, overlooking the Piazza on one side and a cathedral on the back window. It’s very spacious and nice. I lucked out on that one, so I dropped my bags. It’s time for lunch, so I said I’m going to go straight to the Piazza, and I took a video as I was walking down the stairs to get to the square.

I was just in complete awe at this Piazza, not to mention there were so many people. It was a Sunday, so I was wondering if it was a holiday or what was happening. It was just beautiful and just happened to be a nice sunny day as well so I walk a little bit around the Piazza and then it’s time for lunch I haven’t had any lunch yet so I just sat at one of the restaurants in the Piazza in the sun to enjoy the sun with the glass of wine and some pizza.

Chianti Region Tour (These thoughts/summary is from my friend I traveled with – Traci!)

Chianti Tour (Wine Lovers Tour and Tuscan Scenery):
Monteriggioni
Started at the walled, circular Medieval Castle of Monteriggioni
Learned about its defensive purpose to lookout for armies approaching Siena
Cute village/piazza built inside with a quaint church, which was built the same time as the castle.
Trail next to it is part of the famous Via Francigena; saw a number of hikers along the road and trails.
Took a long drive through the hills and wineries in the Chianti region.
Maurizio Brogioni Winery
Stopped at Maurizio Brogioni’s winery for wine tasting, a tour of the winery and grounds, and a great selfie!! We bought several bottles of wine, olive oil, and Rita got some body care products (I think).
Roger and Virginia were in heaven with the resident dog who kept begging for snacks.
Met a nice, young couple from the states (don’t remember where).
Continued drive through the region and stopped along the way for great pictures of the area.
Castellinuzza e Piuca (at Greve)
Stopped for lunch at this winery for a fresh, homemade meal. It is a farm and farm to table, family run winery.
They are also an agricultural company
Saw a kitty that didn’t want anything to do with us and big white Bull (Chianina – Tuscan cattle; there is a difference with the Italians!)
Ventured into a very small village (Castellinuzza). Petted a sweet kitty, got great views/pics, and even got hailed on! Certainly not Texas sized hail…it was CUTE hail. What stood out is there was no storm happening…just light rain, which plagued us most of the day.
Quick Stop Catelina in Chianti- then back to Siena
Brief stop in this town to walk around. Charming hilltop, medieval village.
Beautiful views
Note: Found a great Chianti at Total Wine made here. It’s yummy!!
Final Stop – and a fan favorite!
Roberto Cavalli’s son Tommaso’s winery
Great guide and beautiful area. She loved us and wanted to hear all about Southfork ranch when she found out we’d all been there and live close by. Big fan of Dallas growing up.
Tried several of their wines, gin, and even some vodka. We all bought wine and gin (not Traci).
Our guide was generous and gave us a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin to take back to the Airbnb in Siena. Very kind.

Super Tuscans (These thoughts/summary is from my friend I traveled with – Traci!)

Interesting drive up to the area; unfortunately, our guide’s driving was a bit rough and Traci was about to blow chunks in the back of the van! Sorry friends. Switching to the front alleviated that.
First stop was San Gigminano
Small, walled medieval town – the City of Beautiful Towers.
Spent time walking through the village and doing a little shopping.
Also part of the Via Francigena.
Second stop Casa Emma winery
Very beautiful winery with outstanding views. Nice restaurant with good food to accompany the wine. We ended up buying a few bottles there as well.
This winery had a couple of Black Roosters!

Brunello Region (These thoughts/summary is from my friend I traveled with – Traci!)

Headed to the Southwest side of Tuscany to the Brunello area.

Terrain was much more like what you see in all the pictures and postcards with the cypress trees lining drives, rolling hills, and more color. Chianti was more lush.

Area has a small number of homes (compared to the US), by design, so everything is really spread out.

First stop Capanna Winery for Brunello Tasting:

Absolutely gorgeous scenery and grounds

Tried four wines. We all liked the Brunello but were split on the vintage year. Ended up buying quite a bit to ship back.

Quick stop at a charming hilltop village of Pienza.

Gorgeous views of the countryside

There was a guy playing cello in the Piazza…stopped to watch him for a bit.

Roger and Virginia bought cheese from a very sweet older couple.

I think V lost her glasses over the side of the wall

Next stop Montalcino

Hilltop village with fantastic view of the Tuscan countryside

Stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Had two reservations to pick from; set menu to choose from what we wanted.

There was some sort of outdoor chocolate festival going on. Walked off our lunch and met back up at the castle.

Final stop was a winery that, honestly, I cannot remember the name. The girls that worked there seemed uninterested in selling the winery, but it could also have been them reading our body language. We were pretty tired at this point.

Didn’t care for the wine so we didn’t buy any, except one Rose to drink at the airbnb

Traci was very happy to find a cat that wanted to be petted. Got her kitty fix.

The winery was owned by an older woman.

Fun guide! She was half French and half Italian, raised in France.

Livorno, they call it “Baby” Venice.

As we arrive in, we look around a big square and a local lady stops us to ask if we wanted some guidance on where to do in her town. We are so surprised that a random local just stopped us to see if we needed help.

We walked around for a bit looking for an open lunch spot. Since we are on the coast, seafood was on the mind for my friends.

We find one of the top seafood restaurants in town.

After Lunch we decide to hit the local farmers market, unfortunately by the time we got there, it was closing up.

We walk around the town until we get to the coast. We take a bus to the other end of the town… Great day!

We decide to leave a little early, I suggest to everyone that Pisa is a stop on the train, should we stop by? I haven’t been in a couple of decades… why not!

Pisa

We jump off in Pisa, and take a bus to the ‘tower’… the area is pretty busy.

But wow, it looks beautiful!

Snack time, overlooking the tower!

Great end to a great day out!

Back to Siena

Ostia (near FCO Airport)

We got into town by Taxi as our train was cancelled! Adventure!

Weather wasn’t great, but our hotel was across from the beach. We walked to a pedestrian area in town for Dinner.

Nice area if the weather was better. Anyway…time to say goodbye to Italy.

Final Reflections

Italy has always been one of my favorite countries. Great history, architecture, people, food and wine!!!

Where can you get a Michelin star rated dish, a glass of wine and dessert for $22 bucks, or a giant bottle of water for 50 cents, nowhere! The Italian people love life, love food, love wine and they live their life focused on these things.

For the first six days or so I traveled by myself I went to the East Coast and stayed in Ravenna and I was able to go to multiple other towns just by taking the train. I felt very safe everywhere and met some cool people. I am loving solo traveling and traveling in Italy was wonderful.

My B&B in Ravenna was so quaint, perfectly located in the old city center, close to train station and the main square and restaurants. The hosts were so friendly, every morning a fresh cup of cappuccino and a great breakfast spread!

Ravenna had a foot court that was more a wine court, but it was built into an old building which was super cool. One afternoon I saw a group of older/retired men just sitting around talking and having wine.

The countryside of Italy is so picturesque, I love taking the train everywhere and just staring out the window!

Wine Country – Tuscany was beautiful. Having been to Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, and other wine areas, I think Tuscany is just serene and peaceful. There are lot more family owned small wineries than the mass production ones. We visited both types, I think its awesome when the wine maker and owner is the one actually serving you wine when we went for a tasting.

This was my 6^th time coming to Italy, with each visit I grow more and more in love with the country and its people! In the less touristy areas, the people are friendlier and not everyone speaks English either, so Google translate came in handy.

I will be visiting many more times!