WHY GO: Rolling hills and local wine. End of. FOR HOW LONG: 3 - 4 days, a week for a relaxing retreat WHAT'S MY BUDGET: Mid range WHERE TO STAY: Chianti region, hands down. GETTING AROUND: Cycle if you've got calves of steel, otherwise car LANGUAGE: Italiano - download Google translate before! More rural, means less English We head straight up to Tuscany after Rome. (With a sleep pitstop in a lovely forest in Grosseto.). And it was totally different. The more time we spent in Italy, the more obvious the different regions became, every region felt like a brand new country!
I didn't know much about Tuscany before heading here, which meant when we saw it, I was absolutely blown away. If you avoid following the highways, you will see some incredible sights. Much to my boyfriend's annoyance, I wanted to stop at pretty much every lay-by, and at least three in between. I totally couldn't believe it. Vineyards for DAYS. Chianti was my favourite. If it wasn't for the van we have done a lot more wine tasting. Probably a blessing in disguise. If you do have a week, Tuscany is a wine tasting and bike ride goldmine. But with all those fun downhills, remember there's always an up... These hills are a challenge so consider yourself warned. Get yourself to Chianti in Greves, the north entry gate of the whole region. Full of friendly village vibes. We even broke down here, and a charming local who didn't speak any English, still helped jump start us! We went to Mangiando Mangiando and this was my favourite meal in Italy (and that's saying something). But save some room, you'll need some gelato from another place in the square for your walk up to Montefioralle, via the Museo San Francesco. It's a beautiful stroll which looks down over the village. Before you move on, make sure you go to Antica Macelleria Falorni to pick up some salami for dinner... Or go for all the tasters. Best salami I've had EVER.
There's a few campsites in Chianti, few and far between. I don't think any of them could catch up to the standards set by Camping Panorama del Chianti. This place was everything I look for in a site. Middle of nowhere, every pitch had a view over the hills, amazing staff who can't do enough for you, and (get ready, this is the highlight). They. Make. Their. Own. Wine. I don't know how else I can express my love for this place, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I don't mean this post to be so "BEST EVER"ish, I hate to come across preachy. But I think you get it? Chianti is ace. Florence on the other hand... Was not my favourite. It seems like I'm alone on this thought though. Don't get me wrong, the cathedral was stunning. And I was gutted that the walk along the Dome was fully booked for the following four days. This is definitely something worth booking in advance from here, because I think this had the potential to totally change my mind. Tuscany was perfect at picturing the laid back village lifestyle, and Florence didn't fit that bill for me. If you're into your art you will of course look at it with completely different eyes, you should go check out: Uffizi Gallery
Ponte Vecchio (actually go and see this anyway, it's pretty cool) Or even more interestingly, the places mentioned on this blog But for me, once I had got over the beauty of the cathedral... I was sort of done. We struggled to find anywhere that wasn't a tourist trap to eat and there were so many high end shops which didn't seem to fit in with the Tuscan message.
Back to the love though, Lucca. Pure Lucca love. Another awesome little village. The historic city walls made it really stand out for me, and I was sucked straight back into Tuscan vacuum. If you're lucky enough to be spending longer in Tuscany and craving some extra civilisation, this is where you should to head too. Have a picnic whilst strolling the ancient city walls. Meander through the narrow lanes to the micro brewery and local shops. Hire bikes to explore surrounding life. But before you head back off, grab some focaccia from Forno a vapore Amedeo Giusti. It's where the locals go, so you know it's the good stuff!
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