A Month in Bella Italia

[Flutterby]

And so we had come to my last day in Italy. We had decided to get out of the city and head into the Tuscan hills. We had a booked a wine tasting at a little vineyard just outside of a town called Greve in Chianti. Greve is the principal town in the Chianti wine district which stretches south of Florence to just north of Siena. It's a very quaint, medieval town about 30kms out of Florence which took about 45 mins by bus.

It was a Saturday so it was market day. There have been markets here on Saturdays since the 1500s!

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The vineyard was about 2kms out of town, which we had to walk...and it was a swelteringly hot day! But the scenery was lovely so well worth it!

The outskirts of the town.

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Getting into the country.

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The road was getting steeper!

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Typical scenes in Chianti.

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We finally reached our destination after what felt like a marathon walk due to the heat!

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[Richprins]

Women and shopping...around the world!


Not a bad grape harvest there!

Nice exercise, Flutts!

[Flutterby]

Yes, one good thing about all the walking we did in Italy was that I didn't gain any holiday weight!

[Lisbeth]

Beautiful typical Tuscany landscape and you were there just before the harvest so even the vineyards were looking interesting = full of grapes

Well done with the heat and all. It must have been tough

[Pumbaa]

The Tuscany landscape looks Beautiful, Flutterby

I can imagine how hot it was

[Flutterby]

Thanks Lis and Pumbaa. Tuscany is beautiful!

[Flutterby]

Viticcio Winery.

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It was a lovely setting!

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We were given a full tour of the vineyards and the cellars.

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Their oldest bottle of wine is from 1921!

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Our tour included a wine tasting and some antipasti which we had in this beautiful courtyard.

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There were a few other people on the tour and we got talking to an English couple, who had spent some time in South Africa. After a few glasses of wine we really didn't feel like walking back down to the town, but luckily our new friends had a hire car and offered us a lift!

When we got back into town we were quite hungry and we found a lovely restaurant overlooking the town square, where we had our best meal of the whole trip...a risotto with brinjals and marrows. It was delicious!!

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It was the perfect way to spend my last day in Italy. We caught the bus back to Florence, and after packing my suitcases we found a little pizzeria in an area that was full of Italians and ordered a pizza to share.

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I left the apartment at 4am the next morning for my marathon trip back home....Florence to Rome, Rome to Dubai, and finally Dubai to Joburg....it only took 24 hours!!

It was the most amazing experience I have ever had, full of very special memories, and I can't wait to return!!

[Mel]

Leaving with all the highlights of the Italian cuisine in your tummy. Sounds good
But you definitely needed that strength judging by your itinerary

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It is quite a bit of work to do all those pix and of course the many, many info you provided to!

[Richprins]

Lovely food pics again, Flutts!

I wonder what the wine and grapes cost, or if they are more for export like in SA?

Thanks for this extensive report, it has really enriched our lives IMO!

[Lisbeth]

What a lovely spot, the vinery, and perfect for a glass of wine or two with yummy salami, cheese and raw ham to go with them (plural, because I am sure that it was more than one glass )

This makes me want to go back to Tuscany/Umbria, where I haven't been for ages *sigh*, if one day I can walk more than now

You really managed to get the most out of your trip. Very well prepared and executed, but I am afraid that the European way of life has got you under its spell. Remember that it was a holiday and not the real thing and it was summer. (Just trying to make you return on the ground )

Excellent TT and very informative especially for those who have never been to Europe. Well done, Fluttie