It’s finally Spring Break! We had a hard time choosing where to go this year. Originally, we had booked a Red Sea Cruise to Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Sadly, this was cancelled due to current events in the region so it was back to the drawing board. I actually had several hotels booked across the continent because we couldn’t decide where to go. In the end, we decided on a long road trip through Italy and it was perfect.
Despite out late night out in Stuttgart the night before, we somehow were up and in the car by 7:15 on Saturday and waiting at the dog kennel by 7:30 to drop off Slinky and Daisy, and then on our way.
With traffic, it took about nine hours to reach our first stop, Florence. Most of the Alps are still covered in snow, so pretty much all north/south traffic is funneled through two tunnels and it really choked up the middle part of our journey.
It actually snowed on our way through Switzerland so we were so happy as we reached Italy, to see lots of sunshine and feel the much warmer temps.
After we got checked into the hotel, we set off on an evening walk around town. We walked down the Arno River to the Ponte Vecchio, and then over to Piazza della Signoria.
There, we picked a restaurant on the square and had a dinner of Chianina steak and Chianti to relax after the long drive. Chianina beef is native to Tuscany and cut “three fingers thick” and served rare. Ours came on a cooking stone so we were able to cook it slightly more and it was so good.
Sunday, we were up bright and early. All museums in Florence are closed on Mondays so we had to fit everything into one day. I actually have been to Florence before with friends about 15 years ago. And, our one full day happened to be a Monday, so we missed everything.
Our first stop was the Accademia Gallery to see the Statue of David. The Accademia Gallery itself is really small and after viewing David, we walked through the remaining exhibits in just a few minutes.
After Accademia, we walked towards Florence’s famous Duomo. As we arrived, the bells were ringing to start Palm Sunday mass. As the service began, it was broadcasted to all those in the piazza and surrounding streets; it was so pretty. We noticed so many people carried palms the rest of the day to signify Palm Sunday.
Afterwards, we toured the Uffizi Gallery. We spent about two hours making our way through. I bought a book at the entrance and was able to navigate all of us to the highlights within the gallery; the Botticellis (my favorites), Da Vincis, Michelangelos, and many more. Brooklyn is studying Art History this year so she was able to walk us through several of the masterpieces and give us a little more insight into the Art. It was really cool to have her be our guide.
When we were done in the gallery, we had a quick lunch on Piazza di Signore. Matt had been hoping for a really beautiful tomato and mozzarella panini he had seen in a restaurant window. Sadly, he accidentally ordered the tomato and mozzarella tramezzino and was hugely disappointed when he received half a crust-less white bread sandwich. For the rest of us, it was kind of funny (sorry, Matt!) The search continued for a fresh tomato and mozzarella panini.
When we were done with lunch, we walked around the old town. Ryan made sure to guide us towards a stop at the Lego store; once he sees anyone walking around town with a yellow bag, it’s like he has tunnel vision until he gets to visit the store.
When we were done with Lego, we walked down by the river, this time in the daylight. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio to the Altarno, Florence’s neighborhood across the river.
We toured the Altarno neighborhood and then stopped at a gelato shop on Piazza dei Pritti, in front of the Palazzo. The weather was so gorgeous and sunny and it was so hot; we took our jackets off! The piazza was filled with people laying out in the sun. At the shop, we had gelato and I had THE BEST Aperol Spritz I’ve ever had.
When we were just about done with our gelato and Aperol, a cold front rushed in. Like, really rushed; it was so fast! It was suddenly windy and threatening rain. Everyone laying out in the square ran and the piazza cleared out. It was already mid-afternoon so we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick nap.
After our nap, we rushed up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the sunset. It had been raining all afternoon and let up shortly before we arrived and we were treated to a glorious sunset. It was so pretty!
Monday morning, we hit the road again for Pisa. The weather was beautiful and sunny and we arrived early enough to get really close parking. There’s not much to see in Pisa besides the tower and Duomo, and both are conveniently located within a park called Piazza dei Miracoli.
We walked almost right up to the Leaning Tower, took a look, snapped a couple of posed pictures, and started to head out.
As we started to leave, we heard a band coming. We waited a few minutes and a religious procession bringing Easter relics proceeded across the square and into the Duomo. It was really cool to see the guards in their medieval gear, taking part in this medieval tradition.
When we left Pisa, we headed into the northern Tuscan hills. Everything we saw on the sides of the road looked like it was out of a movie. So many hill-topped towns and cedar lined driveways; it was so pretty.
Our first stop was Volterra, which is about an hour from Pisa. We walked around the old town, starting at the main square, Piazza dei Priori, then making our way to the far east end of town.
We stopped at a tapas restaurant and had some snacks and wine. Then, walked all the way back to the opposite end of town.
The best views were from the west end, where we could walk along the wall and see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. After we got some photos, we headed back to the car and made our way to the next stop.
Even though the Twilight series has a lot of scenes in Volterra, there were no references at all to the movie in the town. Other cities, like Dubrovnik, have grasped onto their ten seconds of TV/film fame and it borders on tacky, so I thought it was nice that the town has virtually ignored this. And, turns out they filmed the movie scenes in Montepulciano anyways.
When we left Volterra, our next stop was San Gimignano, about an hours’ drive away. San Gimignano is another hill town, known for its encircling medieval walls and twelve towers.
We arrived around 4pm, which meant most of the bus tours were loading up and leaving, and the town was wonderfully cleared out. Our first stop was for some aperitifs along the ramparts with a view into the valley below.
After our aperitifs, we did some shopping and walked around the old town, checking out San Gimignano’s towers.
When we finished up our visit in San Gimignano, we headed to Siena, where we based ourselves while in Tuscany. We arrived late so got some of the best pizza we’ve had from a carry out restaurant down the street.
On Wednesday, we woke up to pouring rain. We set out anyways on our day into southern Tuscany, which is known for its wine. We started in Montalcino, known for its Brunello wine. It’s another hilltop village but unfortunately, it was shrouded in clouds when we arrived. The parking lot was at the highest point in town; we parked and started walking down towards the center. It turns out the steep stones that make up the streets are very slippery when wet and I slipped and slid right down a patch of sidewalk. Luckily, I was unharmed, except for my ego.
Also luckily for me, there was hardly anyone around; everyone was taking shelter from the rain. We decided to do the same and took shelter in some enotecas, sampling the wine and to nurse my self-esteem,
Our first wine shop issued us a “credit card” that we could insert into slots along a wall. Each slot corresponded to a different type of wine. The shopkeeper walked us through the different types and production styles. It was really interesting and fun. We stopped at a few other wine shops, hiked back up to the car, and headed to our next destination.
Our next step was Montepulciano, about another hour’s drive away. I was really looking forward to it after serving Montepulciano wine while waitressing for 15 years 😂. Unfortunately, the weather was just not working with us and it continued to pour rain. We did a wine tasting and then some wine shopping and headed back to Siena.
When we got back to Siena, the rain had tapered off so we took a walk around the old town.
First, we saw the main square, the Piazza del Campo where the Palio, Siena’s summer horse race is held twice a year.
Then we walked further out into the town, shopping, and looking for a place to eat. We let Ryan pick the restaurant and of course, ended up at a Chinese restaurant.
We finished up the evening with some of our newly acquired wine and cards back at the hotel.
We (ok, I) chose these hill-towns to visit, mostly based on Rick Steves’ recommendations, and based on the wine I wanted to shop for. Our favorite “town” was definitely Volterra, but this probably also had a lot to do with the weather. Siena is a “city” but also makes the favorite list. We would love to re-visit the region and see Montalcino and Montepulciano when its not pouring rain, and maybe a little bit warmer in April. We’d also love to check out some towns that are new to us.
Siena was a great place to make our base. There was lots to see there and although its a city, still felt more like a charming large town. The Marriott there definitely sweetened the deal for me, as well as the large variety of restaurants. Having Chinese food in Italy sounds kind of dumb, but 3 days into our trip, we were all looking for a break from pizza and pasta. 😅 We appreciated the variety.
Gilcrests Abroad 