There are places you like and then there are those you never want to leave.
Tuscany was
for me was a journey of the soul where I left a bit of my heart behind. A lot
of people just end up going to Florence and skip the rest of the Tuscan dream…to
them I want to say big mistake.
We spent 3
days in Florence, 1 day in Pisa and 1 day driving around Chianti, Sienna and
San Gimignano. If I had known how much I am going to love Tuscany, I would have
easily skipped the Venice part of our Italy itinerary. Venice evokes strong
emotions in people where you either love it or hate it (I fall in second
category), whereas you won’t be able to stop yourself from loving Tuscany.
There are
the Duomos and palaces and museums which one can find on any to do list for
Tuscany but what I have put down below is a list of my personal favourites:
Botticelli at the Uffizi – We went to Florence after Rome and by then I honestly
was done with my share of Mother and Child paintings that I could admire. Even
the best versions at Uffizi just got a passing glance from me. But what made me
stop and stare were the 2 paintings - Birth of Venus and Spring by Sandro Botticelli. The glorious Venus is captivating
and so is the explanation/story of both the paintings. I picked up a copy of
the Spring from the Museum shop so now I can admire it at my home also.
Ponte Vecchio – It is a medieval arch bridge
used to cross the Amo River. According the legend if lovers attach a lock to
the bridge and throw the key in the river then their love lasts forever. I was
not in love with anyone during the trip and did not fall for the romantic vibes
but what I loved was the music performances by the street artists and the
abandon with which people join to both dance and sing. I sat there with a cup
of coffee just crowd watching and had a lovely time. Right next to the Ponte
Vecchio, one can but the famous Italian jewellery. Though I did have the
budgets to buy but window shopping was a lot of fun.
Wine Tasting at Castello di Verrazzano in Chianti – We took a car Florence and worked out
an itinerary where early lunch was in Chianti, noon coffee in Sienna and Dinner
at San Gimignano. The only way to describe my wine tasting experience at Castello
di Verrazzano is to say that I stuffed
myself with as much wine as my system could accept without passing out. This is
the biggest vineyard in the Chianti region and they do a brilliant wine tasting
where the food (even vegetarian in my case) is as good as the wines. The
tasting ended with almond biscotti dipped in holy (sweet) wine. We had taken
the Chianti Tradition tour priced at 34.00 Euros per person and it was money
well spent.
Siena Cathedral – I saw a lot of Cathedrals and Duomos
during out Italy trip but my hands down favourite is the Siena Cathedral with
its medieval Gothic architecture. In layman terms it’s a black and white church
with stories being told through a stunning mosaic floors. If we had seen this
Cathedral before all others I might have not realised how unique it is. Also
Siena houses some brilliant stores where one can pick gorgeous pieces of
pottery and jewellery. We ended the Siena trip with a coffee at Piazza Del
Campo and I couldn’t help thinking what the place would look like during the horse races for Palio di Siena. Maybe can plan a trip around it someday J
Medieval architecture at San Gimignano – It is one of those places
where I felt that I had time travelled and I actually kept looking over my
shoulder for some knights in shining armour to glide in on their white horses.
But what we missed initially and then started eerily haunting us as daylight
deemed was the Vessel Exhibit by Sculptor Antony Gormley.
Scattered through the very small town of San Gimignano are life size statues of
naked men in red. First one we saw was perched on top of a building and for a
wild moment we wondered if someone was trying to jump as it takes a couple of
minutes to realise it’s a statue. Once we got over the initial surprise it was
a lot of fun scouting the medieval streets for more such figures.
Leaning Tower
of Pisa – You can’t be couple of hours from one of the worldly wonders and not
go and pay homage. We went to Pisa because if felt wrong not to do so but were
not that excited about. It ended up being a great experience actually as the
feel of climbing a world renowned monument and being on top of a tower that leans
is something else. The scientific explanation about the lean is very
interesting and would suggest that you sit through it before visiting the
tower. Also the city of Pisa is young and vibrant and offers good food and
shopping options.
There is so much
more to love honestly and if I ever decide to become a full time travel writer
then I will dedicate pages and pages to Tuscany. I have been told that if I
loved Tuscany so much, I will enjoy Cinque
Terre and Capri/Amalfi also a lot. Hopefully the next idyllic Italian sojourn
is not too far away.
