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It's Harvest Time in Tuscany  

10/01/06 - Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy (Tuscany photo album)

Beautiful Tuscany exceeds our expectations

 
After spending so much time in so many beautiful places, and getting a bit traveled out, neither of us thought we'd be able to get all too excited about Tuscany (I know, does anyone say that when they're on their way to Tuscany?).  But it's impossible not to love it here.  The landscapes, the colors, the light... everywhere you turn looks like a painting.  We checked into our agriturismo (farmhouse inn) and were warmly greeted by our hostess, Sylvia, who had plenty of time for coffee and chatting even though she just had twins three months ago.  It helped that her mama was over to help out.  We found ourselves in a nicely done, very spacious apartment, complete with kitchen - where we dined on much bread, cheese, salami and wine all week.

Our place was in the middle of the Chianti region, which we found to be about as wonderful as Tuscany gets.  We spent our days taking scenic drives, visiting small towns, and of course spending a fair amount of time and money eating and drinking.  Some of our favorite visits were day trips to Siena, Radda in Chianti, Volterra, San Gimingano, Lucca and Montalcino (home of the famous and tasty Brunello wines)... This is a great time of year to visit, the tourist crowds are really quite thin, the grapes are fat (but being harvested), and we are watching the grape leaves turn orange and yellow by the day.


Caroline pats a friend in Greve-in-Chianti

The Duomo in Lucca

 

Montepulciano


Chianti


Church facade in Lucca


Casa Vecchia, our agriturismo in Chianti


Another beautiful Tuscan landscape


The Lady-Cops of Lucca