A tour of Tuscany
It was Showtime for us—properties to visit, bucolic roads to travel, sights
to see and charming little village trattorie, ristoranti and enoteche to go
to for food and refreshment. Our itinerary included four days and four
nights in the Tuscan countryside during which we would call on two dozen or
so villas and actually stay in three of them—a guest house at villa
Impruneta in the town of the same name, then villa Isabella (formerly villa
San Virginia) on the San Stefano estate near San Gimignano, and finally
villa Aiola outside San Casciano Dei Bagni.
Driving through Tuscany and experiencing the region’s towns and hinterlands
is fairly indescribable. Highways and autostrade are fabulous and local
roads are well-maintained. The scenery is dramatic, virtually breathtaking.
As we motored from villa to villa we encountered one calendar-worthy photo
op after another. The rolling landscape and the vistas it creates are
endlessly beautiful, and off the beaten track they are all yours.
Our locales included Impruneta and the village of Galluzzo, just outside
Florence, then a number of places in and about Chianti such as San
Gimignano, Colle Val D’Elsa, Montaonine, Montespertoli, Siena, Montalcino,
San Casciano Dei Bagni and Cetona.
Before returning to Rome we engineered a
side trip to the Maremma coast and Monte Argentario. All that, without ever
leaving Tuscany!
Our dining warrants some discussion, if only to whet your own appetites.
Ecco qui! In Impruneta we had dinner at “Il Battibecco,” where Suzanne
enjoyed a salad of local porcini mushrooms with fresh grated parmesan, and
followed that with filet mignon and white truffle sauce; our wine, a
Sicilian red. The next night near villa Isabella we went to “Casi Masi,”
where we ordered an appetizer of pasta with ricotta and spinach followed by
a salad smothered in mozzarella and truffles. Crème brûlée followed. In the
village of Montaione we ended up at “Carpe Diem,” where I had a salad of
smoked goose breast followed by spring lamb with roasted potatoes. Fabulous!
When we stayed at Aiola, the caretaker Julia prepared us pasta with cherry
tomatoes and beef filet over arugula, then a dessert plate of fresh pears
and pecorino cheese.
