Under The Tuscan Sun

En route from Cinque Terres to Tuscany we decided to stop in Pisa along the way so Natalie and Martin could see the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa. While babysitting the bags at the train station we discovered that there would be no train to pick us up for the remainder of our journey. Thirty minutes later when Nat and Martin returned we made the mad dash across town (on foot) to the central station, arriving just in time for our train.
A brief stopover in Florence found us with some wheels and more importantly, Natalie’s Mom, Anita. What is a visit to Tuscany without a stop at the “instamatic wine dispensary” in Greve. Yes, this is the one we’ve already visited two other times in the past year but we couldn’t resist introducing the gang to this wine-lover’s paradise. With purple teeth we set out to our home for the next week. Apparently having four backseat drivers does not improve one’s odds of navigating (especially when they’re all wined-up), as we had some difficulty finding our villa. At last we arrived at our quaint little farmhouse set on a working olive orchard. We were greeted by our fast-talking, sharp witted Welsh hostess, who proved to be invaluable in organizing wine tours, food, and more wine tours.
In between all the Brunellos, Chianti’s, Supertuscans, and Nobiles we managed to squeeze in visits to Siena, Florence, and San Giminiano. We also stopped in at an Abbey to listen to some Gregorian chanting. Although harmonious, the monks seemed a little distracted: one turning up late in his track pants, another cracking his knuckles, and of course there was a nose picker amongst them as well.
Our visit concluded with a delicious meal in the company of our fellow guests at the olive orchard all seated along a huge farmhouse table under the Tuscan sky.