Catching Trade Winds
  • Blog
  • About
  • Search By Location
  • Store
    • Bulk & Wholesale
    • Shipping Rates
  • Contact Us

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Tuscany: More Than Just Wine

2/21/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve fallen a bit behind on a few of my posts, so I’m taking some time to play catch up. I’ll keep this post short because the snow-capped peaks of Patagonia and the loud crashes of a cracking glacier are beaconing me to put my computer away and come outside (more to come on Patagonia in the next few weeks). 

Given that my last post was on Mendoza, I figured now is a great time to tell you about another wine region we visited, Tuscany:

Tuscany was the perfect place to get sick. 

No one ever likes to get sick, but when you travel for such an extended period of time, it is bound to happen eventually. For me, eventually came while we were in Tuscany and I can’t imagine a better place for it. So as you may guess, my experience of this wine region was quite a bit different from that of Mendoza, Argentina.

We rented the most adorable little cottage apartment in the itsy-bitsy-tini-tiny town of Piloni, just outside of the little bit larger, but still super small town of Roccastrada, in Southern Tuscany. The front door opened to a small patio in a lovely vegetable and herb garden. And the rolling hillsides of Tuscany dazzled us in the distance. The place was small, but well-equipped and felt like home, but cozier.
Picture
Picture
We weren’t there but 12 hours before I started to feel the aches and chills set in. I had been anticipating and looking forward to this week for so long. Before we ever left California, friends asked me, what do you look forward to most about your trip? My answer without hesitation was always: I can’t wait to chill out in Tuscany for a week. 

Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed when I felt the onset of the bug. But it became a blessing in disguise. Of all the places we visited and all the places we stayed, I can’t think of one other place in which I would rather have been sick. So I spent a lot of the week reading, resting, and simply staring at the beauty of Tuscany.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
As my body allowed, we found some low-key ways to enjoy the countryside. Tom booked a fantastic deal on a car rental (about $40 per day including our gas), so some days we just took off and drove around the winding roads.  It felt a little strange to drive after so many weeks of buses, trains, and airplanes. We stopped in quaint Italian villages nestled in the hillsides with stone buildings, old women, and lots of cats. 

I don't recommend visiting Tuscany without a car; you'll miss the little villages in its nooks and crannies.
Picture
Picture
We also stumbled upon a small natural hot spring (thanks to  a tip from our airbnb host). We didn't know before we went, but Southern Tuscany is sprinkled with these natural baths. So we basked in the sun and sulfur water. While there are commercial pools and spas that require an entry fee, the one we visited was free.
Picture
Then, our host Raf, sent us on a quest to fill a 5L glass jug full of wine from his friend’s winery. Apparently, “just down the road” means a 45-minute drive. When we finally arrived at the family-run winery, the owner and vintner was just about to mount his tractor to head back out to the fields. We pulled up in our rental car, rolled down our window, and in a messy mix of English and very broken Italian tried to ask him if we could buy some wine. 

He most definitely did not understand until I reached down and held up our empty glass jug. “Ahhh!” his eyes lit up and he understood. He quickly ushered us into the room with the wine vats and gave us samples of his two options, Sangiovese and Cabernet. We chose the Sangiovese and filled our entire jug for just 8 Euro (about $11 USD).

Still recovering, my body wasn't up for wine tasting, but this jug kept Tom plenty busy. 
Picture
On our last night, we enjoyed a delicious home-cooked vegetarian meal prepared by our hosts, Raf and Lila, with fresh ingredients from their garden. Seasoned with good conversation, it was the perfect end to a surprisingly simple week.
Picture
Tuscany didn't end up as the winery-hopping, vino-tasting week we had planned, but we did get to chill out in Tuscany after all and as a result I think our experience was more authentically Tuscan than we could have ever planned.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Shop here.

    Author

    I'm Jaime. My husband is Tom. Suburbanites, backpackers, and expats...we've been them all!

    But no matter where we are or what we are doing, we are always looking to travel and see the world, and taste it too. Did I mention we love to eat and drink?


    In 2013, we quit our jobs to travel for over a year, which is how this blog originally began. Currenlty, we live and work in Australia, enjoying the expat life.

    Our latest adventure includes importing and selling fun, quirky souvenirs that will, hopefully, help you remember (or inspire!) a trip of your own!

    Categories

    All
    About
    Argentina
    Australia
    Bolivia
    Budget & Expenses
    Camino De Santiago
    Chile
    Colombia
    Ecuador
    Europe
    Food & Drinks
    France
    Inspiration & Philosophy
    Italy
    Lessons Learned
    New South Wales
    North America
    Peru
    Portugal
    South America
    Spain
    Trip Preparation
    Turkey
    United Kingdom
    Uruguay
    USA
    Victoria

    Archives

    July 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    RSS Feed

Subscribe today for updates and discount Alerts! 

Photos used under Creative Commons from mikecogh, Kris Krug, Images_of_Money, Sh4rp_i
  • Blog
  • About
  • Search By Location
  • Store
    • Bulk & Wholesale
    • Shipping Rates
  • Contact Us