Under the Tuscan Sun: Part Two

Since we returned home from our honeymoon, everywhere I look I see Italy.  The girls on America's Next Top Model are doing shoots in Rome on all of the crumbling rocks we leaned against to eat our sandwiches.  20/20 just had a special on "The Secrets of the Sistine Chapel" that we watched, squealing the entire time because, "Hey, that's our hotel!" "Look, we saw that statue!"  Even Dr. Who took his companion to Pompeii on volcano day, just so Colby and I could jump up and down in our seats when they showed the interiors of villas and made cheesy Ancient Rome jokes that we so totally get now!  I don't know if we're just more aware of all of these Italian connections that have always been around now, or if there's some kind of conspiracy at work to remind me of how much I miss Italy every single day.

On our third day in Florence, we woke up early and headed out into the cool, grey, rainy day to meet our winery tour guide at the Ponte alle Grazie.  Due to a combination of a miscommunication and the terrible Florentine traffic, we ended up shivering under our umbrellas for 45 minutes waiting for the silver van.  Gillian, our driver and guide for the tour was incredibly apologetic when she eventually arrived, and we happily climbed into the van to enjoy the beautiful 20 minute drive to Chianti.

We arrived at Castello di Verrazzano, and were absolutely blown away by the romantic beauty of the rolling mist cloaking the endless fields of grape vines dotted with towering ancient castles and tiny cottages.  We had selected the Executive Wine Tour (much like an Executive Transvestite) so we began our day with a tour of the grounds, and were then led through the interior of the winery where we heard about the history of the castel, the process of how one becomes certified as an official Chianti vintner, and then moved on to the highlight of the tour--lunch and the wine tasting!

Tip #1:  How to properly "taste" wine.  I've been to a number of wine tastings in my life, but never before have I been taught how to taste and really appreciate what I was drinking.  Gillian took a moment to explain the process, and it made a huge difference in our experience.  First, lift the glass using only the stem--don't allow your hand to cup the bowl!  Bring the lip of the glass to your face, and allow it to completely envelop your nose and then smell for a few seconds.  Then lower the glass, and swirl it vigorously, then repeat the smelling step.  Make a note of how drastically the scent changes--I was actually able to pick up on the fruity and spicy scents that I've never been able to detect in wines before.  Once you feel you have an appreciation for the scent, take a sip and then swish it around your mouth like a mouthwash, allowing yourself to taste the wine in all of the different areas of your mouth, front, back, sides, gums, and palate.  Then, if you're a professional, you should spit and rinse your mouth or eat some bread, and if you're me, you swallow and then eat some bread anyway because damn, you're hungry!

We were given a glass of their sparkling white wine to enjoy before the tasting began, and then were led through their different reds--their table wine, Chianti, and Chianti reserve.  Once the official tasting was over, the party began.  We had toasted bread with garlic and their amazing Castello di Verrazzano olive oil, a mixed salad, sliced meats, pasta, and grilled sausages.  The wine was flowing freely and the six of us on the tour began to really loosen up and have a good time getting to know each other.  Lunch ended with a block of deliciously sharp Parmesan chased with a spoonful of incredible balsamic vinegar and almond biscotto dipped into a glass of Vino Santo--a sweet white wine.  To wash down our meals, we were each given a glass of grappa and then grappa reserve.

Tip #2:  Really be prepared and understand what you're drinking when you take a sip of grappa.  I was just thinking that it was a kind of slightly stronger wine, and it was served in a shot glass, so I picked up that glass of grappa and shot it straight down.  Oh my God.  I don't remember anything after the grappa.  While the drink is made of grapes, it is essentially a legal moonshine--a liquid distilled from the skins of grapes leading to a drink that can be up to 160 proof.  It tastes like taking a sip of rubbing alcohol and feels like doing three shots of tequila.

When we had all finished our eating and drinking, we were each given a pot of the castle's honey and then loaded back into the van and brought back to our respective hotels.  I was completely toasted and filled to the brim with delicious fattening foods, so even though it was just a little past 2:30, we collapsed into bed and I didn't wake up until 6 o'clock the next morning.  I think it's safe to say that I don't handle my liquor as well as I once did!

 

Luckily I was refreshed and recovered by the next morning and we headed to the station to catch the train to Pisa for a half day.  Once more, it was raining for the duration of our train ride, but thankfully, once we arrived in Pisa, the skies cleared and the sun eventually began to peek through the clouds.  Pisa itself was not a terribly attractive city, we joked that it was a good thing their tower began to lean, because aside from that the town doesn't have much to recommend itself.  We made the 30 minute walk from the train station, and seeing that tower leaning crazily off kilter was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.

It's another one of those things where you can see all of the pictures in the world, hear about the tower as a cultural icon, and know in your head that it is a tower that is leaning 4 degrees off center and still standing, and still be absolutely blown away when you see it.  I just kept looking at Colby with surprise in my eyes repeating over and over, "It's leaning!  It's really leaning!"  We spent about an hour walking around the Campo dei Miracoli, entering the Duomo for a few minutes and gazing at the baptistery (we were to cheap to pay the money to go inside) and then most of our time gawking at that crazy leaning tower.

After we had our fill of the leaning tower, we wandered around the streets of Pisa in search of Galileo's house, and just when we were about to give up, we happened to glance upward, and there was the modest sign in Italian quietly proclaiming the birthplace of Galileo Galilei.  Once we'd taken a few pictures, we felt like we'd spent enough time in Pisa, so we stopped for lunch on the way back to the station and then took the train back to Florence.

Tip #3:  There are quite a few delis and cafes where you can buy simple but delicious sandwiches, pizzas and calzones for 2-6 Eur.  We almost exclusively ate those sandwiches and pizzas for lunch and I highly recommend finding one of these shops and then taking your lunch out to a piazza to eat.  In some of the shops you can eat inside, but you will be charged an additional 1-3 Eur for the privilege of sitting down.  If you want to eat inside, be sure to ask in advance if you'll be charged extra just so that you'll be prepared for your bill.

That afternoon we visited Santa Croce church, also called  "Westminster Abbey of Florence" as it is the final resting place of a number of prominent Italians including Machiavelli, Gailileo, and Michelangelo.  After our tour of the church I went in search of some leather to bring back home and found a beautiful red leather overnight bag marked down 50%, and when I still hesitated, the shopkeeper took off another 50 Eur.  We attempted to bring our laundry to a laundromat, but were completely stumped by the process, so instead we spent a romantic evening in our hotel room washing our socks and underwear in the bathroom sink.

Tip #4:  Buy your leather in Florence!  There's a leather school in Santa Croce, and while we were there on a day when they were closed, it is the best place in Florence to watch the leathermakers at work.  Outside of Santa Croce there is an endless sea of leather shops that come highly recommended, and be sure to ask if you can have the VAT removed from your total price if they don't automatically do so.  I found my bag at a shop called La Torre on Via Dei Cimatori 20/r (near the Duomo--heading back toward the river), and there were a number of comparable shops in that area.

The next day, was our fifth and last day in Florence and we decided to take it easy.  We didn't wake up until around 9 o'clock and then headed to the Science Museum tucked away between the Arno River and the Ufizzi.

Tip #5:  Unless you're extremely interested in exhibits about how light and telescopes work, I would skip the Science Museum.  Colby was mildly entertained, and seeing two of Galileo's own telescopes was fairly interesting, but neither of us felt that it was worth the 8 Eur entrance price.

After the Science Museum we walked over to San Lorenzo church to visit the Medici chapel, and shock of all shocks, the church was covered in scaffolding and surrounded by construction workers.  Still, the chapel turned out to be a very peaceful and beautiful retreat.  The best part was Michelangelo's New Sacristy, housing the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent, his brother Giuliano, and Lorenzo's two sons, all beautifully carved by Michelangelo just before he had to go into hiding.  The sacristy itself was architected by Michelangelo, and its design is so ethereal and beautiful.

The rain was beginning to fall again after we had finished at the chapel, so we got lunch and gelato and headed back to the hotel to wait for the rain to pass.  Later that afternoon we headed back out to try visiting the Boboli Gardens by the Pitti Palace, stopping off to pet the nose of a brass warthog to ensure that we would return to Florence someday.  Unfortunately, once we arrived at the gardens they had already stopped allowing people in, so we decided to wander back to Piazzale Michelangelo.

Tip #6: Keep in mind that although many sites and museums publish one closing time, they'll actually stop admitting people in up to 30 minutes or an hour prior to that time.  For example, we knew that the gardens closed at 6:30, so we thought we would just spend 30 or 40 minutes there before closing time, but they had already closed the gates.

We did have a wonderful walk to the Piazzale though, deciding to say on the Oltrarno side of the river and really seeing a beautiful, far less touristy side of Florence.  We saw some beautiful villas where the rich folk lived along the river and made fools of ourselves by the old city walls.  That night we ate at an absolutely amazing trattoria, Del Fagioli, where the menu was entirely in Italian and we basically threw our taste buds at the mercy of our waiter.

Florence was by far the hardest city to leave.  I think we stayed long enough that we began to feel like it was a little home away from home, and I loved the sort of small town feel to what was really a bustling, beautiful city.  It was the perfect way to recover from Rome before heading down to the south of Italy where we would spend the next few days desperately seeking sunshine!

Comments

[katelin]

Yesss you did the picture with the leaning tower, I love it! :)

[Tipp]

I would have been totally useless after that wine tasting. Props to you for staying awake!

You know, they say the professional travelers do the same thing with their socks and underwear. It is the only way to go!

I LOVE the pics of you both holding up the leaning tower!

[Kateastrophe]

I am SO JEALOUS. I spent all of like, six hours in Florence and four hours in Pisa. I need more!!!

[sophie]

Wonerful! The wine tssting sounds marvelous. Just wait until you are 42 and see how you hold your liquor. Sheesh.

[Caro]

I love the picture of you and Colby washing your clothes :) Hilarious!

[Celia]

I am LOVING these entries! You pictures and wonderful and fun. It totally makes me want to go to Italy to try out all the tips.

[Girl, Dislocated]

Forget guide books. If I ever go to Italy, I'm just going to print out these posts.

And the leaning tower and laundry pictures are SO cute and hilarious!

[La]

Your photos are absolutely breathtaking, and it looks like you had such a fantastic time. I'm so glad!

Also, I'm sorry I've been MIA - your blog fell off my google reader somehow - I thought you hadn't been posting, so I'm so glad I stopped by the old fashioned way!

:)

[RisibleGirl]

I've been holding off on reading your Italy trip until the weekend, so I can truly savor your trip- although this does not mean that you're getting out of a personal slide show at our house- we want to see your pics and hear your stories in person!

Your description of Grappa? Right on! Holy cow, that's some strong stuff.

I agree, the washing machines there are weird and hard to figure out. I also have pictures of us washing our clothes in the bathtub.

I showed BJ the picture with Colby and the two wine glasses. He said, "A man after my own heart".

OK, on I go to the next entry.

[Mandy]

Gorgeous pictures... :) You could write for the travel bureaus, ya know?

[Larissa]

I'll be in Spain this June...and these photos make me long for the trip to come sooner!

[1218blog]

Freakin' Gorgeous!! You guys weren't looking half bad yourselves.