After picking up our rental car (and barely making it out of the parking spot it was so small), we then had to navigate out of Rome. This can be a bit harrowing and requires paying close attention to your GPS. But luckily the Termini is close to the highway (autostrada) to make a slightly faster exit from the city. From there, it was on to the Tuscany region and Florence.
Visitors to this region have the choice to either stay in the countryside; any of the small towns; or the city of Florence itself. And if you do want to stay in Florence, then a train may be a better option to go directly from Rome to Florence. We wanted to see the Tuscan countryside (especially after having been in Rome for two nights) so we selected to stay at the COMO Castello del Nero in the Chianti region.
Along the drive, there are several beautiful stops if you have time – including Mostri Park (the Monsters of Bomarzo – a unique garden filled with stone statues of monsters); or several of the hilltop villages associated with Tuscany including Orvieto (and its famous Duomo); Montepulciano (a medieval hilltop town) or the Civita di Bagnoregio (and its unique walking bridge up).
Given how much we had done in the previous two days, we made our way directly to the hotel to enjoy a quick meal looking out over the sprawling Tuscan countryside. And then a dip in the pool to relax with a few glasses of wine.
The next morning, we had arranged to have two Vespas delivered to our hotel through Chianti 500 Vespas (who also rent bikes and Fiats). Our plan was to take these on the 10 KM drive to our cooking class at Al Gelso Bianco. However, a few notes and some humor first.
We had envisioned riding through the countryside of Tuscany on Vespas but it did not occur to us that neither of us had ever really driven a motorcycle before. And the Vespas in Italy are not the slow, small mopeds were envisioning. They are 125cc engines and the other drivers on these windy roads expect you know how to ride one well if you are on the street – meaning they will get very close to you. After a few failed attempts around the parking lot, it became obvious we had just spent a good amount of money for what became just a photo op of our children on Vespas before we had to hop back in our rental car to get to our cooking class. In other words, be sure you know how to ride a motorcycle well before picturing yourself on Vespa in Italy. Lesson learned.
Second, there are a lot of cooking classes in Italy ranging from large groups in commercial kitchens to intimate experiences. We chose Al Gelso Bianco for its reviews; intimate kitchen; amazing views and family atmosphere. The course is taught by Stefania (the mother of the resort owner) who was amazing at walking us through every step as we prepared our own lunch from scratch; with a glass of wine in hand. We chopped, rolled, seasoned and cooked tagliatelle, ravioli, gnocchi, baked vegetables and apple cake – all from scratch. This is especially fun with children as well.
And while the food was cooking, we had time to enjoy the countryside views and sample wines and olive oils before sitting down for an al fresco lunch of the food we had prepared. After lunch, we stocked up on some bottles of wine for the rest of our trip while playing with the hotel’s newest addition – two tiny biting kittens. It was then back to the hotel to relax by the pool before dinner at the resort’s Michelin starred restaurant, La Torre, looking out over the valley at night – plus the added bonus of a lightning storm off in the distance.
We do want to mention a few other options when you are planning a visit to Tuscany which we had considered as well. These including bike tours of the countryside; truffle hunting with dogs (but this is seasonal so it did not work for us during our visit) and of course wine tastings throughout the region. Any of which would fill an afternoon or entire day.
The next day in Tuscany is going to be a bit different from our other posts as we had originally planned to drive to the train station in Empoli early the next morning and take the train (it is much easier to take the train than to try to drive to these areas) to Pisa and then on to Cinque Terre to hike the amazing coastal trail through these small cliffside towns.
And that would have been our plan had we not found out we were going to be in Tuscany during one of the two days of the Palio horse race in Siena. The Palio occurs on July 2nd and August 16th every year barring rain on the day of the race. This 400-year-old event is so unique and there was so little information on it (much of disputing each other), we decided to create a separate page here (Palio di Siena) to go over what we found to be the myths and facts of visiting this event. Even if you are not visiting on the days of the race, there are events leading up to the race as well (contrada dinners, practice races, assigning of the horses, etc.) which are quite popular. But otherwise, the day above visiting Pisa and Cinque Terre is a great day in and of itself.
Again, our notes for our day at the Palio are on a separate page so our last day was a visit to see Florence. The easiest way to enter the town of Florence (and some good advice from our guide) was to park at the Parcheggio Villa Constanza and take the Tram right into the center of the city.
We were able to quickly find our guide Laura from Florence For You who did an amazing job of customizing our itinerary to meet our goals during the day – especially as we were starting a bit later than usual having come from Siena.
Given our tour of the Vatican in Rome was a bit crowded, Laura had crafted a day to see some of the more hidden areas of Florence (less crowded) and also some items we really wanted to see including the Accademia Gallery and Michelangelo’s David, Signoria Square and the famous duomo, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
To begin, Laura started off by bringing us to the oldest operating pharmacy in the world, Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy. This pharmacy is like stepping back in time while shopping for anything from medicines to perfumes to breath mints to soap. However, it is also filled with artwork, architecture and sculptures. A great first stop.
After, she was able to get us in immediately (Skip the Line! – see our Planning page for an explanation) to see the statue of David while pointing out the history of the sculptures and the artists. It really does make the event much more individualized to be able to ask questions and learn about the items that interest you most. She also added in stops at the home and church of the Medici’s – along with more historical background about Florence from gold doors to the facades to the history of a grain mill-turned-church.
We did have the option to tour the Uffizi Gallery or climb the stairs of the duomo to see one of the most beautiful views of the rooftops of Florence. However, we had asked for something more interactive for our kids and she gladly accommodated; taking us for a tasting at the local market (including our favorites of pistachio crème and truffle butter). And then, visiting local artisans specializing in detailed mosaics made from shaping and crafting colored stones; or another crafting specialized paper. She also knew the best store to recommend for picking up a leather purse.
The real key is you can customize your day in Florence to focus on architecture, art, sculpture, food or more – and all of it is terrific. On a future trip, we will consider coming back to climb the tower; spend a day at the Uffizi and stay the night dining in the city. But for one day, this was a great way to experience this historic birthplace of the Renaissance. Afterwards, it was the tram back to our car and hotel and to sadly say goodbye to the views, food and wine of Tuscany before heading on to Venice.
For notes on our entire trip to Italy, here is our two-week Itinerary. And, if you are just starting to plan your trip, we have created four “how to” guides – Planning, Preparing and Packing, Getting Around and Driving and finally Once You Arrive.
We also have detailed notes for each individual destination for Positano, the Amalfi Coast and Capri; Rome and Pompeii; Tuscany, Siena and Florence; the Palio di Siena; Venice and Lake Como. We would love to hear if you found any of these pages and notes helpful – or if you have any feedback you would recommend for other travelers.
