We spent our four day, Labor Day weekend in Tuscany with friends, and it was absolute heaven all the way around. We drank lots of good wine, ate some seriously amazing food, had so many laughs, made so many memories, and soaked in the most incredible views! Tuscany is stunning and I cannot wait to go back.
We spent four days and four nights there, and we could have easily done four more. We stayed in a little town called Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, at the greatest farmstay. (Go check that a amazing pool!) It was so conveniently located close to town and is only 40 minutes south of Florence and 40 minutes north of Siena. There are wineries all around, and so close, we visited three during our long weekend there. The home is located on a family winery, and they had wine available in the house for us, which was so conveinent. The owners hosted us for a private dinner at their villa down the street for a true Tuscan meal, it was so amazing, and one of my favorite Air B&B stays to date.
We drove down from Vicenza on a Thursday night, stopped in at the local Coop, and picked up a giant array of snacks to make a charcuterie board for dinner. We drank wine, ate cheese and laughed all night, when in Tuscany right?!
Friday we woke up and took our time, the kids got to swim for a couple hours, and we had a tour, tasting, and lunch scheduled for 12:30 at Casa Sola. The wine was absolutely divine. Try the Super Tuscan, buy a case, and thank me later. 😉 I highly recommend doing at least one tour when in Tuscany, it is so informative and you will learn so much, not just about the wine making process, but wine itself. We were so happy we did this, and it truly was really kid friendly for what it was. It was so fascinating. We spent a few hours there, loaded up on a few cases of wine and headed out. We went back to our Air B&B, and hung out by the pool for a few hours before heading to dinner.
We went to dinner in town that night around 8PM, it was only 5 minutes from our stay, (I told you the location was amazing!) We ate at Ristorante Antico Borgo, and the food was amazing! The pasta we ordered came out wrapped in foil, shaped like a swan! The staff was funny and quirky, the Tiramisu was heavenly, the table wine was delightful..we stayed for hours, it was seriously such a fun night!
On Saturday we got up and headed down to Siena. The drive down was so beautiful. The rolling hills of Tuscany on a hot summer day with the windows down and music blaring, it was a quintessential Italy moment, and I loved every second. We spent a couple hours roaming Siena, stopping in Piazza del Campo where they host horse races every year, and then sitting down for a long and delicious lunch outside.
We ate lunch at La Taverna di Cecco. The shaved truffle tagliatelle was heaven in my mouth. womwowow. A couple others got there ‘Nando’ pasta, which was a type of spicy red sauce over Pici, which is a thick pasta that is popular in that region, and it was sooooo delicious. Their house wine was on point too, and served in the cutest carafes. Highly recommend this spot for lunch!
We shopped a bit for some free pasta and wine, hit up some gelato and a spritz on our way out and it was the perfect end to an afternoon in Siena. When we left we took the 222 (or the “Chiantigiana“), which is the most picturesque road filled with wineries, olive groves, small towns and so many opportunities for wine tastings. The drive was stunning, and we ended it at Poggio Al Sole, for another wine tasting and sunset.
Poggio Al Sole was my favorite place we hit up this weekend. The views were OUT OF THIS WORLD. The wine was so smooth and so enjoyable. Its a small family run place, and they were so friendly, accommodating, and welcoming. They set us up outside on the most beautiful table, with the best views, and a huge grassy area and grape trees for the kids to run through. They served us the tastiest snacks, so beautifully presented with our tasting, and they were so very kind. You guys, this place got FIVE STARS, I promise you wont regret it. If you’re heading to this area of Tuscany, you MUST make a stop here!
Sunday we dedicated to the kids, they were such troopers hopping around wineries and cities for two days! The weather was perfect and we spent the entire day by the pool, relaxing, eating more meats & cheeses, drinking more wine, and just floating around..it was heaven. For dinner that night, our Air B&B host made us a private catered dinner at their villa down the street. I mentioned it above, but he made us a true Tuscan meal, withe a boozy dessert, and it was MAGIC. We were so completely spoiled. Its an experience I’ll never forget. The entire weekend was to be honest.
That night we went back and did our own impromptu blind wine tasting with eight wines. Our friends daughter was our little host and kept a spreadsheet, keeping track of what she served us, and what our thoughts were. It was seriously so fun! We had wines from €5-€35, and it was so interesting to see what we liked without really knowing what we were drinking. We’re planning on hosting a more official one soon and I can’t wait!
Monday morning we had to be out by 10AM. So we packed up and headed out. We stopped at a little café in town for a cappuccino and a playground for the kids to get some energy out. From there we drove to Antinori nel Chianti Classico. It is a much larger winery than what we had done so far. It is one of the most famous in Tuscany, the wine was lovely, we bought a bunch from their wine shop, where you can just show up and taste some, and I got a wonderful rosé, which is generally pretty hard to find in Italy. There is a restaurant on the roof, which I bet had amazing views, and the food looked amazing, but we moved on to something a bit more casual for lunch.
We drove about 15 minutes north to a town called San Casciano in Val Di Pesa for lunch. We ate at Pizzeria Sottocasa and it was delicious. I got the pear pasta in an asparagus cream, and it was fantastic. We headed out, stopped around the corner for gelato then loaded up the car and drove the few hours home on Monday night.
It truly was one of the best weekends, filled with such a great balance of relaxing and going, seeing, & doing. It was filled with so many laughs, wonderful memories, amazing wine, delicious food, and great views. I cannot wait to get back to Tuscany again. It is such a beautiful place!
