To Drinking in Chianti

While in the research stage of our Europe trip, Ethan came up with the brilliant idea of taking a wine tour in the Italian countryside.  Obviously I was all in so we booked a tour of the Chianti Region.  This meant that we needed to go back to Florence where the tour departed from. We got back on the awful regional train from Sorrento to Naples and, again, I am just thankful that experience is over.  This ride was incredibly full due to commuters, yuck.  

Anyways, we finally got back to Florence via ItaloTreno so that was awesome! Since we had already been to Florence it was nice because we felt a little bit more comfortable finding our way to the B&B. We stayed in a really cute place that was run by an American and her daughter.  We checked in, changed, and left to grab lunch before the bus was scheduled to leave.  

Once we got on the bus it was a nice relief to be surrounded by Americans (even though some of them were annoying and their Minnesota accents/behavior made us all look bad).  It was about an hour to get to the countryside and the guide taught us a lot about Florentine history on the way out.  This was really nice to hear since we didn't get to go on a tour the week before.  

Our first stop was a church in a really small town.  It was beautiful and the views of the countryside were even more beautiful.  There was also a cave behind it from when it was originally constructed so people were excited to see that. 

Ethan and I enjoying the views from the Church

Breathtaking.

More Views

Next we piled back onto the bus and headed to the Castle we were going to tour.  The Castle was really cool because it was one of the few historical castles still occupied.  We got a tour of the living quarters and learned about the families that had occupied it. The current family operates an olive oil and wine production business.

The Castle!

I loved this well

Down in the cellar learning about the wine making process

Bottles on Bottles on Bottles

After taking the grand tour and learning all about olive oil and wine (if you need some tips on how to pick wholesome extra virgin olive oil, I have tons!), it was time for the tasting!

The grounds were beautiful!

An entrance sign

Our tasting plate, it was so good!

The tasting was wonderful and the wine was some of the best we had ever had! After we were finished it was time to go to the gift shop, where we naturally bought a bottle of Chianti wine.  Before we had to get back on the bus we had time to take a few pictures and walk the grounds.  It was so incredibly beautiful!

I loved it! 

We got back on the bus and went back to Florence.  Then Ethan and I walked around some of the major markets and saw tons of leather for sale.  We didn't end up getting anything because the guys weren't very willing to negotiate on price, oh well! Our bags were already bulging at the seams by this point anyways.  Then we had a lovely seafood dinner and went back to the B&B to get some rest.

The next morning, they offered a continental breakfast but since the apartment was too small to have a dining room, they brought breakfast in bed.  Winning.  The journey back to Florence was so worth it and the Chianti tour was probably one of my favorite days on the trip! 

For now,

Lindsay