When we arrived in Pisa after our 2 hour flight, we headed to the rental car agency. We had to pony up extra money to get an automatic (someone doesn't know how to dive a manual, Dan. And someone is just too scared to drive in general, me.) but we were excited anyway for our Italian road trip.
In our cute little Fiat we drove down the Autostrade to our first destination: Montepulciano. This is a little hilltop village in southern Tuscany. Why Montepulciano you might ask? Well back in NYC whenever I used to eat at my favorite restaurant, Little Frankie's, I would order a glass of Montepulicano wine by the glass (full disclosure, it was the cheapest!) So when I found out that it was a town in Italy, and when I read all the charming reviews of it in Tuscan travel guides, I knew I must visit. But as Dan's mom enlightened us, it turns out the wine I drank back in NYC is actually not the wine that this Montepulciano town produces. Whoops. Dan says we are not traipsing all over Italy to find the 'real' Montepulciano. Anyways back to the trip. I'm glad I got it wrong because this Montepulciano was wonderful. It's a town way up on a hill, with little winding streets, old churches, cute cafes, and delicious restaurants. Its a town that is popular for Italians on holiday from big cities, rather than international travelers. The town is not that big, so we stayed 2 nights and mostly just ate and drank! Every meal we ate was spectacular and the wine was fabulous. The only catch was all the hotels in the actual town were too expensive by the time I booked so I got us a hotel right at the bottom of the hill. The reviews warned me that it would bring my calves “to the failure point” and they would have been right if I hadn't already climbed the Inca trail ( my calves were beyond failed then, they were dead). Nonetheless, it was a steep hike up to the town, and really dark and a bit scary on the way back from bottles of wine dinners. Our hotel made up for this however, with super nice owners, and a indoor heated pool and spa. I recommend anyone visiting Tuscany to stop in this town, it's probably the most charming town I've ever been to.
Sunday morning came, however, and it was time to bid arrivederci to Montepulciano and drive to our next destination, Radda in Chianti. But first we stopped off at Lago Trasimeno, a big lake nearby, and the town of Castiglione del Lago that sits on it. We spent just enough time there to drink a cappuccino, browse some street markets (many booths were selling Native American goods – quite unexpected), and a few pictures in front of the water. Then we drove to Radda. This drive took almost 3 hours and was harrowing to say the least. We had to drive up this really winding, narrow road in our little car that didn't have much power. The scariest part however was that it didn't seem to bother the Italian drivers as they constantly drove around corners at high speeds and passed us as soon as they could. I alternated between gasping at beautiful hillsides and shrieking at oncoming cars. As picturesque as the ride was I was grateful when we made it to Radda. Chianti is a region in northern Tuscany, close to Florence. Most Americans, as myself, know this region also for the wine. These two facts make a popular destination for American and English travelers and it felt a bit more touristy. This time we stayed right in town in a really old building converted into a hotel. I kid you not when I say our hotel room was bigger than my whole apartment. Sigh. But I guess that's why I live in a closet, so I can pay for experiences like this. Again I digress. Radda in Chianti was a much smaller town, with really only one major street. The views of the Tuscan country side was its strong point. The undulating hills dotted with vineyards were stunning. Consequently we have way too many pictures of them! This hotel also had an indoor pool that was underground and looked like a grotto. After swimming, we ate a spectacular dinner at a restaurant right across from our hotel and finished the night with a bottle of Chianti Classico in our classy room.
Monday morning it was back to the road again. Our flight wasn't until 10 pm that evening so we had a full day to further explore Tuscany. We drove up to Lucca, another ancient town just north of Pisa. The cool part about this city was that it is completely walled in. Today the walls surrounding the city act as a park. This was our best day yet in terms of weather with the sun finally making an appearance. This combined with the fact that it was a holiday in Italy (Liberation Day) made Lucca swarming with people. Again it seemed to be mostly Italians. This town seemed a lot bigger, with mainstream shops like Sephora in abundance rather than cute little food shops. After a few hours of wandering the streets we decided to make one last stop before heading to the airport. I figured we came all this way, might as well see the most famous spot in Tuscany. So we headed to Pisa to see it's famous leaning tower. Pisa really wasn't that interesting as it's a much bigger city than the ones we had just visited. We parked the car and walked towards the building and were hit with massive crowds. Tourists from all over the globe were here and all trying to get the classic “pushing up the tower” picture. First Dan and I laughed at all the rubes doing the same thing. Then we did it too. You know what they say, when in Rome, take cheesy pictures like the rest of them! I'm glad we decided to make this last minute stop because in all honestly it was cool to see, it really looks like it could fall at any moment. It was time to leave Italy so we headed back to the airport. It was an awesome trip and now have to add to it my list of places I can't wait to go back to again. Next up: Scotland!
Enjoy some photos here: Tuscany
Enjoy some photos here: Tuscany
