We woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside and as I opened our hotel window a magnificent view of the breakfast sitting area smiled back at me.
Now I see why the movie Under the Tuscan sun was filmed in this region. It's peaceful and the people are genuine.
We made our way to Barberino Val D'Elsa where hubby's friend and family, from Colorado, were staying. They rented the villa, La Volpaia for one week from a nice couple, Silvia and Andrea who run the property. For an all inclusive price, they have breakfast and dinner provided and if they wish they can ride the horses or simply take a stroll on their backyard and enjoy breathtaking views.
We had a tour of the property and I whispered to my hubby, "I really want to live here." He said, "But what about your allergies?" Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm allergic to the cypress trees in Tuscany? The whole trip I was sneezing and very congested but I think I can live with that, don't you agree it's beautiful here? Something out of a magazine!
The kitchen
Sun room with art work
The sitting area, I can picture myself here, how about you?
Stairs leading to the backyard, maybe the secret garden pathway?
Brunch was lovely and we had a fun time getting to know all the family members especially their 5 year son who was amazed that we lived in Denver previously and knew about the basketball team The Nuggets. It's fun talking to kids! Unfortunately the time came to say goodbye as we had a four-hour drive ahead of us to the ferry in Ancona. We drove north to Florence, past Bologna then south towards San Marino. I was a bit worried about the ferry as I have a light stomach, luckily the sea was calm and I slept through the night.
View of the islands from our cabin, we are near Split, home sweet home!
View of the islands from our cabin, we are near Split, home sweet home! Overall it was a wonderful experience to drive through Italy, to see the Leaning tower in Pisa , getting lost in the small streets of Florence, admiring the towers of San Gimignano and sharing wonderful moments with hubby, as we reminisced about our first date 9 years ago. We're planning on taking many more road trips; next time we will bring our daughter along, this was a special occasion as it was our wedding anniversary. Arrivederci! A piu tardi! Goodbye and see you soon Italy.
Oh Lord, that has to be the worst allergy! I LOVE cypress trees. That villa is stunning. On my list of travel wishes is to stay at a villa for a week and DO NOTHING!
ReplyDeleteAww what gorgeous photos!!! I would love to visit Italy someday where my husband's grandparents were from. Fabulous post!
ReplyDeleteTuscany is just sooo romantic! The villa is lovely - I just love the style
ReplyDeleteAmanda, the strange thing is I have never really suffered from allergies, but yeah I felt like I was always screaming because my ears were plugged. But in spite of that, I would do the trip all over again.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you about not doing anything when staying at a villa like this one. The hostess, Sylvia she even made the coffee for you! you didn't have to lift a finger. and the dinners she prepared I heard where authentic recipes. Yum
Thanks Maki, what town where they from?
ReplyDeleteWOW WOW WOW!!! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks amazing! Like something out of a movie. So glad you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteeverything is so beautiful!!! i am so glad you had a wonderful getaway with your husband. it looked so romantic.:)
ReplyDeletefantastico, bravo, bellisimo.
ReplyDeleteas my Croatian language is not as good as my Italian (which is those three words above), I better say it in English as you don't speak Dutch.
fantastic, bravo, marvelous !!
oef, already impressed by the previous posts, this one is even more breathtaking, as I am more a country-lover than a city hopper.
realy fantastic, and the link you added about that villa La Volpaia is a true hit for me!
heading towards building our final house (this spring ???) I will absolutely use some of the inspiriations I picked up at their site.
lucky me, Svinisce is a bit more afordable to us, and still amazingly pure.
so, sorry Tuscane, but we will stay in Dalmatia.
so to finish: dobro dosli, welcome home again.
Wow, so beautiful! I can almost picture what it would feel like to have that wonderful Italian sun baking you and warming you to the core (can you tell it has been winter for too long?)
ReplyDeleteI had an allergic reaction in Genoa that was more dramatic than any other I have had. I never considered it could be cyprus trees.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!
Such a serene and peaceful countryside...I wonder if your cypress allergy can't be cured though ?
ReplyDeleteWell..you would just have to avoid them but this is not too easy in Tuscany...
Happy Easter ! :-)
Babs, I agree with you I LOVE tuscany and this villa was wow!
ReplyDeleteyes Jodi, WOW, WOW, I can't believe we didn't make this trip sooner.ahhhh
ReplyDelete@biking in heels, Yes something out of a movie! How was your anniversary weekend?
ReplyDeleteAna, we saw so much art and sculptures that the last day we spent in the Tuscan countryside it was relaxing: perfect way to end our trip.
ReplyDeletethanks Pim, for the welcome back. I didn't know you were working on building your home. I'm glad to have shared that info about the villa, Andrea was a former artist and he and his wife did most of the renovations of the villa, they had to adhere to strict rules of rebuilding it to it's original structure, a real beauty after it was finished.
ReplyDeleteP.s. I haven't forgotten about your hickory smoked salt, it's on my email "gift list" as a reminder to bring it back from the States!
Lala, now that I'm back to Croatia, my sinuses have cleared and I can only think if it was the change in environment. Here its so dry and not much vegetation, opposite of tuscany.
ReplyDeleteI did have to take allergy medication and I think as long as I continue taking it I should be fine to travel into Tuscany again.
Hi Alecia! Sorry to hear Boise is still under cold weather. Hopefully with Spring here it will warm soon enough? But I know the midwest and it could be a while, Speaking of which I will probably have to bring my Zyrtec along as Iowa tends to also make me sneeze. (I'm flying there in 2 weeks). So do you think it could have been the cypress trees for you?
ReplyDeleteamazing! what a great anniversary!
ReplyDeletethanks Jen, we celebrated a bit early, April 15th is the real date.
ReplyDelete