After spending several hours in the second hand bookshop in Florence, Mikhaila, Greg and I picked up our packs and took a taxi out to Florence Airport. Or perhaps it was actually a Formula One racing car disguised as a taxi, since that's how the driver saw it. It was possibly THE most scary drive we've had anywhere. At one point we overtook 4 cars all waiting at an intersection for the light to change from red to green.
It was also rather odd going to the airport to pick up our rental car and not to catch a plane. Our snazzy Renault Clio neatly fitted the 3 of us and we curved our way down the SS222 through Chianti. Greve, Chianti has a very modern, huge tasting centre with 1200 different bottles available. You can buy a little card with varying amounts of credit to slot into the rotating bottle holders and select your 20mL taste. We happened to catch the annual wine festival, held in the piazza, but sadly it was over-run by loud English-speaking tourists who'd certainly had their quota of tastings. The area is also very well known for it's cured meats such as prosciutto.
Greg drove us girls on to Siena, only needing to be told to get back on the right-hand side of the road twice during the entire day. 
We stumbled on a festival here too! Each section of the village, or contrade, (of which there are 17) had an extra long trestle table set up along a main road where we presume the whole 'suburb' would be eating together. Originally the neighbourhoods were formed as battalions for the city's defence. Many people were dressed in their contrade's traditional costume and flags and colours were strewn along the narrow roads. We walked the whole town searching for a cheap dinner and eventually got what we came for (but we wouldn't recommend it).
It was also rather odd going to the airport to pick up our rental car and not to catch a plane. Our snazzy Renault Clio neatly fitted the 3 of us and we curved our way down the SS222 through Chianti. Greve, Chianti has a very modern, huge tasting centre with 1200 different bottles available. You can buy a little card with varying amounts of credit to slot into the rotating bottle holders and select your 20mL taste. We happened to catch the annual wine festival, held in the piazza, but sadly it was over-run by loud English-speaking tourists who'd certainly had their quota of tastings. The area is also very well known for it's cured meats such as prosciutto.
Greg drove us girls on to Siena, only needing to be told to get back on the right-hand side of the road twice during the entire day. 
We stumbled on a festival here too! Each section of the village, or contrade, (of which there are 17) had an extra long trestle table set up along a main road where we presume the whole 'suburb' would be eating together. Originally the neighbourhoods were formed as battalions for the city's defence. Many people were dressed in their contrade's traditional costume and flags and colours were strewn along the narrow roads. We walked the whole town searching for a cheap dinner and eventually got what we came for (but we wouldn't recommend it).The following day we walked to Il Campo, the
large central square where the infamous horse race "Palio di Siena" is held. Il Campo means the Clam in Italian so guess what the shape of the piazza is based on?
The 17 contrades of Siena each elect a rider in the Palio, a violent, medieval style competition.
The cathedral in Siena is so spectacular with its slightly Egyptian-looking, marble stripes throughout the interior. The mosaic floor tiling inspired lots of photography - some pictures we may use for future decorating!
large central square where the infamous horse race "Palio di Siena" is held. Il Campo means the Clam in Italian so guess what the shape of the piazza is based on?The 17 contrades of Siena each elect a rider in the Palio, a violent, medieval style competition.
The cathedral in Siena is so spectacular with its slightly Egyptian-looking, marble stripes throughout the interior. The mosaic floor tiling inspired lots of photography - some pictures we may use for future decorating!
Down the road we arrived in Asciano, where we ate the most fantastic home-made pasta and gnocchi and found ANOTHER festival with people dressed up in traditional costume. Perhaps the parties were for us?!We visited a peaceful hilltop monastery "Abbazia di monte oliveto maggiore" in amongst a forest of pine trees, but sadly the buildings were all closed up for several hours at lunchtime.
A short drive brought us to the village of Pienza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The entire village was built as an ideal Renaissance town. Intended as a retreat from Rome, it 's urban planning was used as a template for many other villages and cities in Italy and throughout Europe.
That night we stayed just out of the stunning village of Montepulciano which sits on top of another Tuscan hill. The area is famous for Brunello wine which we thoroughly enjoyed sampling. At dinner we were seated at a table with 2 other Australians from Adelaide, a cardiologist and a physio, and we had a great laugh swapping stories of our Italian encounters.Mikhaila and Jane wake up early for pilates in the most idyllic setting: a olive grove with views over the misty plains below Montepulciano. Following a brief stroll through the village in the
daylight, we drove on to the lakeside town of Castiglione for more views and terrific food. To the left is a picture of Mikhaila's heavenly Panna Cotta.Cortona was the location for our final night in Tuscany. Cortona means crown and the name fits: another town built high up on a hill. Greg very nearly busts the clutch on our little Clio, trying to reverse and park on a 60 degree sloping, one-and-a-half-car-widths across, lane. We visit the little theatre where The Chamber Strings of Melbourne (the orchestra Jane travelled with in 2000) performed in January 2000. It's now a movie cinema and the hostess was kind enough for us to steal a peak since there wasn't a movie showing.
Our Tuscan Trio finished the trip off with a 1300g Bistecca Fiorentina (T-bone steak the Florentine way) and a bottle of Cortona Syrah "Il Bosco" - the favourite from our tasting back in Greve.
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