Tuscany
Instead of staying in downtown Florence, Troy and I decided to stay in the Tuscan countryside after we left Rome. We stayed in the tiny town of Strada in Chianti in a Tuscan villa from the 1800's. Villa il Leccio left absolutely nothing to be desired. The building itself is a gorgeous piece of Italian history. The view from our room left me completely speechless.
Everyday, our hostess would have breakfast prepared for us, all made from scratch. A lot of the ingredients are actually found on the grounds of the villa. It was the best breakfast we had during our entire stay in Italy.
Every room in the villa is decorated with ornate, historical furniture. It makes you feel as if you just stepped back in time. We arrived during a storm on our first night there, but we had a blast just exploring the villa!
We stayed in the Camera dei Padroni, or master bedroom (and yes, it included our very own altars at the foot of our bed!) It had its own en suite bathroom and a view that overlooks the pool in the back yard. The property has its own vineyard and brought bottles of wine up to our room for us!
Staying in Strada in Chianti definitely provided us with a true Italian experience. This is not a tourist town. There were really only two restaurants within walking distance from the villa (both amazing) and very few people who spoke English. Google translate saved us on several occasions in this town! Even though we struggled with the language barrier, the experience of truly being immersed in Italian culture was incredible!
My one and only regret from our trip to Italy was that we didn't get to spend enough time in Florence! This city is amazing! It has just as much history, art, and culture as Rome, but is slightly less crowded. We toured the Uffizi and Accademia Gallery during our time in Florence. The Accademia houses Michelangelo's Statue of David, which was incredible to see in person. I couldn't believe how huge it was!
The Uffizi is one of the most well-renowned art museums in the world, and holds many famous pieces such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci's Annunciation, Michelangelo's Holy Family with St. John the Baptist, and Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Man.
My three favorite pieces are pictured below:
Botticelli' Calumny of Apelles- An allegorical painting representing nine different figures. From right to left: Ignorance and Suspicion are whispering in the donkey ears of King Midas. Rancour (Envy) is the hooded man in black, pointing in King Midas' face. Calumny (Slander) is the beautiful woman in blue, who is dragging the innocent victim across the floor. Calumny's hair is being arranged by Fraud. Perfidy (Conspiracy) stands over the innocent victim. Repentance is the figure of the old woman in black on the left, and Truth stands nude and pointing to the Heavens
2. Cosimo's Perseus Freeing Andromeda- This was a favorite just because I love Greek Mythology!
3. The Hermaphrodite- A favorite simply because it blew my mind. The term "hermaphrodite" comes from Greek Mythology (which I never knew). The child of Hermes and Aphrodite had both male and female reproductive parts, hence the term "hermaphrodite." MIND BLOWN!
Another absolute favorite in Florence was touring the Dante House and Museum. The house itself isn't the actual structure that Dante Alighieri lived in, but is located in the same spot in Florence where Dante once lived. The house is now a museum housing all things Dante, including the oldest known illuminated copy of "The Divine Comedy," from the 1400's.
The Basilica of Santa Croce is another must see if you're a history buff. This church houses the tombs of many great historical figures including Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli. There is a monument to Dante here as well, but his remains are in Ravenna. He was exiled from Florence and therefore not allowed to be buried within the city.
My biggest regret in Florence is that we didn't get to see the inside of Il Duomo. It was by far my favorite building architecturally, and I would have loved to see the inside.
On day 4 in Tuscany, we took a day trip to Lucca and Pisa. Getting to Lucca wasn't easy, and involved a train, to a bus, to another train to get there, but we made it! And it was SO worth it.
It was a little rainy while we were there. Had it not been, we probably would have rented bikes and rode along the top of the wall surrounding the city. (Luca is a medieval town that still has a wall around it.) We grabbed lunch in Piazza dell' Anfiteatro and climbed to the top of the Guingi Tower. It was a nice break from the busy atmosphere of Rome and Florence. There are lots of cute little shops all around!
The city of Pisa was underwhelming, but still worth it to see the Leaning Tower! Something I didn't expect: the tower is over a mile walk from the train station. You can grab a cab (for a price) or go on foot. We chose to walk, and I was surprised to see Pisa wasn't the cleanest city. But once you enter the area where the tower is, it's beautiful!
You have to pay to enter most of the buildings (including the tower) in this area. We chose to just walk around and didn't tour anything. Getting the famous Leaning Tower photo was enough for us!
